tmd1993's review against another edition
4.0
This book deeply gave me the heebie jeebies. Like I was itching the whole time. I did not love the end—it was really rushed and out of left field. But I would recommend this for a quick spooky read.
chetplease's review
3.75
a very fun and creepy offering from a great author. refreshingly different from everything else I've read from him. paranoid and squeamish.
erin_oriordan_is_reading_again's review against another edition
4.0
This piece of urban horror succeeds for the same reason urban legends persist: each plays off anxieties that are very real, then ramp up the creepiness factor. The re-emergence of the bedbug plague in the United States in the past few years is a real reason for alarm. It plays into our ancient mammalian fears of contamination and of being preyed upon. 'Bedbugs' introduces these elements into a marriage already strained by financial uncertainty. Susan and Alex Wendt are doing alright after Susan decides to leave her job as an attorney to pursue painting, but Susan feels that Alex secretly resents her. When she begins to suspect their new, almost-too-good-to-be-true New York apartment has bedbugs, many who've experienced the six-legged creepy crawlies will be able to sympathize. Then, as in any good urban legend, things quickly go from suspiciously uneasy to surreal and nightmarish. Thank the heavens, no one's ever had a bedbug problem like this before.
Ben H. Winter may be best known for literary mash-ups like [b:Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters|6425725|Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters|Ben H. Winters|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266691612s/6425725.jpg|6615075] and [b:Android Karenina|7551580|Android Karenina|Ben H. Winters|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275695384s/7551580.jpg|10448325], but Winter is equally creative with wholly original horror. This fast-paced read is sure to make skin crawl.
Ben H. Winter may be best known for literary mash-ups like [b:Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters|6425725|Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters|Ben H. Winters|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266691612s/6425725.jpg|6615075] and [b:Android Karenina|7551580|Android Karenina|Ben H. Winters|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275695384s/7551580.jpg|10448325], but Winter is equally creative with wholly original horror. This fast-paced read is sure to make skin crawl.
katiebella_reads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
3.75⭐️
Triggers : ⚠️
Dead babies
Hurt children
Dead pets
Bugs
Summery
Susan thinks she has found the perfect apartment for her and her little family. Her three year old Emma loves it. Her husband Alex is happy with the space and the price. It even has a small room to be her art studio!
Then strange things start happening. Little things at first. Weird smells and an annoying ping sound, followed by the bugs. Only she seems to get bitten. Only she seems to see them. The thought keeps consuming her. Even an exterminator can't find a trace of bed bugs.
But bedbugs are all over the news. The city is having an outbreak. Every newspaper reports it. This can't be all in her mind. Can it?
My Thoughts
I had a hard time with this book. I'm not quite sure why. It's well written. The plot moves along relatively quickly. It's a fairly short novel. I just couldn't seem to get fully engrossed in it until the last hundred or so pages. I found it easy to put down and forget about. What should have been an afternoon read turned into several days. It might have been the bugs. The constant talk of bedbugs was so descriptive that it actually had me itching and worrying about my own home! ( like I stated, well written. Very well written)
I found the FMC, Susan, likable and relatable. The fact that she is slowly being driven insane by phantom creepy crawlies notwithstanding. She is easy to understand. Even when thinking and fixating on the unthinkable, I couldn't help but feel bad for her. There is a realness to her that brought her very much alive for me.
I'm not sure what genre this book falls under. Somewhere between psychological thriller and psychological horror. It's thrilling and realistic to it cote. While remaining disturbing and grotesque. I'm not sure I would read anything else by this author, but I don't regret reading this book. The ending was truly everything, and then some. I do recommend. Just be warned you may start itching while reading!
Triggers : ⚠️
Dead babies
Hurt children
Dead pets
Bugs
Summery
Susan thinks she has found the perfect apartment for her and her little family. Her three year old Emma loves it. Her husband Alex is happy with the space and the price. It even has a small room to be her art studio!
Then strange things start happening. Little things at first. Weird smells and an annoying ping sound, followed by the bugs. Only she seems to get bitten. Only she seems to see them. The thought keeps consuming her. Even an exterminator can't find a trace of bed bugs.
