Bluebeard's Castle: A Novel (Verso Fiction)

Because I keep giving them away. I’m a huge Anna Biller fan, her films are cult classics and I find that they soothe my soul and are aesthetically intoxicating. When I found out she wrote a novel, I was beyond excited and immediately purchased a copy. I found the book to be one of the most fulfilling and fun novels I’ve read in a very long time. I prefer older novelists..Brontë, D.H. Lawrence, Anais Nin, Ballard and I think that my tastes have been highly influenced by these authors. I often find myself pretty bored with new literature, not with this book. Anna Biller whisks you away on a fairytale adventure that’s exciting, I couldn’t put the book down..I absolutely want to live in a castle and be dressed in feminine vintage-style lingerie! I also enjoyed the psychoanalytical undertones, haven’t many women experienced such intense desire that they failed to read the red flags. Too many reviews dissected this novel harshly, why can’t authors create a story without having every aspect of the character and the world be politically criticized? Is that what art is about? I absolutely adored the novel and never wanted it to end, I’ve given it away to countless female friends..it’s the book many of the Women that I know have been craving. It’s enjoyable, fun and well-written..I love the worlds that Anna Biller creates and I hope she writes another novel.

As a fan of Anna Biller's storytelling I was very keen to consume her latest offering. I was nervous going in because I had high expectations. Bluebeard's Castle is a banger. Women traverse this world assessing a slew of obstacles designed to keep us anxious to what and who surrounds us. The story of Judith, as fanciful as it is, reminds us that our sex determines how we navigate such obstacles. This gothic romance horror has it all and it's very clever and truthful. It gets ugly and it's confronting. It's also rich with descriptive passages that make it an absolute treat for those who enjoy Ms Biller's films. You may recognize yourself in Judith. I did and that was scary. Oh and there are some delightful comedic moments. I can't wait for a film version.

I just reviewed Bluebeard's Castle by Anna Biller. #BluebeardsCastle #NetGalley I believe the story line with so much historical importance had an entertaining start but would have expected more from the Love Witch Director.

I read Anna Biller's (director, writer, set designer, and basically everything-er of The Love Witch) new novel Bluebeard's Castle. And I really found it to be quite the addictive and enchanting read, though all of the criticisms of the book that you'll see on Goodreads and Amazon are completely legitimate. The book very much does read like a screenplay -- there are long descriptions of interior design and costumes, sometimes positioned in the middle of a scene in ways that break up the emotional momentum, to a hilarious effect. For example, in one sequence the protagonist is considering a gruesome vision of suicide, and then looks in the mirror to admire her hobble skirt and reflect that she's looking very sexy. Some of The Love Witch's less charitable viewers didn't understand the way Biller's work sweeps from the grand and romantic to the self-involved and frivolous, but it's clearly intentional, and it works on the page for me just as well as it did on the screen. You just have to have the irreverent, glamorous toxic girl sensibility for it. If you love the way Lana Del Rey mixes the high and low brows, the tragic with the prosaic, you'll lap it up here too. In some cases, Biller's descriptions do feel like placeholders, or are so generically written that it would make perfect sense in a script (because there is an entire team working on the film that can bring a "sexy" dress or a "lovely" piece of furniture to life), but which falls flat here. Because I know Biller's aesthetic style so well, when she tells me that room is sumptuous or well-appointed, I can picture precisely what she means, and most of the time she is so specific with her descriptions of outfits and accessories that you can easily conjure what she's going for. At some random moments, though, things are underwritten and demand that you as the reader fill in the details she normally provides. Bluebeard's Castle is the story of a contemporary romance novelist and converted Catholic virgin, Judith, who falls under the seductive spell of an aloof, gruff, emotionally volatile Baron's-son, Gavin, who sweeps her off her feet following a fated encounter at a wedding. After a whirlwind romance and a hasty wedding, Biller's protagonist moves into a remodeled castle with her brooding lover, and the cracks in his shining armor begin to show. The charm of the love interest is something of an informed attribute; you have to believe the narrator that he is handsome and dracula-like (or believe that she believes it) in order to allow the story to move along. Since this is a tragedy rather than a romance novel, I think that buy-in is relatively easy to provide. The sex scenes are largely left to the margins as well; this book isn't meant to titilate but rather pull you into Judith's rich, sad, delusional inner world. Some of the most positive reviews of Bluebeard's Castle describe this as a novel about how and why women find themselves entrapped within abusive relationships. As someone who has been in abusive relationships, I think this truly is where Biller's writing excels -- and she truly gets what it's like to become romantically and sexually addicted to someone who is bad for you to a degree that is almost embarrassing to see oneself reflected in. She truly gets it -- the way you excuse small violations, blot out any consideration of your own consent, justify unexpected outbursts from your partner and then take steps to prevent them, the way you must romanticize every single tender moment, rewrite the gradual conditioning of your own behavior as yourself becoming a canny, subtle manipulator of the situation, and color in between the lines of a truly unfulfilling existence with grand narratives and self-serving lies. It's not a pretty portrait -- Bluebeard's Judith has a fanciful, inconsistent mind, constantly swapping between admitting to herself that her husband has mistreated her, and seeking refuge in religion, fantasy, alcohol, sex, and self-negation in order to convince herself that such abuses did not really happen, or don't really matter. She also uses other people -- leaning on her sister and a former romantic interest, the respectful, reliable doctor Tony -- extracting as much attention and support from them as she possibly can when she and Gavin are in a rough patch, then abandoning them entirely the moment he returns to her. I think a reader who hasn't been in an extended abusive relationship will probably find Judith infuriating and unsympathetic. But as someone who has done and been all of these things, I feel incredibly exposed by Biller's narrative, in a bracing way. It's like a shot of cold water to the face. Many people will justifiably write this book off as melodramatic and arch, but I think it perfectly nails the alluring drama of being wrapped up within a terrible relationship dynamic. When you're being abused and you deeply love your abuser, you are absolutely fascinated by their unpredictable emotions and your own love -- you think constantly about how you might elicit the treatment from them that your heart longs for, you're reading into their every gesture and expression all the time, and you're inventing satisfying explanations for your situation in your head all the time. It's an isolated, deluded life, but it's pleasurably intense too sometimes, and those of us who fall prey to it often have some deeper longing for connection and passion that makes us easier to prey on. Biller really understands that. If you adored The Love Witch, you'll probably have a lot of patience for this book's flaws and feel appropriately targeted by its strengths. Sad girls, Virgin Suicides fans, BPD baddies, Jane Eyre lovers, grown up former Twilight readers, and all kinds of other pitiful glamorous freaks will enjoy it.

