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A review by caughtbetweenpages
Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I think Chuck Tingle did a great job with the tension building and the building to horrific moments; when he puts you in one of those horror scenes where something absolutely nasty is happening, you can't really look away. He forces you to just sort of be in that scene and I found that in the horror books that that I like to read, I enjoy that feeling; that's the sort of thing I go to horror for. I felt actual concern and even fear for Rose and the other characters when they were in these dangerous or sort of horrific circumstances, not only from the Demonic creatures that haunted them, but even from (or rather I should say especially from) the wealthy people in power who are trying to get them to pray the gay away (and some of whom genuinely believe that they are helping the queer youth they're "converting").
I did struggle a little bit with feeling like my hand was being held and that I was being told what to feel about certain things rather than just letting the thing I was shown be bad enough to stand on its own self. I feel like systemic homophobia and a conversion camp are horrific enough. I don't need to also be told this is bad; it's very clear the stance Tingle is taking, the sort of ethos of the story is pointing in that direction. I don't feel that the inclusion of a conversion camp in any way intends to condone the existence thereof.
Also, because we were in Rose's point of view and she is both autistic and actively deprogramming herself from this awful cultish Evangelical upbringing, I was a little more forgiving in the fact that we got some of that telling rather than showing in terms of figuring out her identity as a gay woman, her <spoiler? parents' role in placing her at Damascus , and the cruelty of homophobia and the empowerment that comes with self-acceptance and finding comunity. Shifting from one paradigm of thinking into another paradigm of thinking does (at least in my experience) have a little little bit of that black and whiteness, but I also kind of struggle with the stereotype of the hyper-clinical autistic person, mainly because there's simply not enough alternative autistic representation in books, so there isn't as much to battle those sorts of stereotypes. It's not a red flag but it is something I don't necessarily love , neither in terms of storytelling nor in terms of characterization for an autistic character in particular. But again, because Rose is being fully deprogrammed from a cult, I'm a little more forgiving of it in this circumstance. I do sort of wish other feelings had been elaborated on, like the feeling of well being deprogrammed of losing that sort of built-in sense of community, especially when you are leaving behind the comfort of everything you've ever known (and even though that comfort is a cold one, there is still a tremendous amount of upheaval and difficulty to losing a community like that, even if it harms you). But I get it there was plot to get through, and there wasn't necessarily enough room to dive into those things and still have, like, a good horror genre fiction piece.
And as a piece of horror fiction, I feel that it did a great job. I think the prose read a little bit YA and simplistic for my personal tastes. I was kind of surprised when I saw that this wasn't listed under the young adult category on goodreads but rather the adult category. because I truly felt it read more YA. Despite Rose being 20, she was quite juvenile, simply because that is how she as a young woman in this Evangelical cult was raised to be which... the way that learning that she was 20 made me absolutely shudder given the way that she spoke? excellent job Chuck Tingle. The tension that grew not only as Rose began to cotton on about her sexuality and the demon that possessed her became more and more present and began to physically harm her and those around her , but in the way that the adults in her community began to watch her for signs that she needed to be re-programmed... It was chilling, and I had a hard time putting the book down because I didn't want to leave her there, being watched like that by people with so much systemic power over her. The normalization of everything from Rose not being allowed a door to her room to literal flies erupting from her mouth, all being swept under the rug by the "God works in mysterious ways and it's a sin to question Him, or me as your human father, actually" fundamentalist thing? Even more horrifying than the demons! At least the demons, you can kill.
Contrast that with the love and mutual care of Rose's found family. The circumstances by which they come together is Bad, but they love one another the way they need to be loved, and they literally help one another slay their demons in order to live an honest, free, joyful life. It's the queer dream!
I did struggle a little bit with feeling like my hand was being held and that I was being told what to feel about certain things rather than just letting the thing I was shown be bad enough to stand on its own self. I feel like systemic homophobia and a conversion camp are horrific enough. I don't need to also be told this is bad; it's very clear the stance Tingle is taking, the sort of ethos of the story is pointing in that direction. I don't feel that the inclusion of a conversion camp in any way intends to condone the existence thereof.
Also, because we were in Rose's point of view and she is both autistic and actively deprogramming herself from this awful cultish Evangelical upbringing, I was a little more forgiving in the fact that we got some of that telling rather than showing in terms of figuring out her identity as a gay woman, her <spoiler? parents' role in placing her at Damascus , and the cruelty of homophobia and the empowerment that comes with self-acceptance and finding comunity. Shifting from one paradigm of thinking into another paradigm of thinking does (at least in my experience) have a little little bit of that black and whiteness, but I also kind of struggle with the stereotype of the hyper-clinical autistic person, mainly because there's simply not enough alternative autistic representation in books, so there isn't as much to battle those sorts of stereotypes. It's not a red flag but it is something I don't necessarily love , neither in terms of storytelling nor in terms of characterization for an autistic character in particular. But again, because Rose is being fully deprogrammed from a cult, I'm a little more forgiving of it in this circumstance. I do sort of wish other feelings had been elaborated on, like the feeling of well being deprogrammed of losing that sort of built-in sense of community, especially when you are leaving behind the comfort of everything you've ever known (and even though that comfort is a cold one, there is still a tremendous amount of upheaval and difficulty to losing a community like that, even if it harms you). But I get it there was plot to get through, and there wasn't necessarily enough room to dive into those things and still have, like, a good horror genre fiction piece.
And as a piece of horror fiction, I feel that it did a great job. I think the prose read a little bit YA and simplistic for my personal tastes. I was kind of surprised when I saw that this wasn't listed under the young adult category on goodreads but rather the adult category. because I truly felt it read more YA. Despite Rose being 20, she was quite juvenile, simply because that is how she as a young woman in this Evangelical cult was raised to be which... the way that learning that she was 20 made me absolutely shudder given the way that she spoke? excellent job Chuck Tingle. The tension that grew not only as Rose began to cotton on about her sexuality and the demon
Contrast that with the love and mutual care of Rose's found family. The circumstances by which they come together is Bad, but they love one another the way they need to be loved, and they literally help one another slay their demons in order to live an honest, free, joyful life. It's the queer dream!