Review: Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas (2020)

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To the outside world, the college, Catherine House, is mysterious, even cult-like. Upon acceptance, it is a full ride with no tuition, room and board are included. But there is a catch. In return, for three years (including summers), the students give up all contact with the outside world: no emails, no social media, no mobile phones, no computers, no letters, no going home for the holidays, no personal possessions. Everything is provided including clothing, toiletries, and school supplies. Despite these strict requirements, Catherine House counts famous scientists, presidents, Supreme Court justices, artists among its successful alumni. It's also like Fight Club —the first rule of Catherine House is you don't talk about Catherine House — and Las Vegas —what happens at Catherine House stays at Catherine House.

The college doesn’t police student behavior — unless it affects their academic standing — and wine and condoms are readily available. So it’s three years of rigorous academics, fueled by sex and alcohol. The school was probably once elegant but is now shabby and run down, peeling wallpaper, leaks, falling apart really.

Into this world comes Ines, a young woman with a troubled history. She has no idea why she was accepted after the rigorous selection process which involves interviews up to eight hours long. She’s probably suffering from a form of PTSD. Ines has a rebellious streak and doesn’t care to follow the status quo. She is particularly curious about the highly desired New Materials curriculum and wants to find out what’s happening within its locked labs. Ines also seems to have the attention of the cool, aloof, enigmatic director, Viktória. As the story moves through each year, the reader, and Ines, begin to wonder why she is at Catherine House. And why is Viktória so interested in Ines.

Whew, is that vague enough for you? There is much more I wanted to write but I didn’t want to give too much away. It’s better for the reader to watch things unfold. I would put the book in the "weird school/things aren't as they seem" genre. There is a gothic feel and a thin mist of horror at play here. With a change in viewpoint and direction Thomas could have a full-on horror story. I hope she does write another book in the Catherine House universe. Actually, I can easily see a trilogy worth of material here.

Catherine House is a first person narrative from the viewpoint of Ines. I know a lot of readers don’t care for the use of first person but it is necessary here. The reader has to see things from the narrow perspective of Ines, to only know what Ines knows otherwise you lose the fun of discovery. Most of the book is about Ines adjusting to life at Catherine House, coming to terms with her past, building relationships — basically Ines’ psychological development. But throughout the story, there are mysteries of Catherine House hovering around the edges.

I think the pacing is effective and doesn’t lag. Ines can be maddening but that works toward building her character. Thomas spaces out new information as Ines goes from the first through third years with the tension and suspense building in the third year.

This is Thomas’ debut novel and it’s a terrific launch for her career as a novelist. I hope to see another book from her soon. She is a real talent.

Keywords: fictional colleges, suspense novels, college life in fiction, weird colleges