WE SPREAD BY IAIN REID

Iain Reid is a talented writer and his books not only surprise me but they leave me feeling the effects of them days later. While this one wasn't as haunting as his previous two novels it is just as good and I recommend it. 

Rating: ★★★★★
​Release Date: September 27, 2022
Genre: Psychological Suspense
Series: None. 
Pages: 303 pages
Format: Hardcover Source: ​Publisher

The author of the “evocative, spine-tingling, and razor-sharp” (Bustle) I’m Thinking of Ending Things that inspired the Netflix original movie and the “short, shocking psychological three-hander” (The Guardian) Foe returns with 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.

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READ MY BOOK REVIEW

Iain Reid has a distinct writing style and being able to immerse yourself into his stories is very easy. The only downside is that they tend to be depressing. Normally a book that makes me feel this way doesn’t sit well with me, but his philosophical stories are incredibly interesting and so very real to the readers. As many have said before me, his books are genre defying. Sure, they feel suspenseful and eerie but when it comes down to it everything is much simpler than we are led to believe.

I won’t get into the plot because anything I say could be a spoiler, but I will say that I truly enjoyed this one. I read it in under 2 days because of the short, snappy prose, the intense and sometimes chilling plot, and because I connected with our MC Penny from the start. The ending made me sad, and I was left wondering what happened (his books always make me fall down a rabbit hole of research) but all in all this is an excellent and smart novel. I have enjoyed every one of his books and will continue to read them as long as he writes.


𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗢𝗙:
• Psychological/Philosophical Suspense
• Books that make you think
• All the authors previous books

𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