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A review by bambooboy
The Babysitter Lives by Stephen Graham Jones
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Shh, shh, shh. While your mom's gone, the babysitter's in charge, right? And guess what, Tia? It's bath time.
In 2007, Tamora Pierce rocked the literary world by releasing a book on audio before releasing it in print. Stephen Graham Jones has taken it a step further with The Babysitter Lives, which is available only in its sonic format; harkening back to a time when spooky stories were shared, passed around over fires, stored in children's memories as they grew and passed them on, slightly changed but still fundamentally the same message.
The downside to the audio-only format is the inability to go back and reread more complex ideas to further absorb them. Of course you can rewind; when I read the quoted line above I must have clicked that "back 15" button four or five times to relive the delicious flavor of it, a triumphant fist bump to my eardrums. That unfortunately doesn't replace the way my brain reworks sentences when reading them on the page, putting together the pieces. It's a double-edged sword for Jones. The book is complex, intricate, and delicately vicious, which makes the listening-only format a bit inaccessible with the bigger ideas. I will probably have to listen to it again to fully grapple with it. But at the same time, I don't mind a bit! It's truly that good. I was even greedily listening to the acknowledgements, which I rarely do.
Not too long ago I read My Heart is a Chainsaw and I am so happy to report that his ability to write a good, fleshed out female character was not a one-off experience. While I don't think you have to be a woman to do so, I think it's fair to say that sometimes male authors don't take the time to really embody that voice; in both My Heart is a Chainsaw and The Babysitter Lives, we are presented with fully-formed human beings, making human decisions--and sometimes, human mistakes.
If you're looking for something to listen to while you set up your house for spooky season, are partaking in cozy fall activities, or maybe just doing the dishes, this book will absorb you.
Just make sure the house doesn't take you with it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Suicide, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Vomit, Medical content, and Lesbophobia
Description of possible triggers under the spoiler cut.
--In a case of fratricide, a child has his eyes gouged out. The incident is described and his injuries are mentioned multiple times.
--In a case of filicide, a mother drowns her child.
--In a case of patricide, a father has his eyes gouged out.
--Someone commits suicide by hanging. It is described mutliple times.
--The victims of the aforementioned fratricide/filicide/patricide/suicide return many times in their injured, post-death forms.
--There are multiple incidents of body horror where the protagonist is injured, her insides are a "tofu-like substance".
--A child is possibly murdered by being hit by a car. It is never confirmed if this version of history comes to be the final version, but the post-accident scene is mentioned. A woman is also possibly killed by her car seat projecting her into the glass.
--Two children almost die by being locked in a freezer.
--There are many maggots in the book.
--An overdose is mentioned.
--Homophobia toward a lesbian daughter is briefly mentioned.
--There is a brief scene of anti-indigenous and anti-Mexican racism.
--The S slur against indigenous American women is used.
--There is a culturally appropriative costume worn by a character for the whole book.
--There are a few mentions of spiders, spiders eggs, and the feeling of both against skin.
--A man masturbates (unknowingly) in front of a minor. Even though he doesn't know she's watching, he is masturbating to the idea of her, so I don't think that really makes it any better. This incident is mentioned a few times after the fact by the protagonist.
--There is a giant lizard.
--As the protagonist is trapped in the house, there is a sense of claustrophobia.
--In a case of filicide, a mother drowns her child.
--In a case of patricide, a father has his eyes gouged out.
--Someone commits suicide by hanging. It is described mutliple times.
--The victims of the aforementioned fratricide/filicide/patricide/suicide return many times in their injured, post-death forms.
--There are multiple incidents of body horror where the protagonist is injured, her insides are a "tofu-like substance".
--A child is possibly murdered by being hit by a car. It is never confirmed if this version of history comes to be the final version, but the post-accident scene is mentioned. A woman is also possibly killed by her car seat projecting her into the glass.
--Two children almost die by being locked in a freezer.
--There are many maggots in the book.
--An overdose is mentioned.
--Homophobia toward a lesbian daughter is briefly mentioned.
--There is a brief scene of anti-indigenous and anti-Mexican racism.
--The S slur against indigenous American women is used.
--There is a culturally appropriative costume worn by a character for the whole book.
--There are a few mentions of spiders, spiders eggs, and the feeling of both against skin.
--A man masturbates (unknowingly) in front of a minor. Even though he doesn't know she's watching, he is masturbating to the idea of her, so I don't think that really makes it any better. This incident is mentioned a few times after the fact by the protagonist.
--There is a giant lizard.
--As the protagonist is trapped in the house, there is a sense of claustrophobia.