The New Couple in 5B

The New Couple in 5B belongs to the genre of haunted house stories, a subset of the mystery genre. Other examples of this genre are The Turn of the Screw (1898) by Henry James, The Shining (1977) by Stephen King, and “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe. Novels and short stories in this genre often feature a narrator forced to spend time in an isolated environment, such as a relative’s home or an unfamiliar hotel. These texts often feature character types such as the medium, who serves as the bridge between the human and supernatural worlds, and the caretaker, who holds the haunted house’s secrets and often holds the key to the mystery. Important narrative techniques in the genre include unreliable narrators and the use of foreshadowing and flashbacks to gradually uncover the mystery. These tropes, character types, and narrative techniques are traditionally used by writers to create a compelling reader experience that prolongs the mystery.

In The New Couple in 5B, Unger employs a number of these literary techniques while subverting others. The haunted house at the center of the novel is not an isolated mansion in the countryside, but rather a crowded apartment building in the middle of New York City. Whereas the horror of a novel like The Shining comes from the isolation of its protagonists, the horror of The New Couple in 5B comes from Rosie’s belief that she is always being watched. Rosie’s sister Sarah fills the role of the medium, correctly identifying Chad as a monster sucking the life from Rosie. Abi Bekiri, the Windermere’s mysterious doorman and elevator operator, fulfils the role of the building’s caretaker and is central to uncovering the mystery. Unger’s subversive use of haunted house tropes and character types reflects her experience with the genre.