You Should Have Left by Daniel Kehlmann Review

A screenwriter goes to a house in the mountains with his family to write - but, oh no, the house is haunted and things goes bad!

Daniel Kehlmann’s take on The Shining You Should Have Left is another example of how difficult writing a good haunted house story is. At best his story is derivative but mostly it’s forgettable and dull.

Besides copying The Shining’s premise, the writer and his wife also have a strained relationship that only gets worse as the story progresses and there’s a sequence between the writer and his kid in the snow. Weird people appear in the house, the screenplay doesn’t go well and the house itself has strange angles to it that don’t measure up (a nod to Shirley Jackson’s Hill House).

The title is eye-catching and I liked the design of the book - it’s a dinky hardcover in ominous black and red. The occasional scene was sorta fun, like when the writer encounters locals at the grocery store and learns about the history of the property, and when the supernatural stuff starts happening in the house. I like the idea of the house as a prison. But none of these details are original, they just remind you why this horror sub-genre remains popular.

Kehlmann’s unable to make this story feel like his own and generally it’s unclear what’s going on or why and, coupled with the brevity of the novel, makes for an unmemorable narrative. A weak addition to horror lit - you shouldn’t bother with You Should Have Left.