Four star review, originally posted here on December 31st, 2025:
I’m playing catch-up and doing my last couple months worth of reviews, which is never fair to any of these books. It’s especially not fair to the later books when I’m already pooped from my other reviews and just want to be done. I pushed this one to last because I have the least idea of what to say. I certainly had strong feelings while reading the book, but… can I remember what they were?
What do I remember?
1. You have to get past the apples. The apple guy was super weird and boring, and he’s right towards the beginning. But in my opinion he was the low point and everything picks up from there, so keep going! Don’t give up!
2. This book was actually a collection of interrelated short stories. Which means, of course, that each chapter/story was different, and some were stronger or weaker than others. That’s the nature of an anthology. So, yeah, the apple guy sucked. But other chapters were great! But… I’m struggling to remember what the rest of the chapters were…
3. This book reminded me of early 19th century dark lit. Think Poe or Irving. The stories got REALLY REALLY dark, which I loved! But they were told in kinda dull boring voices instead of being overly dramatic or sensational. I liked this juxtaposition, but it means this one could be easy to snooze right through and miss the excitement.
4. This cover does not capture the vibe of this book at all. Supposedly it’s accurate to the art of the time, we modern uneducated rubes just don’t get it cuz we don’t know the first thing about American art history, blah blah blah. But come on. The entire purpose of a cover is to set the vibe and draw you in. This ain’t it. Illustrate the chapters or something, but put creepier shit on the cover, please.
Helga without the H 