ARC #Review: I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS by Iain Reid

I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS

Author: Iain Reid
Source: ARC via the Publisher
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Canada
Publication Date: June 14, 2016
Rating: 4/5 stars

Summary:
You will be scared. But you won’t know why…

I’m thinking of ending things. Once this thought arrives, it stays. It sticks. It lingers. It’s always there. Always.

Jake once said, “Sometimes a thought is closer to truth, to reality, than an action. You can say anything, you can do anything, but you can’t fake a thought.”

And here’s what I’m thinking: I don’t want to be here.

In this deeply suspenseful and irresistibly unnerving debut novel, a man and his girlfriend are on their way to a secluded farm. When the two take an unexpected detour, she is left stranded in a deserted high school, wondering if there is any escape at all. What follows is a twisted unraveling that will haunt you long after the last page is turned. 

In this smart, suspenseful, and intense literary thriller, debut novelist Iain Reid explores the depths of the human psyche, questioning consciousness, free will, the value of relationships, fear, and the limitations of solitude. Reminiscent of Jose Saramago’s early work, Michel Faber’s cult classic Under the Skin, and Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk about Kevin, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is an edgy, haunting debut. Tense, gripping, and atmospheric, this novel pulls you in from the very first page…and never lets you go.

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

THAT WAS SO TRIPPY AND MADE ME SO ANXIOUS. This was so well written and I really enjoyed it. I have a hard time sometimes with stream of consciousness novels because it is hard to be so inside someone's head if you don't connect to them right away but that wasn't an issue here. I immediately connected with our main character and bonded with her and her thoughts immediately. 

I thought some of it was a little off and there were some pieces I had to read twice to figure out if we were in the Present or in a memory because of how things were worded. As well, I felt a little off put by the "interludes" between sections because they gave some hints as to what was happening but mostly just yanked me out of the stream of consciousness which was hard to get back into. They were useful to bring us back to "reality" but they were a bit jarring because of their placement and how they were written (i.e. more like transcripts/conversation than prose).

This one has good rereadability. Knowing what I know now I would like to start at the beginning and reread it but I am not sure I would like it as much? I think part of what made this one so great was that you felt the anxiety and fear AS it was happening because you were so invested in the story but I'm not sure I would have the same connection now that I know the conclusion. I think I picked up on a lot of the clues and while I wasn't necessarily correct with my thinking, I was heading in the right direction. I may read it again in a couple months to see what think then.

Overall, I recommend this one but read it in the day time and with the lights on!