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moonpeach's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
revamanda's review against another edition
1.0
So, I decided to read this because of the movie. Sigh... Just, no. The writing is meh and things are repeated constantly. Likely intentional but still. Nothing is explained. The characters have no depth to them and honestly didn't care about any of them. It wasn't a heart pounding sort of thriller it is made out to be. The ending is just... What?!?! And not a shock "what" but an eye roll "what." In fact, I was rolling my eyes a lot while reading it. The movie might be better but I'm definitely skipping it.
janinetrimble's review against another edition
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jenndub34's review against another edition
4.0
It’s the end of the world as we know it
Did the world end or was it just their world that ended? Another thought-provoking read by Tremblay that makes you wonder if you can be on both sides of the religious fence, or do you have to choose a side? I did not feel the horror in this novel like I did in HFoG, but definitely felt the angst of each unreliable character.
Did the world end or was it just their world that ended? Another thought-provoking read by Tremblay that makes you wonder if you can be on both sides of the religious fence, or do you have to choose a side? I did not feel the horror in this novel like I did in HFoG, but definitely felt the angst of each unreliable character.
stardust_priestess's review against another edition
This was an odd book. Interesting, but all the internal narratives and point of view switches were not my favorite.
charlotte2212's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
galexandriaw's review against another edition
2.0
Finally backlogging some reviews I've been meaning to post oof let's see how this goes
1.5/5 stars rounded up bc I'm generous
I was really pumped for this book bc I had seen so many people recommending it, and I was trying to read a bunch of creepier/thriller books during October/November. I felt really good about this for the first 100ish pages. And then it just got super repetitive?? And something happens that caught me so off guard because it was so sudden and unnecessary. It was supposed to be the turning point of the book, I think, but I still feel like the rest of the story could have happened without this event happening.
And maybe this is a me thing but the ending was not my jam. I'm not sure if are just not something I like or if this was jus a poor ending in general.
Anyway I wouldn't read this again but I also wouldn't say it's not worth reading if you are more confident that you like these types of stories. Additionally I did appreciate that the couple was a gay relationship but I didn't feel it was too trope-y. I think I might just be a bit picky when it comes to thriller/horror/suspenseful books. I'm bummed I didn't really like any of the Halloween-esque books I tried to read this year, but I still want to expand the genres I read so I won't be giving up! Thankfully I read Gideon during this time as well which filled some holes for me during spooky season.
1.5/5 stars rounded up bc I'm generous
I was really pumped for this book bc I had seen so many people recommending it, and I was trying to read a bunch of creepier/thriller books during October/November. I felt really good about this for the first 100ish pages. And then it just got super repetitive?? And something happens that caught me so off guard because it was so sudden and unnecessary. It was supposed to be the turning point of the book, I think, but I still feel like the rest of the story could have happened without this event happening.
And maybe this is a me thing but the ending was not my jam. I'm not sure if
Spoiler
endings where you don't know what is real/not realAnyway I wouldn't read this again but I also wouldn't say it's not worth reading if you are more confident that you like these types of stories. Additionally I did appreciate that the couple was a gay relationship but I didn't feel it was too trope-y. I think I might just be a bit picky when it comes to thriller/horror/suspenseful books. I'm bummed I didn't really like any of the Halloween-esque books I tried to read this year, but I still want to expand the genres I read so I won't be giving up! Thankfully I read Gideon during this time as well which filled some holes for me during spooky season.
itzbrianna's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The Cabin at the End of the World is a tense and complex tale of how choice, grief, and our beliefs can affect our lives. Tremblay does a fantastic job setting up the story and showing the differences of the world he’s building through a child’s eyes vs an adults. He is a master word smith with beautiful sentences woven to create poetic and meaningful stories for his characters.
There are several things Tremblay does well aside from his way with words. He is skilled at forcing the reader to reflect on the choices being presented to the characters causing them to analyze their own beliefs and choices they make or would make in a similar situation. He also does a great job of weaving in religion without it being preachy and instead focuses the questions on each character’s actions instead.
I enjoyed most of this story and loved how reflective it was from beginning to end. There were some things Tremblay could’ve done better though. The story is slow, which isn’t a problem in this case, but in certain parts the story is too slow with unnecessary descriptors that took me out of the story. There is a lot from this book that could’ve been cut to make the impact on us (the reader) stronger. Also the switch in POVs was sometimes jarring, but I get what the author was trying to do with that. It just could’ve been done better.
There is an event that happens which is a turning point in the story. After this moment, the novel starts to drag only finally picking back up when it’s almost the end. I think having the characters be two gay men with an adopted daughter was a perfect choice. And the differences between Andrew and Eric are apparent throughout the story. The most impactful part for me was the last few pages. I literally wept at the end, snot and hiccuping and everything.
I would recommend this book as it has beautiful imagery and is fun to analyze with friends or with a book club. The overarching plot is entertaining and I personally think the payoff is worth it. But I guess it just depends on how you’re interpreting the story.
There are several things Tremblay does well aside from his way with words. He is skilled at forcing the reader to reflect on the choices being presented to the characters causing them to analyze their own beliefs and choices they make or would make in a similar situation. He also does a great job of weaving in religion without it being preachy and instead focuses the questions on each character’s actions instead.
I enjoyed most of this story and loved how reflective it was from beginning to end. There were some things Tremblay could’ve done better though. The story is slow, which isn’t a problem in this case, but in certain parts the story is too slow with unnecessary descriptors that took me out of the story. There is a lot from this book that could’ve been cut to make the impact on us (the reader) stronger. Also the switch in POVs was sometimes jarring, but I get what the author was trying to do with that. It just could’ve been done better.
There is an event that happens which is a turning point in the story. After this moment, the novel starts to drag only finally picking back up when it’s almost the end. I think having the characters be two gay men with an adopted daughter was a perfect choice. And the differences between Andrew and Eric are apparent throughout the story. The most impactful part for me was the last few pages. I literally wept at the end, snot and hiccuping and everything.
I would recommend this book as it has beautiful imagery and is fun to analyze with friends or with a book club. The overarching plot is entertaining and I personally think the payoff is worth it. But I guess it just depends on how you’re interpreting the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Grief, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Misogyny and Medical trauma
lazyboysunday's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars, i liked it a lot. I love Paul Tremblay’s writing style and the characters were wonderful. There was just something missing.