“Stella Wallace met her family’s god when she was nine years old. Later, she couldn’t figure out why she didn’t run when she saw it. It wasn’t fear that pinned her to the spot, staring up at it, or even shock. It was something else. Awe, maybe. Wonder so deep it was almost adoration,” (Gregory 1).
At nine-years old Stella is sent to live with her grandmother, Motty, in Tennessee. When wandering into a nearby cavern, she meets her family’s god and learns of the special role she has in her family and their church. Year later, after fleeing a tragic incident, Stella is now a bootlegger who returns home for Motty’s funeral and to check on her ten year old cousin Sunny that Motty adopted. Sunny seems like a normal enough girl, but she is stronger than Stella ever was at her age, and the other members are eager to introduce Sunny to their god.
Do you know how it feels to read one of the greatest books ever written that no one has talked about that you found on a whim on a BookTok slideshow giving read-a-likes for your favourite show, Midnight Mass, and being skeptical but deciding to read it anyways and not only discovering that it is indeed a fantastic read-a-like but it’s also one of the greatest books ever written?
Well, you’re about to.
Revelator is, simply put, a masterpiece. I cannot say enough good things about it. Gregory describes such a bleak but beautiful setting in the backwoods of Tennessee and Stella is a fantastic protagonist to follow. She’s flawed, and not everyone is going to agree with all the decisions she makes, but I adored her. Gregory writes with a Southern Gothic style, and he doesn’t give anything away. The book does flip back and forth from 1933, when nine-year-old Stella first moves in with her grandmother, and 1948 when a twenty-five year old Stella returns for her grandmother’s funeral and to check on her mysterious cousin Sunny.
The pacing is fantastic, the religious horror so eerie and really getting to the heart of fanaticism. And as someone who can usually piece together a story pretty easily Revelator shocked me again and again, I could not predict what was going to happen in the best possible way! And the ending, THE ENDING! One of the BEST endings for a book I have ever read, I want more but when something is already perfect, why sully it?
Revelator is a sleeper hit of a book, please don’t miss out on it! I read it as an eBook but I am buying a physical copy because it is just that good. A slow build of horror with a fantastic payoff, Revelator is a book you don’t want to miss out on!
Publication: August 31 2021
Publisher: Vintage
Pages: 352 pages (Digital)
Source: Library
Genre: Fiction, Religious Horror, Gothic
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤⛤⛤
Summary:
In 1933, nine-year-old Stella is left in the care of her grandmother, Motty, in the backwoods of Tennessee. These remote hills of the Smoky Mountains are home to dangerous secrets, and soon after she arrives, Stella wanders into a dark cavern where she encounters the family’s personal god, an entity known as the Ghostdaddy.
Years later, after a tragic incident that caused her to flee, Stella–now a professional bootlegger–returns for Motty’s funeral, and to check on the mysterious ten-year-old girl named Sunny that Motty adopted. Sunny appears innocent enough, but she is more powerful than Stella could imagine–and she’s a direct link to Stella’s buried past and her family’s destructive faith.
Sarah O'Connor 