Love, Death, and Globular Assimilation

David Sodergren – The Haar

Reviewed by Barry Lee Dejasu

Wowee, what a wild romp awaited me in David Sodergren’s short novel The Haar! While I had some idea of what to expect as far as plot points went, I wasn’t prepared for the surprisingly big heart that beat at the center of this strange, darkly hilarious, and gory little read.

This is the tale of Muriel McAuley, an old widow living in a small Scottish village called Witchaven. Muriel is one of a shrinking number of locals taking a stand against billionaire land developer Patrick Grant, who is buying out the village lot by lot to turn it into a golf course—and more and more of the locals are ultimately finding that money does, indeed, talk. But not Muriel—from the outset, she’s a tough as nails, honorable, and stubborn woman who won’t budge for a penny. She spent her whole life in Witchaven, and lives in the house that her late husband Billy had built for them, and it is there that she plans on spending the rest of her life, even as Grant sends more and more of his people—armed with wallets and, gradually, weapons—to persuade the last of the locals to move.

This is, however, a tale of supernatural horror—and the struggle against gentrification isn’t the only element of horror at work. With her allies, resources, and hopes on the decline, Muriel stumbles upon something strange—a mysterious, gelatinous organism that had crept in with the titular Haar mist…an organism with a taste for blood—and a few surprises of what it’s capable of when properly fed. To say more would be to spoil the insane fun of what ensues.

The Haar brings to mind the often comedically gory moments of Ed Kurtz’s novel Bleed, while also incorporating themes of loss and love with surprisingly candid and genuine presentation. It wears its bloody, still-beating heart on its sleeve, along with other various organs and viscera.

What’s also refreshing about this tale is that its main character is an old woman that isn’t corrupted or corruptible; Muriel’s struggles are far from a caricature, and her salty and headstrong attitude is justified. You truly care about her plight, and it’s easy to root her on with her at times gut-bustingly funny, unfiltered, no-nonsense exclamations.

Finally, a shout-out must be made to the cover artist Trevor Henderson, whose work has graced a number of other horror works. It’s strange and gory, but also kind of old-fashioned, a fitting look for the very retro cover design itself, a signature of Sodergren’s books. In an era of book covers being taken over by AI-generated imagery, original works of art such as this are of great value.

As short as this novel is, it packs a punch, while also managing to be very emotional and even touching amidst scenes of unflinching violence and blackened humor. If you haven’t read David Sodergren, The Haar is an excellent place to start.