A new mother becomes obsessed with the noisy neighbor upstairs that may be children's author Margaret Wise Brown. A haunting and relatable read for mothers. For readers of Sheila Heti and Megan O'Connell's "And Now We Have Everything."

Thank you very much to Netgalley and the author for the ARC in return for my honest review.

This isn't really the type of book I read and I couldn't get all that into it. I finished it but it wasn't a "Omg I can't wait to finish this" type of book.

I have to give Julia Fine props for tackling a tough subject of PPD. I just don't think it came off as well as it could have!

The Upstairs House
My thanks to #NetGalley for this eBook in exchange for an honest review. Hauntingly unsettling, this story of postpartum psychosis, self-reflection, and an unfinished dissertation on a famous children’s author. Finding herself alone with her new baby, unsure how to begin her new life as a mother, Megan befriends the woman living upstairs . . . where there was no upstairs before. The woman turns out to be Margaret Wise Brown, the subject of Megan’s dissertation, and who had died nearly fifty years prior. Their friendship is complicated by the appearance of Michael, Margaret’s controlling lesbian lover. Scary and compelling, this is a book that brings to light the horrors of postpartum depression . . . literally. A terrifying read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"How would I hide from a part of myself?"

Some mothers take to their newborns as soon as their baby meets their chest. Some mothers find it difficult to connect for a time, needing to get used to caring for their child outside the womb before they begin to feel comfortable. And another set of mothers lose themselves amidst all the crying, sleeplessness, and constant feeding, wondering if they love their baby or just feel compelled to keep them alive.

Megan is one of the latter, struggling constantly to do best by her daughter, Clara. Her thesis has been pushed aside for months, as has work of any kind. All she's expected to do is feed Clara, change Clara, and soothe Clara when she cries -- something that Megan cannot seem to enjoy.

What to do, then, when Megan meets a new, unexpected (and probably ghostly) neighbor? And what to do after that neighbor lets in a poltergeist with far more demands and anger than Megan can keep up with?

This is the crux of Julia Fine's magnificent story, but Fine reaches further to investigate feelings of failure surrounding motherhood, hysteria from a woman's perspective, toxic relationships that persist beyond the grave, what constitutes art, choosing between a career and a family, and the all-too-haunting realities of post-partum depression and (perhaps) psychosis. The all-too-real vies for space with the speculative, building complexity matched by the main character herself as she grows into her own version of motherhood that, despite the interruptions from the dead, remains fully grounded in reality.

Pick up this book. Begin to read. And prepare to keep turning pages, madly hoping to understand the haunt and its mysteries.

I did not like this book. That’s hard for me to say but it was difficult and painful to read. I understand the author’s attempt to educate us on PPD but not liking the main character is a deal breaker for me. Many women will appreciate the effort but not those of us who have actually lost children. How strange to use a children’s book author and her lover as “ghosts”. I read in the acknowledgement how Ms. Fine hoped people would continue learning about the two and their lives but they were such horrible characters in the book who would want to? And MWB is one of my all time favorites. Her Runaway Bunny was one of my son’s favorites. I think this was just too edgy for me. Not knowing if Megan would decide to kill her baby. Ugh. Really hard to finish. Sorry.

This book wasn't what I expected. When I read the summary I saw the words ghost and haunting and was expecting a horror novel. As a children's librarian, I liked the chapters from Megan's dissertation discussing Margaret Wise Brown's support in the rise of children's literature at the beginning of the 20th century. The other chapters about Megan's postpartum are distressing because her husband and sister aren't aware of what's going on. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Megan recently had a baby, Clara, and is suffering from hallucinations and postpartum depression. She doesn't feel bonded to Clara but tries to convince herself and others that everything is fine (while dealing with being "haunted" by the subject of her dissertation, Margaret Wise Brown, and Margaret's lover, Michael Strange). This book offers some historical perspective (both Wise Brown and Strange were real people) while addressing the pressures new mothers face and the struggle of dealing with a newborn in the face of mental health challenges.
Overall this book is a compelling read.

A new mother finds a secret door in the building she and her family share with another occupant. Behind the door she discovers none other than Margaret Wise Brown, of "The Runaway Bunny" fame. This novel blends magical realism with psychological suspense and women's issues.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A young doctoral student finds herself sharing space with two famous writers. She is ensnared into their personal drama, and it affects her own life. The story line was compelling.

I highly recommend this novel.

I will write a fuller review for a publication, most likely, but honestly this novel blew me away.

Motherhood horror isn't a genre I knew I needed, but I do. Add under-explored literary figures in the mix? Yes. All this, plus the extraordinary writing style.

5/5. Wonderful.

Book Review for The Upstairs House by Julia Fine
Full review for this title can be found at: @fyebooks on Instagram!

A unique and quirky look at one woman's struggle with postpartum psychosis, new motherhood and fitting in her doctoral thesis. Naturally melancholic, the book doesn't shy away from the realities of the hard early days of motherhood, nor the terror of postpartum psychosis. However, utilizing a clever literary technique, the author employs the life and stories of Margaret Wise Brown to meet her protagonist in her psychosis. It's a genius premise and one that the author manages to execute better in some places more than others.

3.5
I think my expectations for this book were too high. I got sucked in at the beginning and then found myself getting depressed while reading it. So dark and sad. I love books that feature Margaret Wise Brown and found this braid of Brown, Megan's dissertation and post-partum a great mix, just to scary for me.

Terrifying and unsettling the whole way through, I couldn’t stop reading. Megan’s experience with postpartum psychosis and self-reflection feels genuine and is so well-written that it’s impossible not to feel concern and fear for her. The inclusion of Margaret Wise Brown adds an interesting and educational (for me, at least) layer that bibliophiles will appreciate and helps to elevate this to much more than ‘just another ghost story’.

WOW! What an interesting interesting blend of genre and style. Part historical biography of Margaret Wise Brown, part psychological analysis of those suffering from postpartum psychosis. I thoroughly enjoyed this, though felt a bit of disappointment with the ending.

This is a bizarre and unsettling story about a woman unraveling in the midst of postpartum depression. After giving birth, Megan is struggling with her new child and the guilt over not finishing her dissertation on children’s lit. Enter a new neighbor, the ghost of children’s author Margaret Wise Brown who wants to settle things left undone during her life. While the subject of postpartum depression is one that needs more attention and I admire Fine’s attempt, this book was just too scattered and odd for me to enjoy