A review by james1star
The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

This started started out really intriguing and had a lot of potential but definitely fell flat as the book developed in my opinion. I won’t mention any of the real plot other then we follow eleven-year-old Wen as she’s outside a cabin in the middle of nowhere, New Hampshire when the seemingly friendly Leonard approaches her. Before long he and three fellow ‘companions’ make their true intentions known causing Wen to retreat into the cabin to her dads (YES it’s a gay family!) Eric and Andrew. When ensues is (taken from the BorrowBox blurb because I can be arsed) ‘an unbearably tense, gripping tale of paranoia, sacrifice, apocalypse and survival that escalates to a shattering conclusion, one in which the fate of a loving family and quite possibly all of humanity are entwined.’ I kind of agree with this but also I just couldn’t connect with the story, understand what was happening, properly get the messages/possible allegories, etc. on the whole there were just too many things that just didn’t sit right with me in terms of the plot or what the book was trying to do/say and in the end had no real lasting impact. 

The saving grace was the tormented family of adoptee Wen and husbands Eric and Andrew. I really enjoyed seeing a gay family being included in a horror/thriller type book where I feel the genre does maybe lack as much representation (or at least I’ve not explored it all that much to witness it) so it was refreshing to see. Tremblay also doesn’t exactly make their queerness the focus or a pivotal plot point in the book, it’s just a thriller that just so happens to include two gay characters and I loved that - why I rounded up instead of down (on goodreads). 

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Amy Landon and honestly I wouldn’t recommend this. It’s clear enough but just wasn’t the most pleasant experience. I didn’t particularly like the way she read out parts said by males (which is a large chunk of the book) and on the whole was quite meh. Maybe I’d have preferred the book had I read it physically and took my time with it but alas I didn’t so yhh… not for me but others may enjoy it. 
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