Things Have Gotten Worse since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes

Not horror, just icky. Not dark, just with mental illness.

First story is about two people with obvious mental illness performing some form of BDSM relationship, but its just icky tasks. Completely unbelievable in the way the characters wrote and they both sounded the same; so much flourish in what is supposed to be casual personal emails, it almost feels like both of the characters are authors. Or just one self indulgent author. Second one is about yet another person with mental illness only this time there's religion involved. It had such an obvious plot hole that I was literally shocked into silence; I went back and read it several times to make sure I wasn't missing something and nope. Final story is about someone who you could have a reasonable argument of having mental illness because no one would do that. That's not how people are like. Ridiculous. With a ridiculous message trying to sound profound.

Each story succeeded only in pissing me off by their respective end and finishing only out of spite. Its hard to pick a worst. I honestly reset my brain at the start of each one, went in wanting to like it. I kept thinking, hoping that the author would give something more. Something more that what was obviously going to happen in each story. Something horror more than just the occasional "ew".

I love epistolary. Whether it's a story told through a character's journal entries like Michelle Paver's [b:Dark Matter|8350864|Dark Matter|Michelle Paver|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1504563569l/8350864.SY75.jpg|13203928] or the blog posts of Ted's Caving Page (honestly a must read for any horror fan), I am all about getting into a character's head by what they choose to write. It's one step removed from first-person narration, but manages to highlight the values of that character because they're not going to jot down every passing thought. Instead we only get the important bits, or what that character considers to be important which is just as telling.

With that caveat, I was probably always going to like this book. (That, and I'm a sucker for really long book titles.) The titular story used to be sold as a standalone book that I was never able to get my hands on, but has since been reissued as this version with two unrelated short stories at the end. This was a pretty polarizing story that had a lot of buzz around it, and I honestly went into it a little apprehensive because of how many reviews I saw mentioning how dark and disturbing they found it. Now that I'm on the other side myself, I think this is a case of a horror book getting too popular for its own good and getting dinged by people who don't usually give the genre a chance.

Yes there's animal abuse. Yes there's body mutilation. Yes there's unsettling situations I would never ever in a million years want to experience for myself. But I've already seen that in other books before and seen way worse.

In an attempt to stop being so vague while also trying not to spoil anything, at root is a very intense dom-sub relationship between two queer women who have only ever interacted through emails and instant messaging. Boundaries are pushed and both sides ultimately go too far, with disturbing results. If anything it left me more bummed out than rattled because it 1) seemed way too plausible as something that could actually happen and 2) reminded me a lot of a real-world situation that happened in 2018 in the gay community I won't go into, but others might remember the "Noodles and Beef" incident.

Similarly, the two short stories at the end of this particular printing also left me feeling more gloomy than spooked. All three stories had themes of people yearning for connections (and I was happy to see the author's afterword pointing that out), and how far people would go to put themselves into danger just to be noticed by someone else, let alone be loved. It's easy to sit back and scoff at what these people were doing, but at low points of my own life (or maybe even lower points yet to come), whose to say I wouldn't be as desperate? That's kind of horrifying in its own way.

Not exactly the kind of horror book that gave me the goosebumps I was looking for, but it was certainly unlike anything else I'd ever read, and it did leave me feeling something after finishing it. Definitely can't say that about every read.

This book contains three short stories that pack a big punch in a small package. They are each quite different and yet share a theme of insecurities and manipulation, a longing to love and be loved, and at least in the first two stories, a desperate need for something to believe in.

In the title story, a chance encounter on a message board quickly spirals out of control in a series of direct messages that leads to death. I am not spoiling anything for you by telling you that it ends this way since the beginning opens with the knowledge that one will not survive. It will make you wonder whether these two met by coincidence or whether one was just lying in wait for a victim. The internet can be dangerous, and you never know who is on that other screen.

In the next story, religion plays such a large role it could almost be considered one of the main characters. Religion and a desperate need to believe is what tears this family apart, builds them back up, and has tragic consequences for all involved.

In the final story, A man has trouble standing up for himself due to a longtime habit of politeness that has been deeply ingrained in his psyche since childhood.

There is no happily ever after to be found here. These stories are bleak, powerful, and ugly, showcasing the darkest side of human nature.
If you like weird fiction, this is for you.

5 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Titan Books