Hello, readers. Today, let’s take a look at The Upstairs House, by Julia Fine, published in 2021. I’ll be honest, this book was not my cup of tea, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be yours.
The Upstairs House opens with Megan just home from the hospital with her new daughter, Clara. Megan quickly sinks into a quagmire of postpartum depression/psychosis. In the few hours of sleep she’s managing to get while breastfeeding Clara, she’s woken up by banging noises from an upper floor. Her husband and Clara don’t seem to hear anything, nor does the family dog.
One day, Megan decides to get some air on the roof and comes across a turquoise door in the stairwell. Inside, she finds Margaret Wise Brown, the (long-dead) author of the children’s book Goodnight Moon. Megan finds herself increasingly drawn to Margaret as a source of support. This becomes especially true when the ghost of Margaret’s erstwhile lover, Michael Strange, takes over Megan’s apartment. (Lots of M names to keep up with here, I know. I struggled too.)
Michael seems to have a bone to pick with Megan. I had a pretty continuous case of goosebumps as Megan reported ghostly encounters, such as all the stove burners turning on or someone unseen opening all the windows in the apartment. In one terrifying ordeal, Megan gets locked out on the balcony and has to signal a passing garbage truck to bring the fire department.
You might be wondering where Megan’s husband is during all these frantic events. Dear hubby is on a business trip at the start of the story, then decides to work from a coffee shop up the street when he returns to town. Megan’s sister checks in regularly throughout the book. Megan insists she’s fine, but it’s clear she’s not. Events continue to escalate inside the house and at other locations visited during the story, until a final hair-raising showdown between the three M’s and a crushing epilogue.
The Upstairs House focuses on the dark side of new motherhood. Megan shoulders much of the burden and only gets help after she has already reached her breaking point. My biggest frustration with this story was that Megan’s support system had plenty of opportunities to help, to make different choices to change the outcome. It was clear to everyone that Megan was struggling, even if Megan herself was in too deep to see it. No one did enough to help her. Then again, if they had, The Upstairs House would have been a pretty short book with a very different ending.
The Author: Julia Fine
Julia Fine has a few other books you can try on for size, a full listing of which can be found on her website: https://www.julia-fine.com/. Julia also writes under the pen name Margaux Eliot; under that pen name, you can preorder her new novel Honeymoon Stage, set to release in November of this year.
More to Read
If you love hauntings but a book about postpartum depression hits too close to home, I suggest you take a look at The September House, by Carissa Orlando. Be aware that the closer you get to the end of the book, the more grisly the descriptions become. Without giving too much away, you will never look at spiders the same way again. (If you know, you know.)
How to Help
For those of you looking for ways to support new moms, check out https://everymothercounts.org/. This organization advocates for maternal health before, during, and after childbirth.
