Mark's Reviews > Mosaic

Folk horror and cosmic horror are two of my favorite subgenres, and Catherine McCarthy combines them to chilling effect in this novella.

Mosaic follows the story of Robin, a young woman hired to restore a stained glass window for a mysterious church. What comes next is a slow-building tale of dread as Robin searches for the hidden background of the place.

For me, it’s always characters that take precedence over plot, and in Mosaic there are plenty of interesting people to meet. Many of the villagers give off a Wicker Man vibe, in that “small town, something is just off about them” way. As for the main character, I thought it was a great choice to have her family background (in the form of memories and flashbacks) be such a large part of the tale; it gave depth to her character and tied thematically to the conclusion. The only part I didn’t like was a moment when a person from Robin’s past showed up near the end. It felt unnecessary and somewhat forced. But that section was over quickly, and therefore had little bearing on my general enjoyment.

As I’ve come to expect from this author, the writing style is atmospheric without being dense, and the prose is lovely without being purple. Truly, McCarthy’s ability to walk that line between literary and genre fiction is masterful, and will appeal to readers on either side of the fence. Additionally, the story is told in present tense, which lends itself well to the way events unfold.

Where the book might prove divisive is that it leans heavily into the Lovecraftian corner of cosmic horror. It’s hard to discuss without major spoilers, but let’s just say McCarthy eschewed the creation of her own mythos in favor of an existing fictional framework. This didn’t really bother me, but considering how much Lovecraft has fallen out of favor in the past decade, some readers might be turned off by what feels like an homage (as opposed to other books which are more critical retellings/subversions of Lovecraft, like The Ballad of Black Tom).

The ending was short and cruel, as one might expect from this type of story. Those familiar with the tropes of cosmic horror will be able to tell (mostly) where the story is going early on. In fact, there’s even a line in the first chapter that foreshadows it. But the very ending was a twist I didn’t see coming. At first glance it might seem like an unhappy conclusion, but upon further reflection it reveals a theme of empowerment for a character who didn’t have such a thing in their previous life.

Overall, a great addition to McCarthy’s growing body of work, helping to cement her place as one of the most exciting writers in the current field of dark fiction