Why people recommend it
Lone Women is a historical horror novel by Victor LaValle that follows a woman escaping her past with a heavy trunk in early twentieth-century Montana. On The Book Review podcast, Gilbert Cruz named the book as one of the two works he most enjoyed during the first half of the year. During another episode of the same podcast, Victor LaValle discussed the creative process behind his book, revealing that while rereading Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, he realized the opening bits of his own novel drew directly upon Eleanor's escape. Gilbert Cruz also prompted Tina Jordan to discuss the historical horror title in a seasonal preview episode and introduced Victor LaValle as the author of the fantastic novel at the start of an author interview. The novel frequently surfaces in editorial conversations regarding contemporary horror fiction and the ways in which modern authors consciously borrow and adapt motifs, names, beats, and tones from classic horror literature to build entirely new narratives rooted in historical settings and compelling character motivations.
Who recommended it
- Gilbert Cruz Recommended
- Victor LaValle Discussed
Gilbert Cruz — 4 mentions
“Tina what can you tell us about lone women by Victor lavali”
“he's here with me this week to talk about his fantastic novel lone women”
“I'm Gilbert Cruz and I'm here with Victor Laval author of Lone women”
“two of the books I've most enjoyed this year have been the wager by David Gran and lone women by Victor Laval”
Victor LaValle — 1 mention
“Have you ever borrowed anything from this book for your work? A character name, a beat, a motivation, a tone. What have you pulled out of it? Well, actually, I mean, rereading it again just over the weekend, the opening bits, I realized the beginning of Lone Women is Eleanor's escape”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
- Danse Macabre
- Los Náufragos Del Wager / the Wager
- Pineapple Street
- The Haunting of Hill House
- The Shining
- We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Other mentions (4: passing, ad reads, own books)
“And then after the break, Victor Laval, author of 2023's Lone Women, talks about the book he's read the most in his life, a book I have read many times, The Great Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House.”
“I'm Gilbert Cruz, editor of the New York Times Book Review, and I am presenting you now with a conversation that I had with a great writer from two years ago, Victor Laval, who wrote a piece of historical horror fiction called Lone Women. He is talking about Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House.”
“I've been speaking with Victor Laval about Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House and about his new novel, Lone Women.”
“I've been speaking with Victor Laval about Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House and about his new novel lone women”