Book Review: "The Sanatorium" by Sarah Pearse

I actually read this book because it was the Reese Witherspoon Book Club's pick of the month for February of 2021 and I finished it with only a day to spare, so forgive me if I am a little late with my review. It took me a while to process everything that happened. Written in a compelling fashion with obvious attention paid to the place and the history of place, there is a lot to be said about these dark and engaging descriptions of the building which litter the book and turn the atmosphere right the way around so that everything becomes a shadow. When it comes to the characters, I feel like there could have been more done with them apart from their very obvious functions with Isaac being there to lure his sister back into a familial relationship whilst also making her question her every move. I think that it is important to remember that the place is also part of the cast in this book - the hotel itself is a character and if we start off believing that then I think we will be pleasantly surprised as we read on.

There are things that are purposefully concealed, such as the missing case of the architect, the way in which Adele goes out and well, you should read the book before I tell you, and the strange happenings when it comes to Isaac's girlfriend. I think these are not only done on purpose to pull us into the novel, but to also direct us away from what is really going on which is a feud between various people. When it comes to the way in which the characters are snowed in, the claustrophobic nature of this gives the disappearances a sense of urgency - as if the snow would make it worse when, in fact, the cold would actually preserve any act of violence the body had endured. However, it is because of the neurotic nature of the main character that we ourselves, as readers, feel a sense of urgency here too.

A big theme in this book is the way in which we are told about the history of the sanatorium. It is not like we are handed this on a silver platter, but there are instances where we are reminded of it. For example: when we take a look at the interior design of the hotel, there are things that seem almost industrial in their appearance and various pieces of art that have been left there by the previous function of the business - a psychiatric institution. As we learn more and more about the ways in which the previous function of the hotel encompasses every single aspect of the building from the ceiling to the floor, we also get a sense of disaster through the weather. Both of these put together would give us the atmosphere of danger either approaching or already inside. Both the trapped nature of the characters inside and the unknown of the building give the urgency of the book that sends the characters on their quest, and both the weather and the disappearances send the characters on their quest to find out what happened. Both of these are the same quest. The characters could never have avoided it.

Although I would have liked to know a little bit more about the supplementary characters, I think that there is already a lot to work with if we start analysing the book. It is a brilliant achievement and the author obviously knew exactly what she wanted when she went into the novel. It is a cross between horror, psychological thriller and even mystery in the best of ways.