No parents should ever witness the death of their child. One such tragedy sets into motion the events of Michael Scott Garvin’s OPHELIA’S ROOM, the story of Delia and Charlie Mull, a young couple struggling after the grisly murder of their firstborn child, Ophelia. Described as such, OPHELIA’S ROOM may sound like a difficult or even depressive read. Nothing could be further from the truth. Garvin writes about people trying to find hope and love in a seemingly desperate situation. For Delia and Charlie Mull, the challenge is how to grow tough enough to survive the tragedy without becoming cruel. After all, hard life breeds hard people. Sometimes, their hearts turn to stone. At other times, they crumble to pieces.
OPHELIA’S ROOM, which depicts a rural Kansas town whose only claim to fame was that President Truman once stopped there for a bathroom break, is also surprisingly funny. There are gossipy housewives, formidable elderly spinsters, and baseball games that sometimes turn to free-for-all fistfights. In addition, there is a hilarious scene involving a plate of cookies and a bingo night that shouldn’t be spoiled. And then, in its final stretch, OPHELIA’S ROOM dramatically changes its tone. Up to that point the book is a fairly nuanced character study of a blue-collar family which turns into— for the lack of a better term— a slasher horror story. This tonal whiplash will either make or break the novel for many of its readers. While the prose remains riveting, this reviewer can’t help but feel the gory finale of OPHELIA’S ROOM diminishes much of the work the author did throughout the rest of the novel. The best example may be the character of Betty Malcomb, a mysterious sexpot teacher. Her subplot goes nowhere. In a way, that is precisely Garvin’s point. Even so, her story ends up feeling underwhelming.
OPHELIA’S ROOM is by no means a perfect book, but despite its flaws, it remains engrossing until the very end. Usually, this reviewer tries to avoid using clichés, but old chestnuts like “page-turner” and “roller-coaster of emotions” do apply here.
Despite its occasionally rugged edges, Michael Scott Garvin’s OPHELIA’S ROOM is a fascinating read that is by turns silly and sad, humorous and horrific. But most of all, it is completely captivating until the very end.
~Danijel Štriga for IndieReader