[REVIEW] Sisters of the Crimson Vine by P.L. McMillan
Sisters of the Crimson Vine
By P.L. McMillan
Timber Ghost Press
5 out of 5 Stars
A gnarly car accident, an isolated old convent, mysterious nuns, and a wine so wonderful I’d give everything to taste it, if this alone doesn’t spark your interest, I don’t know what will. Sisters of the Crimson Vine is the perfect blend of folk and cosmic horror, two sub-genres that I’m usually not a fan of, but McMillan’s writing drew me in so quickly and engulfed me in the story in such a way that it was impossible not to love it. The novella is divided into five parts: Harvesting, Crushing, Fermentation, Clarification, Aging, and Bottling. As you can see, they’re the stages of the wine-making process, a clever touch that adds to the reading experience and makes for more complete immersion.
After crashing his car and barely escaping it with his life, the protagonist awakes in the convent, where he is tended to by kind, although very unconventional nurses. Soon he learns that there is more to them than what meets the eye. I read this at the perfect moment in my life, starting it a couple of days before my surgery to get my gallbladder removed and finishing it as I recovered from pancreatitis caused by the surgery. This made me feel as if I was recovering alongside Mr. Ainsworth, only aided by my mother instead of nuns (of whom she is ironically terrified). While I read on, I found myself desperately craving the sister’s wine; it was described in such a way that there’s no doubt in my mind that if I ever did taste it, it’d be the best thing I’d ever drunk.
The author is a master at painting a picture. Not only was I able to taste the wine, but I also had a vivid image in my mind of the convent with all its rooms, the vineyard, and the cellar. What’s even more impressive is that McMillan doesn’t bury the reader with extensive descriptions, instead feeding it to us gradually, building the scenery in layers as the story progresses. In that same vein, the characters were also developed exceedingly well, which, considering there are several of them and less than 115 pages, is quite a feat. I’m still in awe of how each nun, the protagonist, and the reader, is introduced to have a distinct personality, no matter how brief their appearance may be. Something I was particularly fond of was this dedication to carving out individual traits for every single character, which made them all seem real and enriched the story greatly.
My role as a reviewer is to write all that I’ve liked and disliked about a book so that, hopefully, I can help someone find the right story for them. The thing is, sometimes I’ll come across stories like this novella, where there’s nothing I’d change and, ergo, have absolutely no criticism whatsoever. If there is one thing I could say is that I would’ve loved it if the book had featured the illustrations of the drawings Mr. Ainsworth finds in the convent’s office. McMillan makes them sound beautiful, and I think it’d help the reader have an even clearer picture of the story’s setting.
The only caveat I have is that if you’re not a fan of the gorier and grosser side of horror, you might not enjoy this as much as I did. The opening scene of the car accident and the climax are pretty gory. At least they were for me, but the rest of the story takes a more subtle and unnerving approach to the genre. This is a quick read, both because of the length of the novella and because McMillan’s prose is so alluring and immersive that you won’t want to put this down until you’re finished
