I'm Thinking of Ending Things: A Novel

The tagline for I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid is "You will be scared. But you won't know why" (sic). I don't think a marketing campaign has ever hit the nail on the head like this one. This book is creepy. I don't think there is a better word to describe it. The book begins with a road trip to Jake's parent's house told from the perspective of a unnamed girlfriend of Jake. Jake is an intellectual who has a conversation with the girlfriend about what reality is, what is truth, and other types of philosophical discussions. The girlfriend is thinking about ending things with Jake, even though she likes some parts of Jake. She has also been getting a strange call on her phone daily and sometimes multiple times a day. It is always the same message with the same voice. Thus begins the path toward creepville. As we arrive at Jake's parents' farm house, things start to shift. There are dead animals alongside of live ones, dinner is almost silent, Jake's parents are extremely odd, and the house is just creepy in and of itself. Jake's girlfriend starts forgetting things- like the fact she bit her nails to the nub. Her perspective takes an eerie tone. Following dinner, we move into a school where we come to the ending of the book. Jake disappears into the building and the girlfriend is left alone with a janitor who may or may not want to kill her. She must go into the building to find Jake and get to safety, but things take a huge turn for her. As stated, this book is more creepy than violent. There is one violent scene, but one knows it is coming. The creepiness comes from how Reid describes everything through the eyes of the girlfriend. At certain points the girlfriend will describe things as if looking at the scene through a 20x magnification. There is one scene entirely devoted to how Jake eats his cereal, for example. We read about how he chews, how he stares intently at the paper, how he doesn't dribble, etc. This goes on for a few paragraphs. Reid will use this technique throughout the book to give a sense of creepiness. There is also a story being told in between chapters of unnamed voices who are describing a murder of some sort. I will say that it is important to follow along this story. I will also say that it is important to follow along with the opening conversation. It will not seem important, but it is extremely important to understand this book. I don't want to spoil anything, but these parts really matter to your "enjoyment" of this book and I think the reason why some are going negative with their reviews is they did not pay attention. There is a twist in the book that will make one want to read the book again immediately, which is exactly what I did. As soon as I finished it, I went back and started to re-read it to see how incredible this book was. I know that people will not enjoy this one, but I loved it! It is definitely not for everyone, but for those that enjoy creepy, creepy books, I think you are going to like this one. I rated this one 4.5 stars recognizing it isn't for everyone at all. You can find all my reviews at [...]

I bought this book because I was told it would be scary. The back of the book promises: "You will be scared. But you won't know why." Well, I wasn't. This isn't really a horror story so much as it is a psychological thriller. But overall, I did enjoy it, though not consistently the whole way through. The story's a little slow to get started, focusing intently on a conversation between two characters as they drive to a farmhouse for dinner. This conversation covers a lot of philosophical ground, ranging from the genuinely interesting to the "pretentious undergraduate," but always seems to fit within the established framework between the characters. The reader eventually begins to wonder why we're reading these thoughts, though, and where this thing is going. Just as those feelings begin to percolate, the novel takes a turn to the strange. Not a large turn and not even a sudden one, but a slight and gradual shift in which the reader begins to detect that things feel "off" for some inarticulable reason. It's in that ground that the novel spends the majority of its time. The armchair philosophizing never quite goes away, but it does yield some ground to this growing sense of something "just not quite right" about the events being depicted. This place--if not quite the uncanny valley, then at least within the same neighborhood--is fertile ground for a novelist, and Reid exploits it well. I've always had a certain affinity for a book that keeps me reading if for no other reason than to figure out just what in the world is actually happening. Of course, that's not the only reason to keep reading. The characters might not be as fleshed out as they could be in a longer novel, but they do exhibit the fundamental humanity that keeps readers attached to their story. The writing is tight and overall of high quality (though I take issue with the author's liberal use of shifting tenses throughout the book, even if I do understand his purpose in doing so). And, as I've already mentioned, the brief philosophical interludes, though occasionally an annoying distraction from the story proper, more frequently provide a brief pause in the story for the reader to reflect on some interesting ideas. A novel that spends so much of its energy making the reader detect a nearly imperceptible "offness" has to rely on the force of its ending to justify the rest of the story. In this case, the author manages to pull it off, but only just. I did not predict the ending very far in advance, though I did have a feeling early on of the "kind" of ending it was likely to be (and that feeling proved correct in general terms, though the details eluded me). Was it a satisfying ending? Partly. Without spoilers, I will say that it did bring the story to a satisfactory conclusion, but I'll also say that I didn't find the "punch" of the ending nearly as interesting as the "weirdness" of the preceding pages. I can somewhat forgive that, though. The ending is probably the hardest part of a story, and that goes doubly for a story like this. Will this book become enshrined as one of my favorites? No. But it's a good quick read, likely to keep you interested until you finish in just a sitting or two, and worth a few hours of your time and a few dollars of your money. Despite a few flaws, I do recommend it.

