The Trees Grew Because I Bled There: Collected Stories

2.25 stars

i guess Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke was a fluke

ratings:
you follow wherever they go 1/5
bodies are for burning 2.5/5
the strange thing we become 2.75/5
the trees grew because I bled there 2/5
you're not supposed to be here 5/5
where flames burned emerald as grass 2/5
I'll be gone by then 3/5
please leave or i'm going to hurt you 3/5

Eric LaRocca is a talented author who writes (often gross) little stories that stay with you. This short-story collection is no exception. Writing this review a few weeks after reading/listening really cements my favorite stories, the ones I remember best. 

Bodies are for Burning hit hard. The main character has an obsession with setting things, people, on fire. Intrusive thoughts. Lots of intrusive thoughts. And now she's watching her flammable niece. I don't advise asking anyone to babysit who tells you they're not cut out for babysitting. Anyhow, I get not wanting to babysit, and I have my own intrusive thoughts – mine are just hating on myself and tossing out the worst-case scenarios or demanding to know the worst thought I could have in the moment, and giving it to me. I thought the message that this woman isn't monstrous, just really sick and fighting the sickness was poignant. 

The Strange Things We Become hit hard. It's a story of impending loss and the mix of grief and resentment that comes along for the ride. 

You're Not Supposed to Be Here is THAT story – the one you expect to see in the latest horror anthology show where a seemingly idyllic day turns into a nightmare and the only way out, to save what matters, is to strip yourself bare, flaws and sins and warts on display. And then the question becomes, how do you live with yourself, and how can you live with what you now know? Can this marriage survive? Um, probably not. 

Where Flames Burned Emerald as Glass was very pleasing in how the puzzle pieces fit together. Another story that asks its lead character – and possibly the reader – to get real with hard choices, and can you live with them. The decisions that are both noble and that just doesn't look good from the outside looking in. And who doesn't love the inevitability of a prophesy falling into place?

I'll Be Gone Again is honestly a really well-done story that for my own reasons, my own regrets, I don't want to think about too hard. A gut punch. And NOW I'm thinking about it. Ugh.

Please Leave or I'm Going to Hurt You hits on one of the top taboos and so it's deeply uncomfortable. But poignant. But uncomfortable. But saaaad. 

The author is great, but I need to be in the right place for his stories to not take me down too dark of a path. And my friend never gave me back my copy of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. 

Even though not every story was perfect, the ones that were made it a 5 star read. I loved Bodies are for Burning, The Strange Thing We Become, You're Not Supposed to be Here, Where Flames Burned Emerald as Grass, and I'll be Gone by Then. The others still had aspects about them that I liked. The horror was truly unsettling and smart; it really made me think. The themes in You're Not Supposed to be Here in particular will be in my mind forever. 

loved this collection! the average of the stories together was a 4.5 but there were some standouts and some that weren't my fav from eric but eric knows how to do a collection. 

3.75 stars

I will read anything Eric LaRocca writes! This short story collection was so much fun to read. Eric's writing is always amazing and so immersive. My favorite stories are Bodies Are for Burning and You're Not Supposed to Be Here. I loved how intense You're Not Supposed to Be Here was, I was at the edge of my seat reading that one. My least favorite story is You Follow Wherever They Go. There wasn't anything wrong with it, it was just too short for me to really have strong feelings for it. Overall, this was a really great read and I can't wait to read more from Eric LaRocca.

Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Some of the stories in this collection are what I would call family horror, and they are the genre at its finest, approach with caution if you have trauma on that side.

With LaRocca's signature highly stylized writing the horror takes on a deeply evocative nature rather than a graphic one, although the stories are often also graphic.
Here horror is both from the outside and from deep inside in a blend that could have only been achieved by LaRocca. Hell is not always others, sometimes hell is what swirls behind our eyes and it takes guts the write that side of horror in such an unflinching way. Because of the themes a certain discomfort is guaranteed while reading. LaRocca also captures the horror of cancer and perhaps of sickness in general on a deep level, a theme that seems to be recurrent for them.

I received a digital copy of this book from Titan Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.