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queenginger's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I had a good time with this one.
I picked it up after seeing so many speak highly of the story and quality of the writing. Also, I found it intriguing that the main character was an elderly woman, seeing as older folks aren’t often the protagonists of many novels — but that’s a discussion for another day.
I thought the form elevated the plot, which makes sense. And as a result, the reader gets lost in the gaps on the page, as well as the presence of time and how it’s played with throughout.
There was still just enough creepy elements to hold this in the psychological horror for me, but it’s definitely lighter than anything else I’ve picked up recently. But I enjoyed that quite a bit.
I think the writing was stellar and pulls me into this author even more. I can’t wait to check out more of Reid’s work!
I picked it up after seeing so many speak highly of the story and quality of the writing. Also, I found it intriguing that the main character was an elderly woman, seeing as older folks aren’t often the protagonists of many novels — but that’s a discussion for another day.
I thought the form elevated the plot, which makes sense. And as a result, the reader gets lost in the gaps on the page, as well as the presence of time and how it’s played with throughout.
There was still just enough creepy elements to hold this in the psychological horror for me, but it’s definitely lighter than anything else I’ve picked up recently. But I enjoyed that quite a bit.
I think the writing was stellar and pulls me into this author even more. I can’t wait to check out more of Reid’s work!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, and Confinement
seagullsaga's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
A book I found on accident, I very much enjoyed this book. I was drawn in by the non-traditional protagonist- you don’t usually see horror stories with an elderly woman as the protagonist. I wasn’t let down by the story itself: it is an empathetic, engrossing read that manages to avoid the pitfalls that other horror falls into when dealing with age. The horror of this book isn’t being old, instead it’s a dark story about loss of agency and isolation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Chronic illness, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Dementia, and Mental illness
Moderate: Terminal illness, Ableism, and Self harm
Minor: Animal death
veelaughtland's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Suicide
alex_wordweaver's review against another edition
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Read a proof version of the story, so the finished product may be different. Was engrossed by it, though. Liked it well enough. Was thrown by a few spelling/grammar errors--not sure if part of the plot/story/intentional or not.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Dementia
Minor: Body horror
mindespair's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"I've never wanted to avoid darkness in my own work, my own darkness. But revealing my own shadows is not enough in itself. What I want, what I've always wanted, is for another person to feel relief from their darkness when they look at my work."
With his third novel, Iain Reid has cemented himself as one of my favorite authors. I felt that Penny was somewhat of a self-insert for him, especially when she spoke about her art. The quote above really spoke to me because it felt like it came from Reid himself. His work does make me feel relief from my own darkness.
One of my favorite things about Reid as a writer (aside from his unreliable narrators) is his faith in his reader. He never makes the mistake of over-explaining, making you feel dumb. He lets his stories unravel organically without the need for a timeout to explain the logistics. He trusts you with your own interpretation. While I was reading this novel in particular, I kept trying to figure out how to explain what was going on; how Reid could explain it. Eventually I realized that he wouldn't. We don't need to be told whyShelley was collecting hair and fingernails or how long Penny was really at Six Cedars or how old Shelley really is or plenty of other lingering questions we may have ; those are for us to figure out, not for an author to spell out for us. Reid knows how to give the right number of answers; never too many or too few.
This book mostly revolves around the fear of growing old, fading away, dying, etc. I found it very touching amidst the exhausting anti-aging craze. Growing old is a privilege. Life is beautiful because it ends. Eternal life is eternal torture. This book took all of these thoughts and whipped them into a beautiful psychological horror.
Lastly, I'd say that my favorite aspect of this novel is how strongly the residents of Six Cedars are pushed to be productive.Shelley encourages Penny, Ruth, Hilbert, and Pete to bond—not to truly connect, but to assimilate into one being. She wants them to assimilate and increase productivity. What she desires is a workforce. The residents are regularly plagued with thoughts that they (senior citizens who are long retired) are not doing enough, not accomplishing enough. This shame is intrinsic to capitalism. We are only worth what we can produce. The residents of Six Cedars are only worth what they can produce, what they can give. They have no intrinsic worth. They are treated as cogs in a machine.
This is easily a new favorite. Read it if you can. This was an incredible start to 2024.
With his third novel, Iain Reid has cemented himself as one of my favorite authors. I felt that Penny was somewhat of a self-insert for him, especially when she spoke about her art. The quote above really spoke to me because it felt like it came from Reid himself. His work does make me feel relief from my own darkness.
