Monsters We Have Made

Starck (Noah’s Wife) terrifies and captivates in this profound meditation on the power of stories that doubles as a twisty and possibly supernatural mystery. Sylvia Gray once had the perfect life: a romantic marriage, a good job, and a lovely young daughter, Faye, who destroyed it all at age nine when she and a friend stabbed their babysitter multiple times. The two children claimed the Kingman, a mysterious and monstrous internet figure, inspired them to do it, but that doesn’t stop the girls from being “sent to separate detention centers, to be released when they turned eighteen.” Now, Faye, 21 and free, vanishes, leaving her toddler daughter behind. Sylvia, divorced, miserable, and estranged from everyone in her life, takes over custody of the child and is forcibly reminded that her own daughter is a mystery to her. What really happened all those years ago and where has Faye gone now? Seeking answers, Sylvia gathers everyone involved in the original incident to help find both her daughter and the rationale behind the worst thing that ever happened to them all. Starck’s prose is by turns gorgeous and unsettling, creating a dreamlike tale that slides effortlessly between fantasy and reality as it interrogates such themes as forgiveness, generational trauma, and the responsibilities and burdens of motherhood. This is sure to resonate. (Mar.)