A review by amywong
I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This story has to be taken metaphorically as the twist at the end makes the whole story a giant metaphor on depression and suicidal thought. Without spoilers, if this story is meaningful enough, I'd reread this to pick up on either hints or just to reread it with the twist in mind to get more out of the meaning of this piece of work. I don't rate this a 5 star because at times it was confusing. After the twist, a reader of course will go back through what is read so far to incorporate the twist that existed the whole time and it was absolutely confusing in that moment. 

I'm thoroughly shocked and in awe at how adept (?) Reid is able to push forward at getting people to understand what depression is like for people who may not empathize. I personally don't have depression so I can't fully understand how it feels and this story feels like it got me more understanding of the condition. 

What I took away is that Reid created a whole new person inside Jack, as it is maybe what it feels like for some people with depression, there's another voice in there just like Jack did. And when that voice decided to give up, it was Jack giving up as well. The girl is happy in her introvertedness and solitude however, demands in the real world pressures Jack to do otherwise which that dinner scene with his parents showed exactly how uncomfortable he is with it. Both the girl and Jack did not want to talk about certain things, the charade? She was 100% against but Jack went with it show Jack is the one trying to live but in reality the girlfriend is his true feelings. In terms of what he desires I'd say, because at the end of the day, his true self, in my opinion is a combination of them. His belief that every person is made up of multiple personalities or facets I agree with. Both the girlfriend's desire and Jack's desire can exist at the same time. They can both be true.
 

This story is hard to review and discuss without spoilers, but I'm definitely excited to watch the Netflix adaptation to visualize this story. It's definitely a discussion type of story to get more talks about depression and suicidal thoughts going around. 
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