Wildlife

This is a very good and creepy short story but I would've preferred a clearer ending. I guess it's meant to be open to interpretation. I've never read anything by this author before and I think I like his style, especially the extremely sympathetic but flawed main character.

It's funny because everything in this story screams “this is happening in Florida!!” and I don't think the location is given.

Missing A Real Ending

Look, this story took some getting used to, but I was willing to wait until I got into the flow of the peculiar narrative style. I liked the air of mystery. I enjoyed the slow unfolding of the main character's past. I had fun being surrounded in lush descriptions of wildlife and scenery. I wanted to know more!

The story went from hard to follow (due to writing style) to actually kind of fun to flow along with, and I was glad I gave it a chance... when I believed every strange happening would ultimately be explained. But nope. An odd presence in the ravine, an evil man who may or may not mean well, a strange light, an alleged friend being controlling: all things built up as elements of a mystery go completely unanswered as the main character seemingly figures it all out and the narrative doesn't explain anything.

Why was this one character a thief? What did everyone except the readers and main character know about the ravine? Why were the wildlife scared? What difference would leaving the lights on make against some unexplained presence which itself glows? Why didn't anyone want to explain what the presence was? WHAT WAS IT?!

This story is a 3.5 star read until the final page. When it cuts from there to “about the author” instead of another chapter, it plummets to a 1.5 that I'm generously rounding up because I liked the rest of the story so much. But honestly I'm not sure if I should, since the ending is so deeply unsatisfying and frustrating.

I feel like I watched a really fascinating movie then reached the climax and the credits started rolling before a proper end. I just wanted to know if Sam was a witch or the ravine was haunted or Zanth was some kind of evil necromancer. But now I'll never know because nothing about the end made sense or explained anything.

I can't tell if I'm just too stupid to get it or the book was trying to be too profound. I don't like that feeling. At all. Just like I don't like feeling as if there's more to read just beyond my reach. Yet here we are and I'm so annoyed I'm rambling.

TL;DR - A story written in a peculiar style which at first is grating yet soon becomes immersive. An intriguing tale with twists and turns, where some of the characters know everything but the reader is told nothing conclusive. Good first draft material, but author seems to have forgotten to write an actual ending. Left me feeling unsatisfied and wanting more in the bad way.

This is part of Amazon's Trespass Collection. Similar in styling to the Forward Collection I just finished. I wanted to give this one a go because of the author. I haven't read him before, but I own the Southern Reach series and wanted a starting point with him. This is available through Prime Reading on Kindle or Audible for free. 
Recently cleared of murder, Sam moves into her father's old house after her marriage ends. A falling tree sparks a feud between neighbors. Who's watching who, and who's doing what? I had a little trouble connecting point A to point B here honestly. A little dry, a little confusing, and overall lacking something for me to connect to. 
Maybe just not for me. Personally a 2/5*. Not sure if I'll continue with this collection.