“You can say anything, you can do anything, but you can’t fake a thought.”
I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid is a quick short 224 page novel which will have your brains work up and body sweating. I can summarise what this book is about in one line — it is about Jake and his girlfriend going on a road trip to visit Jake’s parents. That’s it. When I first read the synopsis, I was confused. I thought “What would be so great about this road trip”.
I had exams going on at that time so I planned to read this book in a time span of 3 days but this book had me creeping at the first sentence, so I finished it in one go. This book is the perfect definition of ‘unputdownable’. Told from the point of view of Jake’s girlfriend, the aura is brilliantly set. There is nothing much going on in the first few chapters but the sheer uncertainty of events keeps the reader engrossed. The characters are untreatable and you don’t know where this story is headed.
This book is Horror, contemporary, psychological thriller and mystery at its best.There are many sub-divisions in horror genre, but the one which I find the best is realistic horror. A type of story which makes me question my surrounding and has a 100% probability of being true. The type of horror which is like a continuous ringing in your ear. The book got on my nerve, I had to put it down, take a 5 minute break and then go back to reading the rest.
The reason why I respect the author so much for coming up with such a gripping story, is because after reading the book, I re-read it. How often have you come across something so troubling that you revert to it immediately ? The writing style is very eerie. It perfectly paces, not fast, nor slow. There is a strange uneasiness at every page you turn. It is a type of book which you will think about even after a year of reading it.
I would suggest listening to the audio book too. It is the best audiobook I’ve listened to and I really don’t want to give off any spoilers but at the climax, it gave me chills, literal, chills.
To sum it all up, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is a book I will read when I a want a change and I will read it 10 times more. The book gives off the energy of being an Ari Aster and Alfred Hitchcock movie. It is full of suspense, uncanny and spine-chilling scene. I really look forward to how they movie will turn out. I am not one of the people to compare books with movies, but with this book I will make an exception. One would be missing out on a lot if they don’t read this, especially if you like psychological thrillers.
In conclusion, this book is on the top of my ‘favourite book list’ and I will treasure it as a masterpiece.
GoodReads Rating : 5 Star
If you like this, you might like :
The Tall Man, Phoebe Locke
This Is Where It Ends, Marieke Nijkamp
One Little Lie, Sam Carrington