Come Closer

I just finished this book. I started it a couple days ago and I would have devoured it in one sitting but, you know–life–so I gulped down huge chunks of it in whatever reading time I could steal. I can\’t believe it\’s just under 200 pages! I feel like so much happened in these pages… …certain things are going to scare certain people. Okay? Let\’s just start there. Not everything is going to have the same impact on every, single reader because we all come to the story with so much baggage–preferences, worldviews, triggers, perspectives, pet peeves, history, so much baggage. For me, Sara Gran touches on a subject that hits very close to home. So, the protagonist, Amanda–I can relate to her. Things happen to her that feel akin to my context. And then when the author starts to turn up the heat and the bubbles begin to gather around the edges of the pot…the water starts getting warm…and then hot…hotter…and then BOILING…I felt it all. I felt everything Amanda did and it just straight terrified me. This book got under my skin in the worst/best way. Like, I even wondered about myself there for a minute, you know?? People who have read this book, are you nodding your head in agreement? Did you go over that checklist and you\’re like, hmmmm, I could score a 3 or a 4 right now… Ack! *shivers* Those of you who haven\’t read this book, this is for you: I\’m recommending this read for people who enjoy those psychological, unreliable-narrator, creeping-dread, disturbing stories that just get more and more messed up and crazy as it goes on. Truly, there were some stand out moment here that if this was a book, I\’d cover my eyes. Scary, scary, scary. Maybe not for some–I understand that, but it was for ME. Big time.

I read this book in one sitting. I wouldn\’t necessarily classify it as a novel, the length is more of a novella. But, wow. It it\’s short length, it really really really gets heavy. I was shaken. It was such an incredibly written and haunting piece. Possession has been something that\’s always been the source of my nightmares and the way Gran depicts her character\’s hopeless situation just blew me away. I wanted a happy ending, but every part of me knew it wasn\’t in the cards. In fact, the ending was more fitting than I would have imagined. This book is scary in ways that other horror novels are not. There are definitely creepy moments, but to me the most terrifying part of the novel was how powerless the main character was as the demon took over. It instills the kind of terror that stays with you days after you\’ve finished reading it. I would 100% recommend this book if you love horror but aren\’t into grizzly depictions of gore or shock pieces.

I kept hearing about this little book and finally had to see what it was all about for myself. This is a truly phenomenal and frightening tale of relationships, obsession, psychological trauma, and possession. It begins small, with things no one would suspect to signal an incoming demonic force—things like the strange tapping Amanda and Ed hear in the walls of their apartment, and how they start to fight more. But that’s normal, right? That’s just what couples go through. But for Amanda, the small signs keep stacking up until she can no longer trust that she is in control. What I loved about this book is that it is told in the first person, so we see through Amanda’s eyes. Can we really trust her perspective? What if the strange dreams are just in her head—what if it’s all in her head? I spent much of the book toeing that line, wondering if her ailment was due to demonic possession or a medical issue, like schizophrenia. The way the novella builds is fairly genius. Each incident doesn’t seem like much on its own, but all of a sudden I realized Amanda was in far too deep to claw her way out alone. I’m not sure I’ve read another possession story that is told from the perspective of the possessed—it is always an outside observer—so that was an interesting and unique tactic that kept me guessing throughout. Besides the story of possession, this book is threaded through with the story of the breakdown of a romantic relationship. Amanda and her husband seem normal enough at the beginning, but then he is blind to the strange changes coming over her, uncaring of her needs, unwilling to compromise. And Amanda too hardens toward her husband. “What we think is impossible happens all the time,” Amanda thinks at the beginning of the book. I’d agree, but the impossibility doesn’t turn on us all at once; it creeps, insidiously and slow until we can’t be sure that what has changed is something around us, or in us.

This book is a very short, quick read…more of a novella, really. Hmm…what to say about Come Closer? *It\’s fun, but predictable. *It\’s engrossing, but seriously lacking in character development. *It\’s typical of it\’s genre, but somewhat creepy because of Amanda\’s complete lack of control over her situation. Honestly, I just needed more. This had the potential to be a great little horror novel. Unfortunately, it simply wasn\’t long enough to really delve deeply into the characters, their thoughts/feelings, or even the demon herself. 2.5 stars

Was expecting a creepy, dark spine-chiller but was disappointed. It\’s very short and feels like it\’s rushing towards the conclusion which isn\’t that unexpected. Not sure if it\’s the writing style which is flat and sparse (although with the odd flash of deadpan humour which I enjoyed) or the fact that from the outset you feel you know the explanation for what\’s happening and therefore you are not particularly surprised or shocked by the developments, but it felt there was a lack of atmosphere or suspense. It read almost like a film script with exposition and dialogue but needing the bare bones to be fleshed out by the acting, lighting, music score. In a book, especially in the horror/thriller genre, it needs the bare bones of the plot to be given tension, fear and dread by the quality of the writing – but in this case I felt the author failed to deliver.

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