An original coming-of-age novella with a melancholic and idyllic touch that discovers young love through a haunted house. 

• Originality factor: ★★★★★
• Psychological factor: ★★★★★
• Symbolic factor: ★★★★★
• Coming of age factor: ★★★★★
• Haunted house factor: ★★★★★

A House at the Bottom of a Lake is an exploration of young love, of things that will pass, of magical moments, a magical summer, and a magical house. It’s a story of magical realism, symbolism, melancholia, and being young and being open to unusual things. 

It consists of 118 pages.

Plot

17-Year-old James asks 17-year-old Amelia out in the store where he works and he has an original date in mind. He lends the green canoe from his uncle and together they go out canoeing on the lake. But James knows a better place then this lake, there’s a second lake that’s much quieter and then they even discover a third lake. To get there they have to go through a small tunnel. But after they went through it, a beautiful tranquil lake awaits them. A lake they have all for themselves. They have lunch and it’s a great first date. 

But then they discover something in the water. It’s a house. A house at the bottom of the lake. They dive in and swim to the house and even go inside for a bit and what they see is astonishing. 

They decide to go back as soon as they can to discover more of the house. So they bring a raft to tie it to the house and diving gear so they can spend more time inside the house. Because the house is fully furnished. And not only that, all the furniture is right where it should, be, or better said, where it shouldn’t be. Because nothing is floating inside. It’s as if they are in a normal house, except under water. But the house isn’t unoccupied. Something is down there with them. 

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Short review

Although the title might suggest it’s a haunted house story, and the house itself isn’t normal and even haunted with a presence, it’s a coming-of-age story. It’s a story about two young people who fall in love for the first time and spend a magical summer together at an idyllic lake with a magical house. It’s so special that it was doomed from the start, but is it? 

A house often represents the self, the inner core of a person. It’s a metaphor for both James and Amelia who are on a journey to discover each other, by discovering the house. It’s also a metaphor of a summer so special, so intimate, that it can never be found in the real world. It’s a story about growing up, about maybe the last summer they can spend as young adults, instead of adults with responsibilities, with college and without each other. 

It’s a story that often feels as exciting and new as melancholic. Everybody knows that a summer someday must end. That summer love probably ends with the end of summer. But sometimes something that magical can also exist in the actual world. It’s an original story, with an original ending. 

“It was wax, Amelia thought. We could have shaped it into anything we wanted it to be.” 

A quote that perfectly captures the story. 

With a beautiful writing style, that reels you in, the story often feels like a dream and is often very poetic. The haunted house part isn’t that scary, but has an ominous atmosphere, and it makes you as curious as James and Amelia who are still young enough to be open for extraordinary things. The discovery of the house is exciting and fascinating and the presence is intriguing. They try to find out what this house is, and what’s inside but it’s all about the journey itself that brings them wisdom. You can feel the idyllic lake, the peacefulness, the silence, and it can take you back to special moments you yourself had at that age. Although it probably wasn’t exploring a haunted house in a lake.

A House at the Bottom of a Lake captures perfectly the magical time of summer and first love of discovering written in a wonderful idyllic style.