This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno Gus Moreno’s debut, a haunting supernatural study of grief and guilt, is one of the literary highlights of 2021 Publisher : MCD x FSG Originals (12 Oct. 2021) Language : English Paperback : 272 pages ISBN-10 : 0374539235 ISBN-13 : 978-0374539238 A book review by Tony Jones The beauty of reviewing books as a hobby is the simple fact that you can never predict what delights the next item on the TBR might bestow, because once in a while a cracker arrives which will unexpectedly blow away even the most jaded of reviewers. Gus Moreno’s strange and beguiling debut novel This Thing Between Us was such an experience, it will not be to all tastes, but if you are a fan of vague weird fiction where there are no clear explanations or answers then it is an absolute stonker. Considering this is a debut it has an impressive range of big hitters singing its praises, including Paul Tremblay, Brian Evenson, John Langan and Stephen Graham Jones who all provide cool quotes which incapsulate the spirit of the book nicely. I have also clocked Cory Doctorow tweeting positively about it and other great reviews by Horror DNA contributor and author Gabino Iglesias. It is heartening to see such an impressive range of the horror community getting behind This Thing Between Us, and it will not surprise me at all if it morphs into a sleeper cult hit which cultivates a word-of-mouth following in the way that unusual books often do. Written in a very peculiar style, Thiago narrates This Thing Between Us in the first person, with the reader piggybacking on a long conversation, almost a confession in parts, he is having with his recently dead wife Vera. Wracked with guilt over the circumstances of her death, Thiago both reflects back to when his wife was still alive whilst also telling the story in the present as he struggles to move on with his life. Part of it is presented as a first-person stream of consciousness and as things get stranger you may wonder whether Thiago is an unreliable narrator as he begins to experience odd events in the build up to Vera’s sudden and tragic death. It has a deliberately fragmented and unsettling style as Thiago struggles to cope with life without his wife which is made worse by both his extended family and the media. Some readers may find the lack of focus the novel has mildly frustrating, also the obscureness of the supernatural entity, but I found these peculiarities fascinating and look forward to reading other reviews to see what I might have overlooked. Grief is a major theme of This Thing Between Us and various online sources indicate that Gus Moreno suffered a family loss which has had some influence on the novel. Grief can be very close to guilt and the story interconnects them beautifully as Thiago looks to blame somebody (or something) for his unimaginable loss, whilst internally asking himself whether he is to blame? How is this connected to the supernatural manifestation which seems to be tracking him both before Vera’s death and afterwards? If you are looking for answers to all these questions, you might not get them and the book is a more memorable reading experience because not everything is spelled out. By comparison, I do not think Paul Tremblay’s The Cabin at the End of the World would have had a fraction of the online discussion it has picked if its controversial the ending was clear cut. Even though This Thing Between Us is not a long novel it crams much into its page length, with the first half setting the scene and the second seriously upping the ante, where things get pitch dark. Do not think part two is just twitching curtains and ambiguous shimmering shadows, hell no, blood spills and the dead rise. There are also some nods to classic films and books, as wide ranging as Cujo and more bizarrely 2001: a Space Odyssey. Supernatural matters aside, part of the strength of This Thing Between Us is that Thiago is both a complex and fragile character whom although he is of Mexican heritage cannot speak Spanish particularly well and this is frowned upon by his (in-law) family who do not see him as a ‘real’ Mexican. Vera’s family are also very clingy, particularly her mother, with things being made worse by the fact her death is racially politicised which sucks Thiago’s psyche deeper into the mire. Might you feel less guilty if there was not a huge insurance policy connected to your dead spouse? These are all interesting areas also explored via Thiago’s internal conflicts. Part of the plot revolves around the couple buying "world's most advanced smart speaker!" known as an Itza (obviously an upgrade of Amazon’s Alexa) and the strange things which follow, with them repeatedly being delivered purchases they did not buy, followed by odd noises and scratches. Was their condo haunted and if so could this be connected to Vera’s death and what follows? Much of this was unsettling and the reader will either have fun attempting to join the dots, or give up in frustration, ultimately I do not think it was supposed to make 100% sense and interpretations will undoubtedly differ. This Thing Between Us was a bold and highly original horror novel built around the power of grief, guilt, isolation, loneliness and the entities which might feed on those feelings. When you get to the end you may well ask yourself “what the f**k did I just read?” and then backtrack over the previous pages for missed clues you may or may not find. This Thing Between Us is one of the novels of 2021 and Gus Moreno deserves to make a huge splash with this startling and unforgettable debut. Tony Jones This Thing Between Us |
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