I haven’t read Sarai Walker’s first novel Dietland, nor watched the series based on it, but I know it has been described as “genre bending” and as “part-Fight Club, part feminist manifesto”. The Cherry Robbers shows the same enthusiasm for upending genre expectations to convey a strong feminist message. The novel is, in fact, a send-up of the Gothic novel which incorporates tropes of the genre even while comically subverting them.

The narrator and protagonist in The Cherry Robbers is eighty-year-old lesbian painter Sylvia Wren. After a career spent in and inspired by New Mexico and its landscape, Sylvia is a respected, well-known – and well-off – figure, even though she lives like a recluse and avoids publicity like a plague. And for good reason too. Sylvia has a well-kept secret. She is actually Iris Chapel, the second youngest of six daughters of an arms magnate, brought up in a palatial mansion in Connecticut. When a journalist threatens to reveal this early chapter in her life, Sylvia/Iris decides to face her past and write down her memories of childhood and youth.

Albeit largely left to their own devices by their distant father and their eccentric mother (prey to visions of the victims of weapons manufactured by the Chapel factories), the six sisters lead a privileged life in each other’s company. When the eldest daughter becomes engaged to a dashing young man, her mother entreats her to cancel the wedding, prophesying tragedy. Hardly anyone believes the mother’s rants, but tragedy does strike, in the most melodramatic of ways, after the wedding night. History keeps repeating itself for the other sisters, a sure sign that not only is the Chapel mansion haunted, but the family itself also seems struck by a curse. Will Iris manage to outrun it?

The Cherry Robbers reads like a version of The Virgin Suicides in which the voyeuristic male gaze of that novel’s rather morbid narrator is substituted with the voice of a feisty, self-deprecating, feminist heroine. Walker’s novel is best approached as a deliberately OTT creation, painted in garish colours, with little attempt at nuance. The central metaphor of the novel is hardly subtle. All the male suitors are cartoonish, cardboard figures. So are, up to a point, the Chapel sisters who readily sacrifice themselves to them. Yet, the novel is still successful in its combination of comedy and horror, providing a refreshing take on well-worn Gothic tropes.

3.5*

trigger warning
<spoiler> mention of infanticide, hospitalisation, mental illness, trauma, grief, misogyny, forced marriage, child neglect </spoiler>

Everybody thinks their mother just is weird and/or mentally unstable as she predicts terrible things to come shortly before her eldest daughter's marriage. Only Iris, the second youngest, believes her.

We have two timelines:
- 2017, a reclusive artist gets intrusive messages by a journalist, hinting she found out about all of it
- 1950, six daughters growing up together in their parents' mansion, paid for by the money earned through selling firearms

From the beginning, there is this contant dread going on and you know there will be disaster, but not which form it will take.
And from the beginning, we know that the six sisters are unhappy with their cloistered life. They're neglected by their parents, their father thinking it's a womans job - well, in the 1950-ies it was - and the mother simply not caring and staring into space. The servants, a cook and a housekeeper, try to help out as much as needed, but they can't replace two people who are physically there.

There is this weird thing where the sisters could potentially get everything due to their wealth, but in fact, don't. They go to school, maybe have piano lessons, and are only allowed to meet a few approved friends. So they grow even tighter, which makes leaving even harder.

In general, this book reminds me a bit of Lemony Snicket, or rather the "this book is very gloomy, if you don't want to read that, look away".

It appears I devoured it in two sittings and will make sure to look up Dietland by the same author.
I can't really say I enjoyed my read, because it was dark and grim and full of tension, but on the other hand, it was exactly what I was promised and what I wanted.
It's always nice when those two match up.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

I did enjoy this book, at first. It is written really well. The detail and descriptions in the book really drew me in. The mystery behind the curse was thrilling and heartbreaking at the same time. These were girls that I grew to adore in the few chapters they were in. My issue came after I put the book down and thought about it for a minute. The message behind the curse left a sour taste in my mouth. I do not want to put spoilers into the review, but it has been said on other reviews that I read. I wanted to make sure it was not just something I picked up on. For that, I had to knock it a star. Overall, it was beautifully written with compelling characters and a not-so-great message.

This is my first time reading an explicitly feminist and lesbian book so I was very curious. I love gothic novels and magical realism, and I’m a woman, so I expected to enjoy the ride.
The writing is fantastic, the pace, the slow building dread with the imminent foreshadowing, tense atmosphere, looming terrors, the notion of tethering on the brink of change… I loved it. But the message felt dated, like the aggressive feminism of the 70s, like no men in the world can possibly be a decent human being. I guess I hadn’t expected that. In general I don’t like black/white portrayals of the world.
I grew a little tired of meeting every single male character and wondering: how is this one going to be disappointing?
Given the nature of the family curse I think this was overkill. I thought that said a lot already and was such an intriguing idea… but to me it needed more fleshing out and complexity and less agenda. I felt like the book lost a lot of its heart to the profit of a slogan… and I hate being preached too, no matter how good the message is.
So I feel a little at a loss, the writing was good, the story gripped me but I ended growing tired of the ride, probably because it was a little repetitive. I think I would feel the same about a book with a political or religious agenda. This would be a 3.5 stars for me.

