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rachelhelps 's review for:
I Am Not a Serial Killer
by Dan Wells
Dan Wells is a big name in the LDS author crowd and since I've done a bit of research on Mormon literature I figured I should read his most famous work. It is an inventive story about John, a teen with all the hallmarks of a serial killer: bedwetting, torturing animals, loving fire, absent father, and an inability to feel sympathy for others. Despite being kind of a creepy kid, Wells gets us to feel sorry for him when he says or does weird things. John is really into serial killers, and gets excited when one shows up in his town. He decides to hunt the serial killer down, but that requires him to let himself do things he normally avoids for fear of becoming a serial killer.
I found it a bit hard to believe that his mother didn't ask about his prolonged absences when he was off stalking the killer. That said, it's a good story and it gave me at least one nightmare. The fact that some people live with this lack of empathy is an existential horror for me as a Christian. It seems like it would be very difficult to do nice things for other people if you didn't feel love for them or at least pity. That said, there are all kinds of ways to serve others, and John finds a way to turn his serial-killer tendencies into something good, which is inspiring, in a twisted way.
I found it a bit hard to believe that his mother didn't ask about his prolonged absences when he was off stalking the killer. That said, it's a good story and it gave me at least one nightmare. The fact that some people live with this lack of empathy is an existential horror for me as a Christian. It seems like it would be very difficult to do nice things for other people if you didn't feel love for them or at least pity. That said, there are all kinds of ways to serve others, and John finds a way to turn his serial-killer tendencies into something good, which is inspiring, in a twisted way.