All Things Cease to Appear

A professor and his wife move from Brooklyn to an upstate New York farmhouse in 1979, unaware of the property's dark history. George Clare and his wife Catherine struggle to adjust to rural life while raising their young daughter, even as strange occurrences begin to surface in their new home. The story shifts between past and present, revealing the lives of the Hale family who previously owned the farm before meeting with tragedy. Through multiple perspectives and timelines, the connections between the Clare family and the Hales gradually emerge, exposing buried secrets and unresolved tensions. The novel combines elements of psychological suspense, ghost story, and murder mystery while exploring themes of marriage, class divides, and the weight of history on the present. Through its examination of two families bound by one property, the narrative considers how past violence echoes through generations and how place itself can hold memory.

Readers highlight the atmospheric writing and intricate character development in this literary thriller. Many note the detailed portrayal of rural New York life and the effective use of multiple timelines to build tension. Likes: - Rich psychological depth of characters - Integration of art history themes - Nuanced exploration of marriage dynamics - Strong sense of place - Complex narrative structure Dislikes: - Slow pacing, especially in first third - Too many character perspectives - Unsatisfying resolution for some plot threads - Religious themes feel heavy-handed to some readers One reader called it "a ghost story that's more about the haunting of guilt than actual spirits." Another noted "the characters stay with you long after finishing." Ratings: Goodreads: 3.8/5 (16,000+ ratings) Amazon: 4.1/5 (1,200+ ratings) LibraryThing: 3.7/5 (300+ ratings) The book generated stronger reviews from readers who prefer character-driven narratives over traditional thrillers.

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🔹 Elizabeth Brundage drew inspiration from actual events, including a 1982 murder case in Rensselaer County, New York, though she significantly transformed the story for her novel. 🔹 The novel interweaves elements of Gothic literature with the real-world philosophy of Emanuel Swedenborg, an 18th-century Swedish scientist and theologian who wrote extensively about the afterlife. 🔹 The farmhouse central to the story is based on a real property in Cambridge, New York, where Brundage herself lived for several years while teaching at nearby Skidmore College. 🔹 The book was adapted into the 2021 Netflix film "Things Heard & Seen," starring Amanda Seyfried and James Norton, though the adaptation made significant changes to the original story. 🔹 While writing the novel, Brundage conducted extensive research into dairy farming and the economic challenges faced by small farms in upstate New York during the 1970s and 1980s.