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A review by justinkhchen
I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid
5.0
5 stars
Clever storytelling with substance, I'm Thinking of Ending Things is a haunting tale with an ingenious 'switcheroo' third act, turning the narrative from a simple horror/mystery to something more melancholic/personal.
A *super* random observation: because I've read it quite recently, but this book, along with Fredrik Backman's A Man Called Ove, can make for quite a compelling literary pairing on loneliness; there are obvious overlaps in their intent, but yielding completely opposite reading experience.
Having already seen Charlie Kaufman's film adaptation (and loved it), I knew going in what the story was building towards, yet I still found myself completely captivated. Without Kaufman's additional layers of hallucinatory visuals and meta-commentary on cinema, Iain Reid's original is leaner, and arguably much more decipherable; the puzzle pieces are more clearly laid out, and the 'secondary timelines/voices/dimensions' element throughout (which was not present in the movie) paves a smoother transition towards the final revelation.
Except for a very minor gripe (the last act in the school feels a tad long and aimless), I'm Thinking of Ending Things is a near perfect magic trick of a story, one that becomes more substantial upon reflection, without feeling cheated for the sake of shock value.
And thanks to rovic for recommending the audiobookâI would argue it's the definitive way to consume this novel.
Clever storytelling with substance, I'm Thinking of Ending Things is a haunting tale with an ingenious 'switcheroo' third act, turning the narrative from a simple horror/mystery to something more melancholic/personal.
A *super* random observation: because I've read it quite recently, but this book, along with Fredrik Backman's A Man Called Ove, can make for quite a compelling literary pairing on loneliness; there are obvious overlaps in their intent, but yielding completely opposite reading experience.
Having already seen Charlie Kaufman's film adaptation (and loved it), I knew going in what the story was building towards, yet I still found myself completely captivated. Without Kaufman's additional layers of hallucinatory visuals and meta-commentary on cinema, Iain Reid's original is leaner, and arguably much more decipherable; the puzzle pieces are more clearly laid out, and the 'secondary timelines/voices/dimensions' element throughout (which was not present in the movie) paves a smoother transition towards the final revelation.
Except for a very minor gripe (the last act in the school feels a tad long and aimless), I'm Thinking of Ending Things is a near perfect magic trick of a story, one that becomes more substantial upon reflection, without feeling cheated for the sake of shock value.
And thanks to rovic for recommending the audiobookâI would argue it's the definitive way to consume this novel.