Not to be confused with Hereditary...

... Hereditation, James Smythe's first published novel, was a bit of an anomaly for me.

[Full disclosure: not counting Ernest Hemingway, I would probably say James is my favourite author. I have a soft spot for pretty much all his novels so far.]

But somehow, I wasn't even aware that Hereditation existed until I've finished reading all of his books, finishing up with his most recent one, I Still Dream - which, by the way, is an amazing read.

Then, having discovered an ancient podcast episode in which James is interviewed, Hereditation was revealed to me as a book that he isn't particularly keen on, being his first novel, and in fact he still claims it is simply not good. What would you do if your favourite author said something like that? Would you read it, risking actually not liking a piece of his work - or not read it, and keep up the illusion? In the end, I decided to read it and decide for myself.

Hereditation tells the story of the Sloane family, focusing on a pair of twins, Maynard and Erwin Sloane. After their father's death, they discover a box filled with letters and documentation about their ancestors, and Maynard begins to piece together the story of the family - at the same time identifying a pattern of tragedy and brutality. Throughout this time the brothers' lives are changing, spiraling into different directions - and seemingly following a familiar pattern...

What did I like about it?

While his more recent books could all be categorised as sci-fi, James' first novel could be a lot of things. There's a bit of horror, tragedy, love and disaster. It might even classify as literary fiction  - slightly reminiscent of One Hundred Years of Solitude, it is possible to lose track of the Sloane family members as their episodes interchange with the present day family struggles.

The book is also deliciously dark. There are amazing images conjured up throughout, including a living room filled to the brim with magazines, constructing a second wall; a dark upper floor with a Schrodinger mother in bed who may or may not be alive. It weaves together stories and reality; it's repulsive and fantastical at the same time. You can almost smell the dust settling on the old Sloane house as you read through, and throughout you are gripped by some kind of foreboding,  a sort of inevitability.

What was I not massively fond of?

It's clear that at this point in time, James' writing style and voice haven't quite developed (duh, it's his first novel). There are lots of clauses in brackets which aren't strictly necessary; lots of side details that don't add to the story.

I also felt that although the idea of the structure worked - the contemporary story interchanging with individual ancestor stories - sometimes it was a bit muddled, as the inserted stories, on occasion, also concerned contemporary characters. So, although we do want to know their backstories out of curiosity, I thought it may have worked better if these are kept within the main story, and the injected sections are kept for the ancestors.

Finally, it does take a while for an inciting incident to occur. The first of these doesn't really move the plot along (a new addition to the Sloane house) - at first, at least. She is key to the story but the first real change or occurrence comes later. Although if we think of it as literary fiction, I don't think it's necessary to blow up a house in the second chapter. The plot is subtle and slow at first, and I truly don't mind it.

Overall...

If you're looking to read something from James, this is not where I would start: I recommend The Machine or The Testimony, both of which are standalone novels and they are - as Waterstones likes to say - unputdownable.

But James: please stop trashing this book. It's a good read. It's full of great ideas and strong imagery. It's tragic and brutal. It's good creepy. And it definitely has a spot on my shelf.

6/10