The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay
Happy Spooktober to all our leftonread loves! The weather is changing and it’s finally my favourite time of the year where I love nothing better than snuggling up with a blanket and reading a spooky book. Today I want to talk to you all about one of my favourite horror authors, Paul Tremblay. If you haven’t checked him out yet I cannot recommend him enough. He is an expert at the “is it or isn’t it?” style of writing where neither you nor the characters truly know what’s real and what isn’t. This talent is especially expressed in his The Cabin at The End of The World and A Head Full of Ghosts, both of which any horror fan needs to have on their bookshelf.
The Cabin at The End of The World follows a young family, Andrew, Kevin and their daughter Wen as they take a family trip to a remote cabin. As Andrew and Kevin sunbathe and Wen collects grasshoppers, a group of individuals turn up, weapons in hand. Cliché, right? Definitely not so here. As the three lock themselves inside the cabin, the intruders claim they need the family’s help in saving the world – because the end is coming.
Tremblay is so talented in making you wonder, ‘who are the bad guys here? Are there any? And is any of this true?’ An interesting device he uses here is that the parents, Andrew and Eric are (quite obviously) a gay couple and throughout the book both the reader and the two men question if these people with their end-of-the-world speeches and weapons are really telling the truth or whether this is in fact a hate crime (and a very darkly disturbing one at that). I won’t go into too many details about the plot in fear of ruining it but wowza is it crazy. The build-up of tension alone will make you flip through this book in one sitting.
It isn’t just the plot that draws you into this book but the characters too, who are all written so perfectly natural and relatable – which of course adds to the suspense. What I thought was clever, was how some of the chapters were written from the perspective of seven-year-old Wen. Her innocence and inability to truly comprehend the danger the family are in is heart-breaking but also adds a nice level of tension in your fear for her safety.
I know a lot of people are on the fence about this ending but for me it was perfect. If you have read this book (or when you do) pleeeease let me know what you thought of it!
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