The Ghost Beside Me by Lee Hall

If I could just break away from the shackles of that internal torment I have created that imprisons my confidence. Just the idea and thought of tackling this enigma of feelings spirals my own self into a deep sadness, hence my lack of entries in the past days.

I’ve been meaning to try one of Lee Hall’s books for a while now, and I don’t have the attention span for a long book right now, so this novella was just the right size! And I do love a good ghost story. Further, I kind of love the kismet of picking this one up now, because the writing style actually really reminds me of the start of Frankenstein, and I’ve been discussing Mary Shelley all week. ’Twas meant to be! Not that I would liken the story lines, that is, just the stylistic choice and tone.

We follow the musings of the main character and there was so much about his confessions that I could relate to. The loneliness, the insecurity, the introvertedness.

The hypothesis I am swaying towards consists of a man with an empty lonely heart creating an illusion of such to simply fill a void.

You know, now that I’m thinking about it, this book is like my favourite Tennessee Williams’ quote with a paranormal twist: (When so many are lonely as seem to be lonely, it would be inexcusably selfish to be lonely alone).

This is a great introduction to Hall’s works for sure, and I’m definitely going to be picking up another by him when I get a chance. I do love intensely quotable books with evocative prose and wonderful atmosphere building, after all!