John

I listened to the audiobook while I did some office work, and I really think that I may have done myself a disservice. I've heard this novella described as more of a creepy character study than an outright horror story, and that the author weaves sort of a grotesque poetry into their sentences.

Both of these things are true. The author clearly enjoys playing with language, and they are in their bag here. Sentences, entire passages, that had me rewinding and re-listening, were frequent. And it does seem like the scares are secondary to the interpersonal relationships between the characters. I probably missed out on some of this stuff by not giving the story my sole focus.

Very interested in seeing what else this author has to offer.

Creepy, atmospheric read, with an ending twist that I'm not sure if I like.

I'll keep this as spoiler-free as I can at this point. This thing is 200 pages, and man, does it do a lot in those pages. In a good way. As the story unfolds, there are more and more events that are simply....off-putting. It does a very good job with keeping tension and creating atmosphere. I read along with the audiobook at about 1.5 (for some reason, these audiobooks are always slow). However, about 80 pages out, I slowed down and really took in those pages. It was great. Beginning with our lovers pulling up to the school, until the end of the story, is among one of my favorite reading experiences.

The last few lines of the novel seem to be instructions to the reader, to read it again, with all of this newfound information regarding life, love, philosophy, psychology, etc. And I love that. This is one that has stayed with me.

The twist, I'm just not sure that I like it, to be honest. I'm mulling it over.