Book review - PenPal by Dathan Auerbach
Jul. 25th, 2024 10:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatFinished PenPal by Dathan Auerbach (which was originally posted as a series of short stories on MrCreepyPasta - a Reddit horror story blog).
An almost impossible to review horror novel without spoilers, and it's actually better if you read it unspoiled. The narrator, whose name is never revealed, is attempting to piece together various stories and memories from his childhood to make sense of what happened. But it's not until he talks with his mother as an adult, sharing his bits of information with her, and obtaining her insights - that he discovers the truth behind what actually happened.
The narrative is a loosely threaded together series of memories, acting as kind of childhood memoir. Albeit a disturbingly tragic one - about lost loves and lost friendships, and might have beens. While it answers many questions, it leaves others unanswered. As a result it stays with you long after you've finished reading it.
It takes place in the late 1980s and early 1990s, or the later half of the twentieth century. The characters don't have access to cell phones until the later half of the novel. The lead character or protagonist is six years of age to start, and the novel ends when he's an adult, most likely in his early to late twenties. So this is world without the internet. Also the protagonist is poor or working class.
I found it somewhat relatable - in that I grew up in the later half of the 20th Century, and did some of the things the narrator did as a child. Such as explore the woods around my house at the age of six or seven, and run into things that were dangerous, and somehow escape with the skin of my teeth. My parents also chose to move us far away at the age of 11 or 12, much like the narrator is moved away by his mother. And while the reasons were different, I knew my mother wanted us out of our neighborhood because she felt it was no longer safe due to an incident that had happened when I was about nine. (It was nothing serious, and I was fine - but in hindsight, I can understand why my mother freaked out and my parents started hunting for a new place to live.) Also much like the little boy in this novel - I'd lost contact with a best friend, who I adored and was never able to reconnect with. So for anyone who felt this isn't a realistic story? It is. There are a few weird little plot holes here and there, but they may be partly due to the narrator's unreliable memory. The story is told in flashback and through the haphazard recollections of memory - specifically memories of when the narrator was a small child.
The story is all the more creepy because it is told from the perspective of a child. With the child's innocence. Where there's a hint of the supernatural to the monsters that creep about in the night.
We're given enough clues to realize that there may be a more sinister and less...safe theory behind the goings on. If only it were a supernatural monster.
And it feels real in how its told - which is a kind of foggy recollection, with the details ironed out or frayed at the edges. The narrator tells us haltingly what he remembers, but leaves bits and pieces out here and there. Also his mother in her attempt to protect him - withhold oodles of information from the narrator and others, with tragic consequences.
It's a haunting book because of that. Shining a bright light on the tiny misdeeds and selfish evils along the way - that enable the predators that hide among us. Possibly one of the more horrifying books I've read due in no small part to its startling realism. Yes, I thought at the end, this could very well be true, and that thought alone, unnerved me.
You can also listen to it as read by the author - HERE .
Oh should state - if you have kids, it could really upset you. So not sure I'd recommend to folks with small children?
Started Experimental Films by Gemma Files - which is also a horror novel. I'm kind of binging horror novels at the moment. Horror and dark fantasy novels. Mainly because I finally burned out on romance novels. I swear they are all alike after a bit, romance novels, not horror novels (say what you will about horror - but it is a very broad genre and less formulaic). And everyone spends far too much time examining their navels and pondering if life is worth living without said romantic partner in it. (It is. Romance is overrated. And honey? He's really not worth the trouble or rather she's not worth the trouble, it varies.)
Off to bed. I think. Happy the week is almost over - been a bit of a slog.
An almost impossible to review horror novel without spoilers, and it's actually better if you read it unspoiled. The narrator, whose name is never revealed, is attempting to piece together various stories and memories from his childhood to make sense of what happened. But it's not until he talks with his mother as an adult, sharing his bits of information with her, and obtaining her insights - that he discovers the truth behind what actually happened.
The narrative is a loosely threaded together series of memories, acting as kind of childhood memoir. Albeit a disturbingly tragic one - about lost loves and lost friendships, and might have beens. While it answers many questions, it leaves others unanswered. As a result it stays with you long after you've finished reading it.
It takes place in the late 1980s and early 1990s, or the later half of the twentieth century. The characters don't have access to cell phones until the later half of the novel. The lead character or protagonist is six years of age to start, and the novel ends when he's an adult, most likely in his early to late twenties. So this is world without the internet. Also the protagonist is poor or working class.
I found it somewhat relatable - in that I grew up in the later half of the 20th Century, and did some of the things the narrator did as a child. Such as explore the woods around my house at the age of six or seven, and run into things that were dangerous, and somehow escape with the skin of my teeth. My parents also chose to move us far away at the age of 11 or 12, much like the narrator is moved away by his mother. And while the reasons were different, I knew my mother wanted us out of our neighborhood because she felt it was no longer safe due to an incident that had happened when I was about nine. (It was nothing serious, and I was fine - but in hindsight, I can understand why my mother freaked out and my parents started hunting for a new place to live.) Also much like the little boy in this novel - I'd lost contact with a best friend, who I adored and was never able to reconnect with. So for anyone who felt this isn't a realistic story? It is. There are a few weird little plot holes here and there, but they may be partly due to the narrator's unreliable memory. The story is told in flashback and through the haphazard recollections of memory - specifically memories of when the narrator was a small child.
The story is all the more creepy because it is told from the perspective of a child. With the child's innocence. Where there's a hint of the supernatural to the monsters that creep about in the night.
We're given enough clues to realize that there may be a more sinister and less...safe theory behind the goings on. If only it were a supernatural monster.
And it feels real in how its told - which is a kind of foggy recollection, with the details ironed out or frayed at the edges. The narrator tells us haltingly what he remembers, but leaves bits and pieces out here and there. Also his mother in her attempt to protect him - withhold oodles of information from the narrator and others, with tragic consequences.
It's a haunting book because of that. Shining a bright light on the tiny misdeeds and selfish evils along the way - that enable the predators that hide among us. Possibly one of the more horrifying books I've read due in no small part to its startling realism. Yes, I thought at the end, this could very well be true, and that thought alone, unnerved me.
You can also listen to it as read by the author - HERE .
Oh should state - if you have kids, it could really upset you. So not sure I'd recommend to folks with small children?
Started Experimental Films by Gemma Files - which is also a horror novel. I'm kind of binging horror novels at the moment. Horror and dark fantasy novels. Mainly because I finally burned out on romance novels. I swear they are all alike after a bit, romance novels, not horror novels (say what you will about horror - but it is a very broad genre and less formulaic). And everyone spends far too much time examining their navels and pondering if life is worth living without said romantic partner in it. (It is. Romance is overrated. And honey? He's really not worth the trouble or rather she's not worth the trouble, it varies.)
Off to bed. I think. Happy the week is almost over - been a bit of a slog.