One of my favorite things about Reid as a writer (aside from his unreliable narrators) is his faith in his reader. He never makes the mistake of over-explaining, making you feel dumb. He lets his stories unravel organically without the need for a timeout to explain the logistics. He trusts you with your own interpretation. While I was reading this novel in particular, I kept trying to figure out how to explain what was going on; how Reid could explain it. Eventually I realized that he wouldn't. We don't need to be told why
This book mostly revolves around the fear of growing old, fading away, dying, etc. I found it very touching amidst the exhausting anti-aging craze. Growing old is a privilege. Life is beautiful because it ends. Eternal life is eternal torture. This book took all of these thoughts and whipped them into a beautiful psychological horror.
Lastly, I'd say that my favorite aspect of this novel is how strongly the residents of Six Cedars are pushed to be productive.
This is easily a new favorite. Read it if you can. This was an incredible start to 2024.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Kidnapping
Minor: Medical content, Animal death, and Suicide
andrewhatesham's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Medical content, Suicide, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, and Death
ilana_pop's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.75
i have no clue what I just read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Dementia
Moderate: Body horror
pigeon_'s review
challenging
dark
tense
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Dementia, and Medical content
Moderate: Animal death, Death, and Suicidal thoughts
fatfatrat's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization and Gaslighting
samarakroeger's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
I hated this book. for such a short book (when you account for all the white space) it felt like I was slogging through it even when I actually read it fairly quickly. the whole book is double spaced, so it takes up ~3 times more pages than strictly necessary.
also, for something labeled as horror, this had literally no creepiness or intrigue or sense of tension or foreboding element to it. the plot was basically nonexistent and the characters were so deeply unrealistic (has Iain Reid ever talked to someone suffering from Alzheimer's before? and why did he decide to write a book about it???).
my main problems, other than simply being very bored, revolve around the writing, the clunky first person present tense perspective, and the incredibly flawed depiction of dementia. first of all, women in their 90s/people with dementia do NOT talk like pretentious teens written by John Green. simply inaccurate. and they certainly don't think in complete sentences and have a serviceable short-term working memory. does he understand that short-term working memory loss is basically the first sign of dementia????
I also really don't like how Reid decided that "the real horror is neurodegenerative disease" and like, yes, I agree, I am not a fan of neurodegeneration, but I think it is incredibly misguided to make it the "horror element" to your "horror" book. also, the ~quirky fungus element that isn't properly explored~ was just thrown in. it did not add any suspense or sense of mystery or any horror. I think Alzheimer's could potentially be used as an element in a well-done body horror book, but not from a first person perspective that had no character to it.
and the ending -- I fully disagree with the incredibly heavy-handed message that was shoved down the reader's throat.... I don't think a life without a clear end is meaningless and I don't think that not romanticizing death is a bad thing. death is just part of life. let's stop fretting about it so much. I actually laughed at the ending of this book because it was ridiculous.
also, for something labeled as horror, this had literally no creepiness or intrigue or sense of tension or foreboding element to it. the plot was basically nonexistent and the characters were so deeply unrealistic (has Iain Reid ever talked to someone suffering from Alzheimer's before? and why did he decide to write a book about it???).
my main problems, other than simply being very bored, revolve around the writing, the clunky first person present tense perspective, and the incredibly flawed depiction of dementia. first of all, women in their 90s/people with dementia do NOT talk like pretentious teens written by John Green. simply inaccurate. and they certainly don't think in complete sentences and have a serviceable short-term working memory. does he understand that short-term working memory loss is basically the first sign of dementia????
I also really don't like how Reid decided that "the real horror is neurodegenerative disease" and like, yes, I agree, I am not a fan of neurodegeneration, but I think it is incredibly misguided to make it the "horror element" to your "horror" book. also, the ~quirky fungus element that isn't properly explored~ was just thrown in. it did not add any suspense or sense of mystery or any horror. I think Alzheimer's could potentially be used as an element in a well-done body horror book, but not from a first person perspective that had no character to it.
and the ending -- I fully disagree with the incredibly heavy-handed message that was shoved down the reader's throat.... I don't think a life without a clear end is meaningless and I don't think that not romanticizing death is a bad thing. death is just part of life. let's stop fretting about it so much. I actually laughed at the ending of this book because it was ridiculous.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia, Forced institutionalization, and Confinement