The Cabin at the End of the World

Well.....that's the last time I ever pick up a book without reading its synopsis. I know, that is my fault but so many of the booktubers I watch daily loved this book that I just decided to give it a shot and there are no words to express everything that I am feeling right now. For one, I am realizing that full on horror-suspense novels are not my thing, like at all. I like stories that build up to a very breathtaking climax and this was not that. I felt like I was being suffocated from the very beginning and it was hard to finish this book because I felt like I couldn't breath, couldn't even get a breather.

The story is about a family who gets a visit from four strangers who tell them that they must willingly sacrifice one of their own in order to stop the world from ending. If I would've read the plot I definitely would have realized that end-of-the-world novels are just not for me. As interesting in theory as this plot is, it's just too much, too fast. I think I've given two stars only once before but I really disliked the severity of the story and how fast and full on it hit, without giving so much a moment's warning. I won't even get into the unsatisfactory ending, where nothing was revealed whatsoever and we are left to ponder with our own thoughts.

Further on, the characterization was okay, not the best but not the worst. I liked them but because I had a hard time stomaching the plot, I couldn't get myself too attached to them and what happened to them in the story. It was something akin to a nightmare, in my opinion. We definitely got to see a lot into their minds and their psyches but that too felt suffocating, which I have never experienced or felt in a novel before. It was just too much, in this case I think less is more.

When looking into the writing style, it's not really any different than all the other aspects I've already discussed and talked about. The writing is all over the place and it's hard to decipher at times who said what and who did what. We also get a lot of inner dialogue but it's a little too wordy and I found myself zoning out, not being able to fully grasp the whole wordy description. I think the fact that we go between so many perspectives also doesn't help the situation, it just confuses it more. And with the chapters being so lengthy, there were times when I couldn't finish the chapter and when I would come back to the book the next day I'd be confused as to who's perspective we were on.

In conclusion, I struggled with this book like I've never struggled to get through a book before in my life. There is only one phrase I can think of to describe this novel and it would be “too much”. The plot was too much, too soon, the characters psyches were overwhelming and too wordy and the writing itself was just too all over the place. I would not recommend this book to anyone who wants a beginning, middle and an end to their novels.