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Staff Pick
After being blown away by Iain Reid's Foe, I picked up I'm Thinking of Ending Things — wow, smart move! He's mostly a nonfiction writer, but, man, this guy can write the hell out of fiction. This story starts with Jake and his girlfriend taking a long drive out to the country to have dinner with Jake's parents. She's having doubts about the relationship, but sticking with it for now. So far so good, but hang on... this thing gets weirder and weirder with every page. Why is Jake acting so strangely at his parents' house? Why are his parents arguing? Why is his mother so odd? What's going on in the basement? On the ride back to town things really go off the rails, and this is probably the book that has messed me up more than any other. The ending plays out with an unbearable tension that never lets up, and you will be gobsmacked! This is a terrifying read, stunning and so far beyond creepy, I don't even have a word for it. I beg you to read this book; I loved it! Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com
This book got under my skin in a major way. It's a one-sitting kind of book, and full of a creeping horror that made me desperate to see what happened next. To say anything else would be too risky. Just read it. Recommended By Emily F., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2016
"I'm Thinking of Ending Things is one of the best debut novels I've ever read. Iain Reid has crafted a tight, ferocious little book, with a persistent tenor of suspense that tightens and mounts toward its visionary, harrowing final pages" (Scott Heim, award-winning author of Mysterious Skin and We Disappear) .
I'm thinking of ending things. Once this thought arrives, it stays. It sticks. It lingers. It's always there. Always.
Jake once said, "Sometimes a thought is closer to truth, to reality, than an action. You can say anything, you can do anything, but you can't fake a thought."
And here's what I'm thinking: I don't want to be here.
In this "dark and compelling...unputdownable" (Booklist, Starred Review) literary thriller, debut novelist Iain Reid explores the depths of the human psyche, questioning consciousness, free will, the value of relationships, fear, and the limitations of solitude. Reminiscent of Jose Saramago's early work, Michel Faber's cult classic Under the Skin, and Lionel Shriver's We Need to Talk about Kevin, I'm Thinking of Ending Things is an edgy, haunting debut. Tense, gripping, and atmospheric, this novel "packs a big psychological punch with a twisty story line and an ending that will leave readers breathless" (Library Journal, Starred Review).
Review
"Reid's tightly crafted tale toys with the nature of identity and comes by its terror honestly, building a wall of intricately layered psychological torment so impenetrable it's impossible to escape." Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
Review
"In a novel this engaging, bizarre, and twisted, it shouldn't come as a surprise that its ending is even stranger than the narrative route that takes us there...but it does. Reid's novel is a road trip to the heart of creepyness." Sjón, author of The Blue Fox, From the Mouth of the Whale, and The Whispering Muse
Review
"I'm Thinking of Ending Things is an ingeniously twisted nightmare road trip through the fragile psyches of two young lovers. My kind of fun!" Charlie Kaufman, Academy Award winning writer and executive producer of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"
About the Author
Iain Reid is the author of two critically acclaimed, award-winning books of nonfiction, One Bird's Choice and The Truth About Luck, which was one of Globe and Mail's best books of 2013. Reid’s work has appeared in a variety of publications throughout North America, including The New Yorker, The Globe and Mail, and the National Post. In 2015, he received the RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Award.