Well, this is a cool one. Maybe my new favourite.
The book starts with our protagonist, old and in 2017. At first I was confused about how she was talking about herself, like if she was super different from the rest. Two chapters later I realized that's completely justified.
When I tell you I do not cry usually while reading, I mean it, but this one broke me. I felt the frustration, nostalgia, sadness... I didn't need the author to tell me how Iris (the main character) felt, because I understood her completely. Going almost to the end, I would put less details about the paintings she's studying, but its not that annoying either.
And the end. I was so sad that the story, and eventually Iris life too, was ending...! I loved every character, every scenario, every page of the book.
Maybe some people could think that this book is some paranormal story and that's all, but it's anything like that. Yes, you won't know exactly how every tragedy happened, but that's what happens to the characters too. You are one more inside the story.
Im willing to see these book on libraries soon, I got the feeling that it may be a bestseller.

A delightfully gothic Autumn read with feminist undertones, I was pleasantly surprised by The Cherry Robbers. The reader is reminded of Rebecca, Sarah Winchester and Georgia O'Keefe in all the best ways.

Story of the book-
This is an account of a group of little girls and a curse. The story starts with Sylvia Wren, a widely acclaimed artist living in New Mexico. Sylvia gets a letter one day from a journalist who has been examining her life and finds that Sylvia probably won’t be who she said she is. Sylvia has been living furtively under her name for more than 60 years, however growing up she was known as Iris Chapel, of the acclaimed Chapel Rifle family. The book then speaks to 6 young ladies: Aster, Rosalind, Calla, Daphne, Irus, and Hazel (Zelie), all named after blossoms. They spend their childhood in CT in a hug house they call the wedding cake and are left to their gadgets. Their mom Belinda is exceptionally withdrawn from her children like she never wanted to be a mother or a spouse, and their dad is continually working. Furthermore, Belinda accepts unequivocally in apparitions and that the phantoms of individuals who kicked the bucket on account of the Chapel Rifle frequent they're home.

The young ladies are for the most part seen as weird people around as they mind their own business in their enormous house. The young ladies frequently talked about going out one day and getting away and Aster and Rosalind as the oldest among them are nearest to this reality. On a family excursion to Cape Cod one summer, Aster meets Mathew Maybrick, with whom she gets romantically attached. She eventually chooses to wed him. In this manner starts the fall of the Chapel sisters. As Aster draws nearer to her wedding date, Belinda starts to smell roses ad gets exceptionally sick, an indication of a terrible sign. She is persuaded that if Aster weds Mathew, something horrible will occur to her. The book follows the tale of these six sisters and their definitive destinies.

My review-
The author’s composing is alluring and would look at the reader’s internal serenity, making pressure inside them, the same as Sylvia Wren feels. I was on the edge through the vast majority of the book, battling Sylvia’s evil demons and attempting to discover answers to questions that are ultimately left unanswered, or better said, passed into the reader’s translation. Sylvia Wren, a mainstream women’s activist artist, has a dim mystery she isn’t who she professes to be and has figured out how to keep her shocking past covered until she is stood up to by a journalist who knows her genuine identity and needs to bring it out to the general population. This is a gothic story, a contemplation of sadness and endurance, and on a great deal of customary womanliness, the bounty is going on here yet it never feels like it is working under its plan. Furthermore, figuring out how to be both lovely and appalling turns out to be well throughout. It is outright amazing.

The composition is rich and each character is completely acknowledged. The casing story is of a more philosophical and passionate bowed. The story is flawless, yet I will concede I may have wanted all the more a startling horror stay outcome. This book felt like an investigation of the female brain and sexuality- on an excursion through the wild landscape of cultural standards and the view of the more attractive gender during the 1950s. The author figures out how to ingrain frightfulness in her readers- the repulsiveness of not being cherished, the tenseness that accompanies realizing that the readers will never perceive and will perpetually be restricted in the place where there is disliked and broken. There are horrors in this book however it’s onto the readers to choose whether these apparitions are genuine or inventions of creative mind made by sorrow, uneasiness, and long periods of concealment. I am taking as much time as necessary to retain the story and make my derivations, and it is beautiful.

My feelings about The Cherry Robbers are so torn. On the one hand, I couldn't put the book down. I loved the Victorian gothic tone and the tense feeling of doom throughout the story. The atmosphere the author built, as well as the relationship between the six sisters, was engrossing. On the other hand, I'm growing weary of all the recent "feminist" books treating male characters at best, as two-dimensional stereotypes unworthy of the female characters, and at worst, as controlling brutes that only want to stifle or hurt women. I would also have appreciated a heads up in the description about the book's focus on multiple lesbian relationships. My last issue with the book are all of the unanswered questions it left me with. I feel like I never got a satisfying conclusion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for access to this arc.

