House of Stairs

Product Information

My Barbara Vine favourites are Asta´s Book, A Dark-Adapted Eye and The Chimney Sweeper´s Boy, but most of them are really good, actually. If you ever see any articles or blog posts suggesting to read this while at the same time mentioning The Hunger Games, ignore House of Stairs and read The Hunger Games if you haven't already.

This book is recommended for 9-12 year olds, however, I think it might be a bit intense for the younger side of this group, and I, as an adult, thoroughly enjoyed Slater's treatment of this psychological horror. HOUSE OF STAIRS reflects Cold War fears that the government was conducting dehumanizing experiments on human beings to advance the war effort.It levels some pretty harsh accusations about human nature, not just regarding the kids in the house of stairs, but also regarding the people who put them there.

Lola tells the others how, after stealing a car that breaks down, she had to keep ducking back into the stopped vehicle for a breath of filtered air so she wouldn't expire from the pollution before the highway police rounded her up.

I do love unreliable narrators, but, my, when you keep company with a narrator who is blazingly honest about his hopes, fears, shortcomings etc and shows the reader his wonderful heart, you just surrender and go along for the anxious ride. Normal life starts in the front room downstairs with innocent Auntie watching television, with Bell being her unlikely companion. The story’s confinement within the unsettling structure and its true character responses makes House of Stairs a truly timeless piece of fiction.