Cackle is a call for women to stop kowtowing to men and to develop their own voices. Unfortunately, excepting a charming spider and some unruly teens, the story isn’t all that interesting.
There are people out there who hate being alone. These people can be quite annoying. This novel brings two such people together. After she breaks up with her boyfriend, thirty-year-old first-person protagonist Annie moves from Manhattan to a cottage in a small town called Rowan. There she meets Sophie, a beautiful and mysterious woman who has some sway over the townsfolk – they are deferential to and slightly intimidated by her.
Sophie repeatedly tries to convince Annie not to return to her ex-boyfriend Sam and to cut off communications with him. But what are Sofie’s ultimate intentions? Is she solely focused on cultivating their relationship, or does she have an ulterior motive? And why are people so apprehensive of her? When strange things happen in Annie’s life, she begins to wonder whether Sophie has something to do with them.
As the story progresses, Annie learns more about Sophie and herself. But her major hurdle is that she’s constantly thinking about getting back together with Sam. It gets annoying, as do the conversations that take place between Annie and Sophie. At one point, Annie tells her new friend that the story about her ex-boyfriend is a boring one. And yet, that story is a lot of what readers get up to that point.
Though this is touted as a “frightening” novel, it’s mostly just two women talking and doing mundane activities like cooking, making candles, and trying on dresses. There’s not much conflict, and the protagonist doesn’t really have a goal.
The message that eventually emerges is that women need to take control of their own lives, and they do not have to be tied to a man all the time. Good message, so-so delivery. Douglas J. Ogurek **
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