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itzbrianna's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
spaghettii's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
melsage1823's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
After seeing the movie I very much was looking forward to checking out the book and to me it only half delivered, the movie is way better. Shyamalan may have been a coward for excluding the death that happens in this book but at least it was a lot clearer in the message it was trying to give. The first quarter and half of this book was absolutely fantastic as I love psychological horror novels and this one definitely messed with me. The desperation of the Invaders was heartbreaking to read.
Even the slower parts of the book are disturbing. Every page makes you uncomfortable and that's what a good horror novel should do. It's the perfect length and the perfect pace. It also has a really good basic structure. I've only rated it lower because of the last quarter of the book. Truly if it wasn't for that last quarter this would a hundred percent be another five star. It normalises a healthy lgtbq+ family despite the fact the same family has to deal with invaders and the apocalypse.
This novel is definitely one that has an even number of flaws and strengths. Its one I'd recommend you to make your own decision.
So with that being said let's go into the flaws.
First the fact that it leans into the Bury Your Gays trope, I know it's a horror novel but the reason I loved the movie was because despite how much Eric and Andrew the story still manages to cleverly subvert the bury your gays trope but Cabin At The End Of The World does the complete opposite. Without spoilers I can say that this book is walking bury your gays trope novel, we don't even get proper flashbacks of Andrew, Eric and Wen as a happy family to add to the feels of what the characters are losing. Queer people deserve to exist in horror novels but not solely to suffer.
Secondly the message. Cabin At The End Of The World falls into a trope I hate in horror especially if it doesn't suit the story. Its up to interpretation! Does not belong in a dooms day apocalypse. This ambiguity spoils the doomsday aspects as well as the many sacrifices. There's two messages Paul Tremblay wanted to include in this novel and it's clear he couldn't decide between Dooms Day Religious Cults Bad or Love In Any Form Is Powerful Enough To Save The World. You can't have both in a story like this it's gotta be one way or the other.
Finally the pov writing. Even bracing the reader for it doesn't help. The povs in the first half of this book was absolutely brilliant but the second half of the book felt like the povs were unintentionally weak or that he'd ran out of time so just decided having duel pov would work, it really didn't. Especially Sabrina's where it sounds like Eric and Andrew are reading a letter from her. It just felt so inconsistent and messy. Novels work better when they have the same writing style throughout. Cabin At The End Of The World would have struck better if kept the same writing style throughout.
Now let's get onto the positives.
First the fact that Wen's povs are actually written like she's seven years old. Alot of novels e.g Hunger Games cough cough like to write their child/teen protagonist as if they're an adult but Tremblay doesn't. He makes sure that we're actually in the mind of a scared seven year old and purposefully contrasts her povs from the povs of the adults and as a result it adds to the creepiness and eeriness especially contrasting with her and her Dad's povs. Her povs also add weight to how the Invaders feel about traumatising her and shows how messed up the doomsday invasion really is. Out of all of the characters I felt the most bad for her.
Secondly the pacing. Pacing is something that can either make or break a horror novel. In the case of Cabin At The End of the used the pacing is very fast and simple structured in terms of progression. As a result it makes the slower parts more intresting to focus on. Tremblay takes the right amount of time to flesh out the story and characters as a result allowing the dual messages of the story to further sink in. It also makes the atmsophere work a lot better. Had this been a slow draw out it would have felt very good so I'm glad Tremblay played it right.
Finally the boldness of the horror. Compared to the movie I did prefer the horror in this novel as it was more brave and unapologetic. Tremblay wasn't afraid to sugar coat the extremeness of the scenario presented to the family. The deaths were a lot more darker and disturbing which messed with my head more due to how graphic they were. It showed and empathised how dedicated the hoursemen were with their mission and purpose. I also think it adds a horror aspect to religion and throughly debates the question about if there's a God why are some of his decisions are so unethical.
Overall despite its major faults, The Cabin At The End Of The World is a beautifully messed psychological horror story that leaves you second guessing until the very end about the validity of the strangers stories. It's very tense and sad. Would recommend only if your in a good place mentally as I'm not sugar coating it, there's alot of su***de.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Racism
caroline_123's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
jaedia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicide, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Gaslighting, and Pandemic/Epidemic
jessy4550's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War
zeloco's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, and Suicide attempt
_morgreads's review against another edition
1.25
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
mrbean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Hate crime, Homophobia, Grief, and Suicide attempt
katiereadsbooks23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Hate crime and Homophobia
Minor: Religious bigotry