Have you ever read the synopsis for a book and thought “This book was written for me“? That’s how I felt when I heard about The Upstairs House by Julia Fine which comes out February 23, 2021.

“A provocative meditation on new motherhood—Shirley Jackson meets The Awakening—in which a postpartum woman’s psychological unraveling becomes intertwined with the ghostly appearance of children’s book writer Margaret Wise Brown.“

Pulled from the Goodreads Synopsis

Megan is in the middle of her PhD when she takes maternity leave for the birth of her first child. As she struggles with postpartum depression her half written dissertation comes to the life in the form of a ghost upstairs. The ghost is none other than famed Children’s Book author Margaret Wise Brown. While Megan’s husband travels for work she is left to balance new motherhood, guilt about her unfinished thesis, and the supernatural haunting of Brown and her former lover Michael Strange.

The text mixes Megan’s present day with historical flashbacks to Margaret Wise Brown’s life that read like a biography. We also get bits of Megan’s thesis which I found fascinating and wish existed so I could read it in full. Even as someone who got a masters in Children’s Literature, I knew little about Brown’s life and the pressure she felt from Strange to become a “real writer” instead of a writer of children’s books. As Megan works to make sense of her life and motherhood she mulls over her dissertation; contemplating language development, modernist literature and how Margaret Wise Brown fit into the landscape of children’s literature.

Bank Street’s founder, Lucy Sprague Mitchell, claimed that young children experimented with language regardless of meaning, that when meaning did come, it was in service of their own insular experience. I liked this: language as selfishness, language as categorization. An intangible sound making the tangible world real

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One thing I found really interesting is how I felt towards the main character while I read the book. Knowing I would review this book afterwards, I felt keenly aware of the frustrating parts of Megan’s personality. I wondered how others would read her, if they would find her inner monologue unlikeable or her actions inexcusable. Would they get annoyed that she doesn’t just ask for help when she needs it?

But I think all of the back and forth readers may feel about Megan is exactly what the book is trying to do. It forced me to take a step back and question why I think I would or could handle this situation any differently. In my imagined discussions with people who might get annoyed by her, I felt defensive of Megan and her actions. I’ve never had a child nor have I experienced postpartum depression, yet the things Megan goes through feel so relatable. The self doubt, the lack of control; feeling as though your body and your time and your thoughts are no longer your own. Yes, there is a ghost story element to this story, which some may or may not find relatable, but the haunting Megan experiences and the visceral fears that come up in the months after having her first child feel so real. Highly recommend this read!

If you enjoy character driven, introspective books I think this is a great option for you. I don’t think I’ve read a book quite like this that mixes mystery, horror, biography and history. But here are some read a-likes that feature themes of mystery, horror & fantasy as well as motherhood, mental health & social isolation.