A review by sawyerrr
Grey Dog by Elliott Gish

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

3.75

A very well-realized main character who unveils herself in her diary entries in a voyeuristic yet well-rehearsed sort of way. Her interests and scorns, her little idiosyncrasies make her jump out of the page, and with her textured and precise prose (that is, the author's prose) the setting follows, a humble provincial town surrounded by the splendor and horror of nature. The last quarter of the book betrays its own argument a bit, as in it's attempt to argue that this woman's long-awaited connection to her "feminine rage" (about the third most detestable contemporary marketing gimmick) takes form of

a rejection of society's oppressive material trappings and a radical return, or rather surrender, to nature and it's unknowns. Yet the diary entries retain the same vaguely self-conscious rehearsed quality to them even as the main character assures me that she is now running wild and doesn't care if anyone thinks her strange or disgusting. I was left with the impression that while the character does not care anymore, the author still cares quite a bit. If she had really shed everything and chewed through her friend's neck and gave herself away to the dog, she wouldn't be writing all that, like that, I'm just saying.

Still, a very enjoyable read, and makes me curious about the Canadian horror scene.