The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesius
As I said in my last post, I enjoyed this story for the most part. The biggest strike against it was the first person, limited perspective. In general, I feel that that perspective unnecessarily limits the story. In this particular story, it also made it fairly repetitive. As with most “one last job” stories, there’s a betrayal. I won’t give it away, but it probably wouldn’t work without the limited perspective. So, in that aspect, the form follows the function of the story.
Unfortunately, the limitations of perspective made the ending feel abrupt. I enjoyed the story, but felt that the ending came out of left field a bit. Perhaps one day, I’ll reread the story and try to find all the clues along the way.
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How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
This story is definitely more straight-forward horror than I expected from the synopsis or the couple of blurbs on the back of the book. It definitely has its funny bits, but it’s far less campy than I expected.
That being said, I am enjoying this story very much. Mostly told from Louise’s perspective, it nonetheless feels a little broader and deeper than the first person stories I’ve been reading recently. The story moves with great pacing. I just read a chapter in which a character’s arm is cut off and I think back to the story’s beginning and I didn’t see it coming, but it feels organic and well-earned.
This is my first story by Grady Hendrix and I’ll definitely be adding more books of his to my TBR.
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I Survived Capitalism and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt by Madeline Pendleton
Another nonfiction book on the horizon. I’m excited about this one, though. As a socialist punk, I mourned Covid and its aftermath as a time that brought into sharp focus how much capitalism didn’t work and was our opportunity to create a better system. Sadly, I feel like we lost our chance and we are left making the kind of small, incremental changes that still leave too many behind.
I don’t imagine that this will be the manifesto that gives me the insights necessary to save the world. But it could be.
The Chimerical Dark 