Last week, I read The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay.
Initially, I knew nothing about the book and borrowed it from my local library solely based on the name. I just love names like this.
Since I had no expectations I was pleasantly surprised by the novel.
It opens with a young girl named Wen playing outside of the cabin her family has rented for their vacation in the countryside. She is outside collecting grasshoppers when a stranger approaches her, Leonard. Wen knows she shouldn’t talk to strangers, but Leonard seems nice, and the two strike up a conversation.
In the course of that conversation, Leonard tells Wen that nothing that is about to happen is her fault and that he will do what he can to make sure she doesn’t get hurt.
Leonard’s friends are coming, and this is a horror novel, so you know that is not going to be good for Wen and her family.
The Cabin at the End of the World is a psychological suspense that takes an apocalyptic turn. It’s one of those books that you can’t put down. I kept taking breaks throughout the day to pick it up because I needed to know what would happen next. Tremblay does an excellent job of building suspense and intrigue throughout the book.
The reader doesn’t know whether or not they can trust what Leonard and his friends are saying. They are as much in the dark about what’s really going on as Wen and her two dads. Are they telling the truth? Are they playing some kind of sick psychological game? Or has one of them tricked others into doing the unthinkable?
The pull of deciphering what is really going on with the home invaders and seeing how the family responds kept me furiously turning the pages.
The book is horrifically violent in parts. The choices forced upon the characters make the story the ultimate nightmare scenario. You are pulled back and forth between doubting and believing what you’re being told.
The only issue I have with the novel is the ending. When I got to the end I found myself feeling disappointed, but looking back at the story, I don’t know what I expected. There might not have been a way to end the book that would satisfy the reader while being true to the story.
If a home invasion story with an apocalyptic twist sounds interesting to you definitely check out The Cabin at the End of the World. It’s a fast and intriguing read.
Check out the book here. (Totally an affiliate link.)