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Model Home

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Model Home

By: Rivers Solomon
Narrated by: Gabby Beans
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About this listen

'Intense, original, and wonderfully unpredictable . . . Model Home is a story of a haunted house and haunted people; profound family secrets lie at the heart of this book as well as, surprisingly, blessedly, meaningful touches of love and hope. Rivers Solomon is an astonishingly talented writer.' Victor LaValle, author of Lone Women


‘A startling reimagination of the haunted-house genre. The twists and turns are carefully drawn, with the tension mounting toward a shocking end . . . With this exhilarating and unforgettable work, Solomon proves to be a formidable writer.’ Kirkus

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Two bodies lie in the garden of a sprawling property in Oak Creek Estate, a wealthy gated community in Dallas, Texas.

The bodies belong to the parents of Ezri, Eve and Emmanuel, who have long since abandoned the childhood home in which their parents remained all these years. A home that has haunted and hollowed them throughout their lives, in a neighbourhood where they grew up as the only Black family, hoping to survive a place that wanted to claim them, expel them and ruin them all at once.

In the wake of their parents’ death, Ezri and their siblings are forced to confront the reasons they left, the nightmares that have held them captive and the possibility that realities exist beyond those that have forged them.

Bold and tender, Model Home is powerful meditation on the power of memory, loss and identity.

Praise for Sorrowland:

“A wonderland of fantastical and frightening, magical and real.” Marlon James
“A fantastical, fierce reckoning... Sorrowland is gorgeous.” Roxanne Gay
“Dark, magical and incredibly satisfying.” Independent
“An exhilarating journey to the outer limits of science fiction.Guardian
"Intense, original and wonderfully unpredicatable." Victor LaVelle

Family Life Genre Fiction Ghosts Horror Literary Fiction Haunted

Critic reviews

‘A startling reimagination of the haunted-house genre. The twists and turns are carefully drawn, with the tension mounting toward a shocking end … With this exhilarating and unforgettable work, Solomon proves to be a formidable writer.’ (.)
'A profoundly haunting work of true horror from one of the greatest writers working today.' (author of Just Like Home and Magic for Liars)
'Fueled by unreliable narrator Ezri’s grief, Solomon’s (Sorrowland, 2021) lyrical slow burn is a disquieting and disorienting rumination on heavy themes including racism, mental illness, gender dysphoria, and sexual abuse. The ambiguity of Ezri’s reflections will keep readers turning the pages to find out what really happened to the Maxwell siblings, whose traumatic childhoods continue to haunt them long after they leave home. Solomon’s genre-defying achievement subverts and reclaims the tropes of the gothic haunted house to create something wholly original and unforgettable.' (Kaitlin Conner)
'This is easily one of the best books I’ve read in the last five or so years. Beastly storytelling from page one. Moving. Gnawing. Alive. Complete with claws and a heart and lungs in it. Consider me sucked in! My favorite part of this work doubles as a kind of spoiler: its genius does not, even for the sake of mercy, relent.'
'A stylish, simmering novel about identity, race and family secrets.’ (iNews)
'A disturbing, brilliantly twisty psychological horror exploring family dynamics, memory, gender identity and sexuality.' (Lisa Tuttle)
All stars
Most relevant
This is a hard hitting novel that presents real horrors of the world/life alongside the trope of the haunted house. It is bleak, it is depressing, it’s exploration of some of the hardest topics to cover in a way that is delivered with blunt realism. If you can relate to any of the topics within (trying not to spoil) then it will likely have a profound effect on you. Where the novel let me down I suppose is like many when it comes to the stories of people of colour. Rarely are we gifted a total satisfaction with retribution/justice achieved in a way that we are perhaps used to seeing elsewhere. This is less about the need for a happy ending and more about the complex desire in believing taking the high road isn’t always a positive end. I suppose that complexity comes in from being frustrated at that approach but ultimately knowing in the grand sense of things that it is the only true form of progression. But, I do feel there was scope within the genre and setting to have pushed the boat out a little. Where there is trauma in life sometimes catharsis comes from the fictional endings in the media we consume. Nevertheless, a phenomenal book!!

Fantastically bleak

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The magic, the anger, the joy and the sheer humanness of this book is so profound. The performance was magnificent, and the writing is true beauty. couldn't recommend this enough

Heart Breakingly and Heart Warmingly beautiful

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This is a well-narrated story of grief, racism, generational trauma, abuse and more featuring trans and neurodivergent characters. There are definitely plenty of triggers in this book but it is also an excellent and haunting story of love and family

Unexpected horrors

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This book was beautifully written, some scenes were outstanding. I enjoyed it until I realised there was never going to be any (haunted house) it was all a metaphor and that's just it. Beautifully written, touching scenes but not for me. This is not horror, I'm a horror reader but this is excellent for anyone dealing with gender issues. Certainly an eye opener, will definitely check out any actual horror from this author cause, man they can write! I'm just here for spooks and this was far to depressing g. Outstanding in parts but just not my scene.

Not what I thought

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