I first stumbled upon this book online and was intrigued by the cover and later by it being called a feminist reimagining of the gothic. It really is not. The tone is very uneven, the characters are unlikable, and the subject matter is not addressed well at all. I can't honestly recommend this book to anyone, but if you choose to check this one out, be aware of triggers.

This book starts with a really great, intriguing idea: what would happen if a writer of gothic romances got swept off her feet by a mysterious stranger who persuades her to marry him and move to a castle? There are so many books like "Rebecca" or "Jane Eyre" about brooding, irascible men with secrets and the whole category cries out for a feminist rethinking. Alas, this is not that book. It is poorly written with underdeveloped characters but lengthy descriptions of clothes, home furnishings and food. The heroine is absurdly clueless - why wouldn't she do a Google search about the man she barely knows pressing her to marry him? The author tells us rather than shows us and the ending is preachy and contrived. Steer clear!

The protagonist’s gripping experience as a woman blinded by her love of a potential sociopath felt authentically rendered based on my own experiences dating charismatic men. The shame Judith feels trying to wrap her head around what is real and what is rendered was very familiar, and will leave an indelible mark on anyone that has tried to parse the head from the heart. Also, stylistically the novel is just, *chef’s kiss,* perfection. Anyone who loves noir, the Bronte sisters, old Hollywood, fashion, castles and gothic lore will love this book. Bravo, Anna Biller!

If you follow Anna Biller's work, you know you're in for a piece of media unlike any other. This book is a super interesting take on romance novels, exploring the cyclical nature of toxic relationships and the psychology and appeal of dangerous men. The story is so good that you won't want to put it down and the self aware nature of it will have you thinking deeply for days. I hope Anna writes more books.

I was thinking of buying this but had my doubts but then I finally did and IT IS SO GOOD ! Anna Biller is brilliant and I hope this book becomes a movie cause I could totally see it 🎀

I loved this novel. It presents a modern take to the 'damsel in distress' tale type. It is quite cinematic in its descriptions of interiors, clothes and characters. It will be appreciated by gothic novel enthusiasts and cinephiles who love Old Hollywood movies such as Marnie and Rebecca!

Loved this book.

I bought this book last year after eagerly waiting for months to it to be released, and I'm a big fan of Anna Billers film work and vision. On first reading I found the style of writing quite jarring. It's hard to put it into words but the best that I can come up with is that it is incredibly self-aware, to a point where the writing and story fail to be at all immersive because you are constantly stumbling over awkward references to gaslighting, consent etc. (Literally shoehorned into the characters' dialogue). It felt like Biller really wanted us to know that she was a feminist and this was a feminist novel, but unlike say Angela Carter who expresses this through story, it's really just expressed through clunky and somewhat desperate language in this book. Despite this, I enjoyed the castle setting, the characters were okay, I liked the cat, and the first time I read it I felt like I had enjoyed it enough to want to keep it and read it again. That, and it's a beautiful book and I enjoyed having it as an object as a fan of Biller's work. I started reading it again this week, about a year later, and the issues I have mentioned are just too much to a point where they are making me embarrassed and about 3/4 of the way through I'm not sure if I'll make it to the end. Sorry to make such a negative review, and I know that there will be an audience for this book out there, however if you are after a gothic romp with a story and characters you can engage with, that's not what this book is about.

I couldn’t put it down! I adore Anna Biller work and when I heard she wrote a novel I bought it immediately!