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A review by thisismenow
Bedbugs: A Novel of Infestation by Ben H. Winters
4.0
I received a review copy of Bedbugs from Quirk Publishing, and within a day of receiving it, I jumped into reading it.
The book has a sort of slow build, but I think that worked really well. Then, as things started to pick up, I have to admit, the book really started to creep me out.
I'd compare the experience of reading Bedbugs to finding out that someone you've been around recently has head lice, and then, suddenly, you're itching all over and sure that they've passed it to you. Except this was about ten times worse because, instead of imagining little bugs crawling all over your head, you're imagining bugs attacking you at night in you're sleep and sucking the life out of you.
Suffice it to say, there for a while, I had to quit reading this book at night before bed.
What I found so fascinating about the book is that the lines between reality and imaginary really start to blur as more time progresses. Between the massive bedbug epidemic that's occurring in the book and Susan's erratic behavior and apparent singular encounters with the bedbugs, there were times when I really wasn't sure.
As much as I did like the book, though, I wasn't blown away by the ending. It worked, and it was fine, but, considering how my heart was pounding as it built to the ending, I just felt a little let down.
Regardless, I thought this was an excellent read - especially for someone like me, who prefers psychological thrillers or horrors as opposed to violence and gore.
The book has a sort of slow build, but I think that worked really well. Then, as things started to pick up, I have to admit, the book really started to creep me out.
I'd compare the experience of reading Bedbugs to finding out that someone you've been around recently has head lice, and then, suddenly, you're itching all over and sure that they've passed it to you. Except this was about ten times worse because, instead of imagining little bugs crawling all over your head, you're imagining bugs attacking you at night in you're sleep and sucking the life out of you.
Suffice it to say, there for a while, I had to quit reading this book at night before bed.
What I found so fascinating about the book is that the lines between reality and imaginary really start to blur as more time progresses. Between the massive bedbug epidemic that's occurring in the book and Susan's erratic behavior and apparent singular encounters with the bedbugs, there were times when I really wasn't sure.
As much as I did like the book, though, I wasn't blown away by the ending. It worked, and it was fine, but, considering how my heart was pounding as it built to the ending, I just felt a little let down.
Regardless, I thought this was an excellent read - especially for someone like me, who prefers psychological thrillers or horrors as opposed to violence and gore.