A Shrill Keening

A deliciously bite-sized bit portion of Lovecraft. That's how I'd describe A Shrill Keening. It's fairly easy to see that Malfi borrows bits and pieces from some of Lovecraft's works, but he does with a style all his own. This novella may be short, but it still managed to sink its fangs into me until the end. I'll say this, Malfi doesn't skimp on the tension.

Carl Thompson spends his days in a mental institution, with no concrete memories of what happened to put him there. His conflicted mind fascinated me. Imagine believing that your waking moments were fiction. That maybe, just maybe, everything you dreamt was in fact your actual life. What impressed me most was how easy it was to believe in Carl's ideas. At no point in time did I have to suspend disbelief to feel how he was feeling. His “reality” was so well written that I was just a part of it, and I didn't mind one bit.

Which brings me to the ending. It fit perfectly, and yet I couldn't help but feel that it was a bit rushed. I had spent so much time with Carl, I was so invested in everything he was, and suddenly the story was over. I would have read for many more pages if I'd been able to. I wished for more. I definitely enjoyed A Shrill Keening. If you're a Lovecraft fan, or simply a reader who loves a quick and tension filled story, give this novella a place on your reading list.