Floating Staircase Paperback – 20 October 2011

This book is a page-turner, or at least most of it is; I found the ending lame and unnecessarily protracted. It struck me while reading that it’s a book that demands to be read fast to mirror the frenzied mind of Travis Glasgow, the central character, laden with guilt over his younger brother’s death while struggling with the obstacles that stand in the way of his latest successful horror novel.It is difficult to know into quite what category to place this novel. It lacks the shock impact of out and out horror, of for example the early James Herbert novels, and yet it falls short of being a convincing psychological thriller. I’m inclined to think that it might have been more successful had it developed in this direction. Plot dominates. The characters lack any real depth and the secondary ones are all too familiar. Early in the book, especially during the journey to Maryland, there is some strong atmospheric writing exploiting the more remote areas approaching Westlake, the centre of the action. These, though, are few and far between. Less successful are the scenes between Travis and his elder brother Adam and those between Travis and his wife. The dialogue is routine and repetitive and at worst wooden. The action scenes are well enough done, especially the episode between Travis and David Dentman, for me the most compelling of the characters. However, the major characters rarely show much evidence of intelligence or practical common sense and this robs the narrative of conviction.Because events move so rapidly a deadening effect sets in and a sense of needless repetition reinforces this. When all is said and done, for me the most disturbing episode in the novel by some way is Travis’ visit to Althea, Dentman’s former tutor, in the hospital. Horror has a great deal to do to be more horrific than real life and I don’t think that it succeeds here.

I really enjoyed this novel, which perfectly showcases the beauty of Malfi's writing and his ability to create a tense, eerie atmosphere. Travis's obsession with the mysterious death of a young boy which took place shortly before he moved to the house with the lake and the floating stairs, leads his wife and his brother to think he is losing his mind. They believe he is reliving his guilt about the part he played in the death of his younger brother which occurs in somewhat similar circumstances some years earlier. Malfi succeeds in making the reader wonder about this too - there is no feeling that everything will end well, which kept me on tenterhooks the whole way through. Definitely the best Malfi novel I've read to date, it creates images that lived on long after I finished reading it.

This is an extraordinary well written story about about one man's attempt to find redemption and some form of closure to an incident that occurred during his formative years. Ronald Malfi manages to blend superbly elements of horror and crime nicely presented in the guise of small town America. Travis Glascow and his wife Jodie have settled in the pretty little community of Westlake Maryland but as befits all good storytelling nothing is ever as it seems and, as we are shown, the perfect life is something we all strive for but few achieve. Travis is haunted by the death of his younger brother Kyle, left under his protection but who tragically died jumping from an old wooden pier. The house in Westgate has a sinister past, Elijah Dentman, son of the previous owners met a tragic and untimely demise but even in death the spirit of Elijah refuses to rest "Nature does not know extinction. It knows only change. Metamorphosis. It knows that when life is snuffed out and the soul vacates the body, it must, by definition, go somewhere. And if you don't believe in God or a god or in heaven and hell, then where do souls go?"What makes this book such a wonderful achievement, so deep thought and contemplative is the authors style of writing. In a reflective mood Travis thinks back to his childhood and in particular his father "My father, who'd always been an intimidating physical presence, seemed to grow smaller day by day, some vital bone or organ now broken within him. He reminded me more and more of those rusted old cars on concrete blocks, colorless weeds growing all around him. He became an alcoholic after Kyle's death and maintained that ungodly and self-deprecating profession until prostate cancer punched his card many years later." Just look at the poetic nature of the opening paragraph to Chapter 18 " When you withdraw from the world, you find that the world withdraws from you, too. Then all that's left is the Greyness, the Void, and this is where you remain. Like a cancerous cell. Like a cut of tissue, diseased, in a Petri dish. You glance down and there it is: this gaping gray hole in the center of your being. And as you stand there and stare into it, all you see is yourself staring back."Suffice to say this style permeates throughout the book and makes for rich and rewarding reading. Introduce to this a mix some wonderful, colourful characters; Althea Coulter tutor to Elijah and an old lady sadly dying of cancer, Earl Parsons veteran seasoned reporter, Veronica and David Dentman parents of tragic Elijah and possibly holding the secrets and answers that Travis seeks in his search for the truth and maybe just maybe his own salvation.

Simply put this is an incredible read. In a perfect world that would be enough for you to immediatly go off and read it, but it it isn't so let me tell you why I enjoyed reading this so much. We can start with the story as that's what really matters when you get down to it.The book tells of Travis Glasgow moving back to the US, he's a successful author but has hit a blank with his latest working. He's also haunted by a terrible secret and he moves to a house with its own secret, just as dark as his own. So far nothing spectacular you might think and that is often the case with ghost stories, but the author manages to bring something new to the table.The first is that while the overview may seem nothing new the story evolves in a direction that surprised me, and I can typically predict a book's ending quite accurately. So I like being surprised in a book, so that was a plus for it, but I didn't know the full outcome until the end, so what kept me enthralled throughout?The actual writing itself is a work of art. The author has an elegant turn of phrase that would be a joy to read even if it wasn't telling a great story. There is almost a poetic nature to the language that I really enjoyed reading, it's not perfect and that was my only gripe with the novel. Occasionall;y it goes too far with the language, ladels it on a bit thick. Compared to the joy I had reading it I feel amost churliosh mentionming it, but in a good review you should always mention what you didn't like it.That incredibly minor nitpicking aside this is a fantastic ghost story and a five star read if ever I've read one. Go on, buy it now and see what you think!

As said in previous reviews, this book is worth reading. Thought that the whole book was written brilliant we got to know the characters in a way that you felt you were there, the descriptions on the surrounds were excellant and you got a feel for the house an surrounding areas. The relationships between the characters were all explained so you knew who was who and why they were there. The acutal story was very well written, as above very descriptive and kept you just wanting to read one more chapter, did find it hard to put down.We start of with meeting Travis, who is also a author, the book is written in a way that we dont know if he is writing the book or just a character in the book. Travis and his wife - Jodie are moving back to the states to the same town as Travis brother Adam lives in. Once they get there this is when it really starts getting good. Not to give to much away, but things in the house are not what they seem. We get to go into Travis and Adams past, as there is a link to what is happening in the new house, and every now and then again we have flashbacks but these are done in a way that you would image the characters thinking this way. There were a few twist along the way, which as you a reading you think I would never have though that! and the ending was not what I thought it was going to be!!!Well worth reading, well worth paying for if you are not able to get it free, well worth looking out for this author!