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A review by sipping_tea_with_ghosts
The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I don't come on here to sound like a contrarian, but its books like these that make me genuinely disregard any quote or blurb ever left on covers by other authors in the industry - especially horror or thriller books. This is the prime example of a provocative concept being stretched out far beyond its means - cruising by on its shocking question and hoping that you don't bother to look behind the curtain, leaving the theater in silent awe.
Worse than that however is witnessing a narrative that is trying to come off as insightful and well meaning, when it unintentionally confirms a very harmful view on the "non-traditional" family and doesn't do enough to dissuade a crazy person from believing they're being supported. If someone tells you this is an LGBTQ+ book, they're either dense or should no longer be your friend.
Outside of the troubling morals, purely accidental I'm sure - the story itself just isn't that compelling. Once you get over that moral quandary, a good 2/3rds of the runtime is:
"No, we won't sacrifice anyone!"
"But you have to!"
"No we won't!"
And there isn't enough tension building to keep the knife against your throat, loading off flashback exposition in the most egregious way - like it was a last minute addition...13 times. The ending is ambiguous in a way that might be interesting to think about later down the line, but that also means a lack of payoff for a question I already knew the answer for far before we got there.
I hope Paul's other works are more interesting and don't come off so much as a messy stumble in the dark, but even if there's an apocalypse going on outside our windows - just hire an editor for the good of mankind.
Worse than that however is witnessing a narrative that is trying to come off as insightful and well meaning, when it unintentionally confirms a very harmful view on the "non-traditional" family and doesn't do enough to dissuade a crazy person from believing they're being supported. If someone tells you this is an LGBTQ+ book, they're either dense or should no longer be your friend.
Outside of the troubling morals, purely accidental I'm sure - the story itself just isn't that compelling. Once you get over that moral quandary, a good 2/3rds of the runtime is:
"No, we won't sacrifice anyone!"
"But you have to!"
"No we won't!"
And there isn't enough tension building to keep the knife against your throat, loading off flashback exposition in the most egregious way - like it was a last minute addition...13 times. The ending is ambiguous in a way that might be interesting to think about later down the line, but that also means a lack of payoff for a question I already knew the answer for far before we got there.
I hope Paul's other works are more interesting and don't come off so much as a messy stumble in the dark, but even if there's an apocalypse going on outside our windows - just hire an editor for the good of mankind.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia