We Spread

  

I received a copy of this release from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Title: We Spread 

Author: Iain Reid

Publisher: Gallery / Scout Press

Release Date: 9.27.22

Publisher’s Summary 

A new work of philosophical suspense.

Penny, an artist, has lived in the same apartment for decades, surrounded by the artifacts and keepsakes of her long life. She is resigned to the mundane rituals of old age, until things start to slip. Before her longtime partner passed away years earlier, provisions were made, unbeknownst to her, for a room in a unique long-term care residence, where Penny finds herself after one too many “incidents.”

Initially, surrounded by peers, conversing, eating, sleeping, looking out at the beautiful woods that surround the house, all is well. She even begins to paint again. But as the days start to blur together, Penny—with a growing sense of unrest and distrust—starts to lose her grip on the passage of time and on her place in the world. Is she succumbing to the subtly destructive effects of aging, or is she an unknowing participant in something more unsettling?

At once compassionate and uncanny, told in spare, hypnotic prose, Iain Reid’s genre-defying third novel explores questions of conformity, art, productivity, relationships, and what, ultimately, it means to grow old.

My Review

My book buddy @beth.eats.and.reads was so kind to pass along her copy of this book to me. I was so excited that I sat down and immediately started reading it and finished in just a couple hours. It is a very fast read due to pacing and page formatting. I really enjoyed the experience of reading this but I have some questions, which I think is the point. I'm not sure how to label it or even describe it fully. Horror? Psychological horror? I am comparing this to The Haunting of Hill House and The Matrix, two things I never thought I would group together.