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prasi's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I can't properly process anything right now. My brain feels like it's just exploded and I'm in awe.
We Spread was a phenomenal book about a woman named Penny. Penny is getting older. She's losing function in her body and her memory isn't what it used to be. She spends her days reminiscing about her younger self, painting, and wishing she'd made more of her life when she still could.
After a nasty fall, Penny is taken to a small long-term care residence in the country, surrounded by the forest and nature. For the first time in a long time, Penny is eating and sleeping well. She feels passionate about art again and is making friends with the other residents.
But maybe there's more going on in this house than the others know. Something sinister and creepy. Maybe they're all in danger and time is running out. Maybe Penny is the only one fighting against it. Maybe she's everyone's only hope, if only she can figure out what's going on in time to stop it.
Or maybe Penny has dementia and her mind is playing tricks on her, causing her to lose time, forget where she's been, and make up new memories to make sense of it all.
What I loved so much about this book is that Penny was an unreliable narrator.
Or was she?
Who knows? That in and of itself was part of the thrill. At any given time there was no way for me to know if Penny was genuinely experiencing these events or if this whole story was the result of confabulation and a failing memory.
We Spread is a terrifying story, just as much about a supernatural science experiment as it is about the way the mind fails us as we age. Iain Reid has found a way to put into words the gut-wrenching, helpless fear you feel when you're losing your memories and can't be sure of what's real and what isn't. When you can't tell if that memory is a paranoia-induced nightmare or if you're really being experimented on and used. When you're constantly questioning if your own thoughts and memories are even real.
My brain is still trying to digest this story. I picked this book up from the library earlier today and read it in one day. I flew through the pages and now I'm sitting here writing this review and trying to figure out what the fuck I just read.
This book is brilliant and I absolutely loved it. If you're looking for a psychological thriller/horror read, look no further. This is it!
We Spread was a phenomenal book about a woman named Penny. Penny is getting older. She's losing function in her body and her memory isn't what it used to be. She spends her days reminiscing about her younger self, painting, and wishing she'd made more of her life when she still could.
After a nasty fall, Penny is taken to a small long-term care residence in the country, surrounded by the forest and nature. For the first time in a long time, Penny is eating and sleeping well. She feels passionate about art again and is making friends with the other residents.
But maybe there's more going on in this house than the others know. Something sinister and creepy. Maybe they're all in danger and time is running out. Maybe Penny is the only one fighting against it. Maybe she's everyone's only hope, if only she can figure out what's going on in time to stop it.
Or maybe Penny has dementia and her mind is playing tricks on her, causing her to lose time, forget where she's been, and make up new memories to make sense of it all.
What I loved so much about this book is that Penny was an unreliable narrator.
Or was she?
Who knows? That in and of itself was part of the thrill. At any given time there was no way for me to know if Penny was genuinely experiencing these events or if this whole story was the result of confabulation and a failing memory.
We Spread is a terrifying story, just as much about a supernatural science experiment as it is about the way the mind fails us as we age. Iain Reid has found a way to put into words the gut-wrenching, helpless fear you feel when you're losing your memories and can't be sure of what's real and what isn't. When you can't tell if that memory is a paranoia-induced nightmare or if you're really being experimented on and used. When you're constantly questioning if your own thoughts and memories are even real.
My brain is still trying to digest this story. I picked this book up from the library earlier today and read it in one day. I flew through the pages and now I'm sitting here writing this review and trying to figure out what the fuck I just read.
This book is brilliant and I absolutely loved it. If you're looking for a psychological thriller/horror read, look no further. This is it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia and Death
Moderate: Medical content and Toxic relationship
Minor: Animal death
Dementia is the closest I can get to describing what this book is about. Dementia is never explicitly named, but one of the main themes of the book is the main character not being sure if she can trust her own memories or thoughts anymore, very much like someone with Dementia loses their memories or confabulates new ones to make sense of everything. Death is also talked about extensively. Medical content is because they are in a long-term care residence and the people there often have IV's, staff helping them shower and use the restroom, etc. The main character talks about a toxic relationship she was in with quite a bit of detail, from the very beginning of the book. Animal death is mentioned and impacts the emotional state of the main character, but is never shown on page.
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