This is quite possibly the strangest novel I've ever read. "The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond Of Matches" was written in the first person perspective of one of two siblings who wake up one morning to discover they're father has dies, leaving them orphaned and alone. They have no first hand knowledge of the world outside of the sprawling property they live on, but by reading "dictionaries" the unnamed narrator has created a dense language made of strange, often old-fashioned phrases and words that evoke the meanings, even if they aren't correct. The descriptions take some concentration to unravel. The plot follows a trip into the nearby town to find a "pine suit" to bury the father in, despite never having visited it. Some discoveries are made that change the narrator's world, before returning home to find brother has gone slowly insane. Many secrets are revealed as the pages fly by, so I don't want to delve into the plot too much more than that.
But the writing is so very odd. I don't know if it is brilliant or just showy, but I almost couldn't get past the first couple pages. Then I was so sucked into it, I couldn't stop. The heartbreaking conclusion makes it worth the difficulties you may encounter in the wild narrative style. I wouldn't recommend it to the casual reader, but Gaeten Soucy might be up your alley if you want something different.
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