Absolutely excellent! I can’t wait to read Walker’s debut after adoring this one. Great for Shirley Jackson fans like me.

This is a good gothic ghost story, with a lot of foreboding and eerie atmospheres. The book is a real page turner, but it is not super scary. Walker's writing captures the story of a family home ensnared in tragedy very well.

Although this is noted to be a creepy novel, and there is the sense of that in the book, I found it to be more a book about sisterhood, and feminism and what was expected of young women and the way society viewed what their roles should be.

didn't expect to like this as much since it look a second to get into the plot but once the ball was rolling, i was hooked. the plot was so unique and i loved how sarai walker structured the uncovering of each detail (it felt like she was spreading out a bit rather than just dumping it)

it grapples with so many relevant themes that interest me (motherhood, feminism, relationships, grief, etc.) in an accessible and natural way. the prose was well written and it really able to shine once in the latter part of the book with the descriptions of art.

my one gripe was that there were some lags in the story that meandered too long between impactful plot points, in my opinion. especially in in the last section of the book. the pacing slowed way down and the weight of the events beforehand kind of fizzled out (if that makes sense).

other than that really enjoyed the story and thank you for the arc !

I found this book fascinating, intriguing and a bit strange. It was written beautifully and in an unexpected way. Iris's story is very compelling, heartbreaking, and honest. If you love stories that area but mysterious you'll love this book.

I'm a huge fan of the gothic genre, and the sort of revival that we've been seeing of the gothic within the contemporary scene has been very enjoyable for me. The Cherry Robbers is no exception. It's a beautifully constructed novel about femininity, sexuality, and grief. The Cherry Robbers follows the Chapel daughters, who are heiresses to the Chapel firearms fortune. But their story doesn't begin with them, it has always existed. We open with Sylvia Wren, a renowned, yet elusive artist living in New Mexico. We learn that she is, in fact, Iris Chapel, the fifth (of six) daughter of the Chapel family.

The majority of the novel is set as a flashback to when the six girls were growing up, and the fates that befell them. We learn that their father is very detached, and their mother, Belinda, never really wanted the life that she has. She's believed to be insane because she thinks that their house is haunted by the ghosts of people killed by the firearms produced by Chapel.

While there's not a lot of horror involved, the eerie atmosphere that Walker sets and maintains is extremely captivating. It took me a while to be fully engrossed because I wasn't sure of the direction the story would take at the beginning, but it's well wrapped-up with a very satisfying arc throughout.

4/5.

I really enjoyed this and it’s easily my favorite read this month. It’s described as a “feminist gothic ghost story.” The story was very different than anything I’ve read. It reminded me a little of We Have Always Lived in the Castle. It was very well written and full of symbolism and foreshadowing.

I received an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review

This book starts out a bit light and unfolds slowly into some deep water. The characters grown on you and you find yourself really feeling what they feel through the ups and downs. A feminist meditation on love and family and what they can do to women, not too sweet, not too sour.

I can not recommend this book enough! I read My Heart Is a Chainsaw in one day. This thriller/suspense book is one of best books of 2021.. I appreciate net gallery and selected publishers for this early copy

Wow. Just wow. I absolutely LOVED this novel! I'm a huge fan of Sarai Walker's writing. Her debut, "Dietland" was my favorite novel of 2015, and I've been eagerly awaiting her sophomore effort ever since. She did not disappoint. I love how the concept of feminism is weaved throughout this novel, just like "Dietland" - but it's completely different in plot and structure. "The Cherry Robbers" is an original, quirky, heartbreaking, and captivating novel from start to finish. I loved Sylvia/Iris as the protagonist. She was the perfect person to tell the tragic deaths of her 5 sisters. Part gothic ghost story, part feminist love letter. I loved the symbolism. The Chapel sisters stole/devoured/broke my heart. I loved everything about it. I was never bored, and I'm a VERY picky reader. All the stars! I hope this book becomes a bestseller when it is released next year. AN ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE.

Thank you, Netgalley and Mariner Books for the digital ARC.

Thank you for allowing me to enjoy this gothic and thoroughly enjoyable read. i loved Sarai Walker’s first book and was very excited to get to read this new one. I've never read anything similar to this and love how unique and different it is. In the best possible way. This author will definitely be an auto buy in future for me!

blurbed as a ‘gothic ghost story with a fiery feminist zeal,’ this book takes that description and runs with it, while adding some serious sarah winchester* vibes into the mix. this isn’t a horror novel, but it’s tense and dark in a way that draws you in slowly and then goes right for your throat.



*sarah winchester was the lady from the late 1800s/early 1900s who built that whacky mansion out in california because she was certain that the ghosts of everyone who’d been killed by a winchester rifle were out to get her.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, it took me a while to get into it but once I was in I was completely hooked. I really enjoyed the style of writing.