The Cabin at the End of the World is, without a doubt one of the most talked about novels of the year, with nearly equal amounts of love and hate for the latest work from Paul Tremblay. This is my third book by this Massachusetts writer. I loved A Head Full of Ghosts and liked Disappearance at Devil's Rock and fall squarely in the love column for this brilliant take on the apocalypse.
I took the time to read several of the one-star reviews and they actually have legitimate complaints, I just happen to have a difference of opinion. I actually liked the open ending. It left me pondering the possible outcomes. Something I'll be thinking about for some time to come.
The whole story is thought-provoking, start to finish. Andrew and Eric are spending time at their secluded cabin in the woods. Their little girl, Wen, is in the yard catching grasshoppers and putting them in a jar. She knows all about stranger danger, but sometimes a child just gets caught in the moment. That's what happens when the kind and gentle Leonard starts to engage her about the art of catching the insects.
Before we know it Leonard is joined by Redmond, Adriane, and Sabrina. Their story about the end of the world and the part Andrew, Eric, and Wen are to play is unfathomable and the solution untenable.
The writing is wonderful...
"Too many people have smiles that don't mean what a smile is supposed to mean. Their smiles are often cruel and mocking, like how a bully's grin is the same as a fist."
I found The Cabin at the End of the World to be an imaginative "What would you do?" story. I asked myself that very question, again an again, as I read the story. I could easily see this as a feature film.
Strongly recommended, but be prepared to love it or hate it. There is little middle ground.
Cabin at the End of the World is published by William Morrow and is available in all formats.
From the author's bio - Paul Tremblay is the author of Disappearance at Devil’s Rock, A Head Full of Ghosts, and the crime novels The Little Sleep and No Sleep Till Wonderland. He has won the Bram Stoker, British Fantasy, and Massachusetts Book Awards and is currently a member of the board of directors of the Shirley Jackson Awards. He has a master’s degree in mathematics and lives outside Boston with his wife and two children.
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