Universal Harvester (Darnielle) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
John Darnielle's new novel has gotten a lot of play—both near-raves and some out-and-out raves. One reviewer makes it a point to mention the plot's "enviable looseness." Well, I agree: the plot is loose, but that's its problem. Ultimately, the novel doesn't quite hang together, which is sad because it opens with such promise. So let me start there.  READ MORE.
P.J Adler - Litlovers


A captivating exploration of the vagaries of memory and inertia in middle America… [Universal Harvester] serves as a stellar encore after the success of [Darnielle's] debut novel, Wolf in White Van.…  Beneath the eerie gauze of this book, I felt an undercurrent of humanity and hope.
Manuel Roig-Franzia - Washington Post


[A] brilliant second novel.… What appears to be a chilling horror tale is also a perfectly rendered story about family and loss.… Darnielle is a master at building suspense, and his writing is propulsive and urgent; it's nearly impossible to stop reading. He's also incredibly gifted at depicting the dark side of the rural Midwest.… [Universal Harvester is] beyond worthwhile; it's a major work by an author who is quickly becoming one of the brightest stars in American fiction.
Michael Schaub - Los Angeles Times


Universal Harvester is a quiet story of grief with the trappings of a Stephen King suspense-thriller.… Its characters are constantly on the move, speeding toward destinations they fear will hold scenes of unspeakable devastation and loss, and Darnielle seamlessly transfers their dread straight into readers’ hearts.… [Universal Harvester is] so wonderfully strange, almost Lynchian in its juxtaposition of the banal and the creepy, that my urge to know what the hell was going on caused me to go full throttle.… [But] Darnielle hides so much beautiful commentary in the book’s quieter moments that you would be remiss not to slow down.
Abram Scharf - MTV News


(Starred review.) [A] slow-burn mystery/thriller.… Darnielle adeptly juggles multiple stories that collide with chaotic consequences…[and] improbable events that have form, and shape, and weight, and meaning.
Publishers Weekly


[U]nsettling.… Darnielle's contemporary ghost story may confound with its elusiveness (who is the mysterious "I" narrator?), but its impact will stick with readers. —Michael Pucci, South Orange P.L., NJ
Library Journal


Darnielle’s masterfully disturbing follow-up to the National Book Award-nominated Wolf in White Van reads like several Twilight Zone scripts cut together by a poet.… All the while, [Darnielle’s] grasp of the Iowan composure-above-all mindset instills the book with agonizing heartbreak. —Daniel Krau
Booklist


Kirkus Reviews
Darnielle’s prose is consistently graceful and empathetic, though plotwise the novel sometimes sputters.… Regardless, Darnielle is operating mainly on a metaphorical plane…what we know, feel, and remember about our families disappears too easily, as if stored on media we lack the devices to play. A smart and rangy yarn.