But bedbugs are all over the news. The city is having an outbreak. Every newspaper reports it. This can't be all in her mind. Can it?
My Thoughts
I had a hard time with this book. I'm not quite sure why. It's well written. The plot moves along relatively quickly. It's a fairly short novel. I just couldn't seem to get fully engrossed in it until the last hundred or so pages. I found it easy to put down and forget about. What should have been an afternoon read turned into several days. It might have been the bugs. The constant talk of bedbugs was so descriptive that it actually had me itching and worrying about my own home! ( like I stated, well written. Very well written)
I found the FMC, Susan, likable and relatable. The fact that she is slowly being driven insane by phantom creepy crawlies notwithstanding. She is easy to understand. Even when thinking and fixating on the unthinkable, I couldn't help but feel bad for her. There is a realness to her that brought her very much alive for me.
I'm not sure what genre this book falls under. Somewhere between psychological thriller and psychological horror. It's thrilling and realistic to it cote. While remaining disturbing and grotesque. I'm not sure I would read anything else by this author, but I don't regret reading this book. The ending was truly everything, and then some. I do recommend. Just be warned you may start itching while reading!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, and Murder
trudilibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
I love, love, love, the slow, subtle creep of this one. Bugs of any sort represent the ultimate squick factor for me, and an entire story dedicated to a bedbug infestation was almost more than I could stand. I'm still scratching and feeling paranoid. I definitely won't be looking too closely at my pillowcases tonight for fear of actually seeing something I just don't need to see: ignorance is bliss on this account. The less I know the better.
In its setup and slow build, the book reminded me a lot of Rosemary's Baby: young, successful couple move into a fabulous apartment. Wife begins to see things, husband thinks she's crazy. Is wife crazy? Or will she be vindicated? At what cost will such vindication come?
I loved how long Winters is able to keep me in suspense on this count. I had my suspicions and theories, but I never knew with certainty until it all came out in the end, and what an ending! It totally made that slow crawl for the first three-quarters of the book worth it. I would love to see this story adapted for the big screen. That would be awesome.
October Country 2011 #4
In its setup and slow build, the book reminded me a lot of Rosemary's Baby: young, successful couple move into a fabulous apartment. Wife begins to see things, husband thinks she's crazy. Is wife crazy? Or will she be vindicated? At what cost will such vindication come?
I loved how long Winters is able to keep me in suspense on this count. I had my suspicions and theories, but I never knew with certainty until it all came out in the end, and what an ending! It totally made that slow crawl for the first three-quarters of the book worth it. I would love to see this story adapted for the big screen. That would be awesome.
October Country 2011 #4
eunicedlt's review against another edition
4.0
Had a couple twists at the end I did NOT see coming. One of which was not wrapped up neatly. The other which were. Overall a pleasurable read.
lola425's review against another edition
3.0
Creepy book, which is not my thing, although I did enjoy the characters. The premise reminded me of Paula Fox's Desperate Characters (minus the creepy factor) which is why I picked up the advanced copy. The only problem I had with it, and this could just be me, is that I felt that Winters used brand names as characterization shortcuts. Not necessarily a problem because in a lot of ways we are what we own in this society, but I found it a little jarring.
flyawaytinker's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
It made me itch.
I don’t like Susan at all.
I don’t like Susan at all.
james7634's review
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
Complicated characters. Simple creepy plot. Woman moves into new apartment where she suspects bed bugs but others aren’t so sure.
The husband and other side characters are written really well. I loved this creepy little story.
The husband and other side characters are written really well. I loved this creepy little story.
mapey's review against another edition
4.0
This book creeped me out, so it’s a good 4 stars from me! Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a literary masterpiece. This wouldn’t be the first book I’d recommend to friends looking for a horror book, but it left me satisfied and reading the last half of it all at once to see if my predictions were correct. (They were.)
The main character Susan has a slow descent into madness due to bedbugs no one seems to see but her. It really is a good slow burn there, although i usually hate slow books.
The main character Susan has a slow descent into madness due to bedbugs no one seems to see but her. It really is a good slow burn there, although i usually hate slow books.