I recently ventured into what might be the oddest reading experience I’ve ever had with “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” by Iain Reid. Initially intrigued by its adaptation into a Netflix movie, I dove into the book expecting one thing and ended up with something entirely different. At first glance, the title (and the beginning of the story itself) suggests a straightforward narrative about ending a relationship, and for a significant portion of the book, that’s the journey we’re on. The protagonist’s contemplation about her relationship and the ensuing road trip with her boyfriend kept me hooked. Reid’s writing style, tinged with sarcasm and a unique tone, made the read enjoyable and engaging—until it wasn’t. As the story progressed, “weird” took on a whole new meaning. The narrative took such a bizarre turn that I found myself questioning the reality Reid had constructed, leading to a jarring disconnect from the initial intrigue. This twist, while perhaps intended to shock and awe, left me more horrified than impressed. After finishing the book on a Friday night, curiosity led me to the movie adaptation the following day. If I thought the book was strange, the film amplified that tenfold, adding additional layers of visual weirdness. It pains me to give this book three stars because there’s a part of me that genuinely enjoyed the ride for a good 80% of it. However, it just got too weird for me. If you end up reading “I’m Thinking of Ending Things,” just be prepared for a conclusion that might not sit well with everyone. As for me, while I appreciated the journey for the most part, I couldn’t fully embrace the destination…hence the three-star rating.

Começo dizendo que esse livro não vai ser do gosto de muitos. Ele é escrito no estilo de fluxo de consciência, e a narrativa foca nas conversas entre os personagens e memórias intercaladas para avançar, a localização é limitada a poucos espaços fechados e atmosfera é bastante claustrofóbica. O livro possui uma boa mistura de mistério com uma pitada de terror psicológico, e como o próprio autor descreve nas páginas: o que importa é apenas uma pergunta. O interesse está em encontar as pistas que os personagens vão deixando entre suas falas, para assim montar o quebra-cabeça das memórias e acontecimentos narrados e chegar à resposta final junto à personagem. Acredito que esses sejam os principais pontos para ter em mente antes de iniciar a leitura, e eu recomendo que, assim como eu, ela seja feita sem haver lido muito da sinopse, e de preferência em uma única sentada. No mais, é importante atentar para os gatilhos da história.

My second time reading this book, after a number of months and it still drew me into the story. It’s tense and psychologically insightful. The author builds an ongoing sense of mystery, of not being completely sure of what is happening. Questions of identity, the disintegration of personality and death actually make a beautiful book. You wonder, why did this have to happen? But it had to be this way, there was no escape really, no other possibility. It manages to maintain its sense of disorientation, of psychological rather than physical terror. Something remaining hidden but waiting to crop up, that can no longer be avoided. It sits in the mind. Or to borrow the words of the author, “it stays, it sticks, it lingers”. And that’s what the book does, while you’re reading it and even after you’re finished. Very worthwhile.

Ho visto prima il film su netflix e non potevo non leggere anche il libro in lingua originale, a differenza del film pone tutta un'altra trama, cioè il filone è lo stesso ma l'interpretazione come il messaggio è più cupo e introspettivo nel libro, finendo con tre aggettivi: bizzarro, cupo, {[("Horror/Drammatico")]}

Have bought this as a gift for my son, as he enjoyed a previous novel by this author. So I can't really comment on the story as have not read it myself. Therefore he should enjoy this one too. Thought I would receive the cover as on the thumbnail pic, as my son prefers ones not advertising where they are made and streamed.

Narration was really good, felt it was a thriller but author had a different plan and ending was really good.