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A review by brennanlafaro
Remains by Andrew Cull
4.0
I’ve started this review several times now and I’m trying to find an elegant way to say this book will leave you feeling like you’ve been kicked in the stomach. Why sugar coat it? Why dress it up and make it pretty? Remains is raw and unedited human emotion somehow packed into 200 pages.
Our story centers around Lucy, a woman who lost her young son to a kidnapping/murder. Since then Lucy has spent time voluntarily in a psychiatric hospital and is now residing in the house where her son was murdered in hopes of reconnecting with his spirit. Everything else in life has lost any meaning.
We are presented with events and experiences that make us question what's real and how much we can trust the senses of the person we're following. It's hard to tease too much more without spoiling, but Cull does provide answers, although that doesn't mean there isn't room for what-the-hell-happened interpretations on the reader's part.
The format is a big part of why this book is successful. It is very cinematic in it's presentation, and short chapters serve to carry you along for the ride. The format takes on a life of its' own in the last 30 or so pages, rocketing the reader to the harrowing conclusion.
Remains reminded me of the Will Smith movie, Seven Pounds. Not because of any similarities in plot, but because when the credits rolled, I recognized that I had just had an experience and it was extremely well done, but I also recognized that I would never watch that movie again. Once was good. An argument could be made on both parts that the creator had crafted something so complete that it didn't need to be revisited, but imparted itself under the skin of the viewer/reader.
I saw this book lauded as one of the best haunted house stories of 2019, and it is, but it's more. I would give it a go if you don't mind Horror that is unflinching, gruesome at times, and doesn't really give a shit if you can't take it anymore. If it's been a while since you've read something that made you feel, try Remains by Andrew Cull.
Our story centers around Lucy, a woman who lost her young son to a kidnapping/murder. Since then Lucy has spent time voluntarily in a psychiatric hospital and is now residing in the house where her son was murdered in hopes of reconnecting with his spirit. Everything else in life has lost any meaning.
We are presented with events and experiences that make us question what's real and how much we can trust the senses of the person we're following. It's hard to tease too much more without spoiling, but Cull does provide answers, although that doesn't mean there isn't room for what-the-hell-happened interpretations on the reader's part.
The format is a big part of why this book is successful. It is very cinematic in it's presentation, and short chapters serve to carry you along for the ride. The format takes on a life of its' own in the last 30 or so pages, rocketing the reader to the harrowing conclusion.
Remains reminded me of the Will Smith movie, Seven Pounds. Not because of any similarities in plot, but because when the credits rolled, I recognized that I had just had an experience and it was extremely well done, but I also recognized that I would never watch that movie again. Once was good. An argument could be made on both parts that the creator had crafted something so complete that it didn't need to be revisited, but imparted itself under the skin of the viewer/reader.
I saw this book lauded as one of the best haunted house stories of 2019, and it is, but it's more. I would give it a go if you don't mind Horror that is unflinching, gruesome at times, and doesn't really give a shit if you can't take it anymore. If it's been a while since you've read something that made you feel, try Remains by Andrew Cull.