The Saturday Night Ghost Club: A Novel

by Craig Davidson

A short, infectious, and bittersweet coming-of-age story in the vein of Stranger Things and Stand by Me about a group of misfit kids who spend an unforgettable summer investigating local ghost stories and urban legends. Finalist for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.

When neurosurgeon Jake Baker operates, he knows he's handling more than a patient's delicate brain tissue--he's altering the seat of consciousness, the golden vault of memory. And memory, Jake knows well, can be a tricky, quicksilver thing.
     When growing up in 1980s Niagara Falls, a.k.a. Cataract City--a seedy but magical, slightly haunted place--one of Jake's closest confidantes was his uncle Calvin, a sweet but eccentric misfit enamored of occult artefacts and outlandish conspiracy theories. The summer Jake turned twelve, Calvin invited him to join the "Saturday Night Ghost Club"--a seemingly light-hearted project to investigate some of Cataract City's more macabre urban myths. Over the course of that life-altering summer, Jake not only met his lifelong best friend and began to imagine his own future, he came to realize that his uncle's preoccupation with chilling legends sprang from something so painful, and buried so deep, that Calvin himself was unaware of the source.
     From the Scotiabank Giller Prize-nominated author of Cataract City and bestselling memoir Precious Cargo, here is a note-perfect novel that poignantly examines the fragility of mind and body, the resilience of the human spirit--and the haunting mutability of memory.

• ISBN10: 0735274843
• ISBN13: 9780735274846
• Publish Date: 16 April 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: CA
• Imprint: Vintage Canada
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 272
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/isbn/9780735274846

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of The Saturday Night Ghost Club in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Saturday Night Ghost Club is a unique blending of genres, perfect for fans of the supernatural and coming of age themes. It doesn't fit perfectly into either category, though it pulls elements from both. The end result is something heartwarming, bone-chilling, and everything in between.
The story follows Jake Baker – a kid who lives in a small town who is willing to believe in anything. Which is great, because his uncle has a series of adventures that he needs company for. But the adventures have an unexpectedly dark tone, and it's only over time that the truth behind it all is revealed.
The description of The Saturday Night Ghost Club says that this novel is perfect for fans of Stranger Things and Stand By Me. Having read it? I wholeheartedly agree with this assessment.


Warnings: The Saturday Night Ghost Club has some dark turns inside. There are descriptions of sad or graphic deaths, and some implications of events that transpired before death. Nothing is bluntly stated (remember, the main character is a kid)...but you can still tell what really happened.
The Saturday Night Ghost Club is a novel that I gobbled up. The pacing kept me invested, while the tone left me anxiously awaiting the next big reveal. It was impossible to put down – I was certain that something dramatic was going to happen right around the corner. And I wasn't wrong.
This story is mainly told through two points in time. Both are told like the present, and both are from the main character, Jake Baker's perspective. One is a child version of the character, while the other is the adult form. At first, this may have felt a bit odd, but as the story progressed I understood the purpose of it. And I have to admit that it was very well done.
The tension in this novel...it was palpable. It hung in the air, even when there wasn't anything tense actually occurring. I absolutely loved that about it. In that sense, I can really see why it was compared to Stranger Things.
The coming of age tale was poignant. Here we have a young boy, Jake, who's never been very good at standing up for himself. But what he excels at is also his greatest weakness: his imagination. He's willing to believe anything. Which sometimes results in having the wits scared out of himself. I was a child with an overactive imagination, so I really sympathized with little Jake.
Jake's growing awareness of the world around him was gradual, but you could clearly see it happening through the course of the novel. His experiences may have been unique, but they'll still resonate with many readers.
All of the tension was balanced out with a few moments that made me laugh out loud. I'm not sure if they were supposed to make me laugh – but they did. And I'm grateful for that. Sometimes you just need those moments.
I'm so happy I had the opportunity to read The Saturday Night Ghost Club. It was truly unique, and even when the story fades from my memory, I'm sure the tone and overall impression will linger with me for quite some time.


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