My heart is a chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

I recently saw a post by @spookishmommy on Bookstagram pointing out that Stephen Graham Jones is about to finish the horror series The Indian Lake trilogy. Which is when I remembered I have a weak spot for series and I’ve been saving books by Stephen Graham Jones to my tbr whenever I see them at my library. So I immediately borrowed the audiobook for My heart is a chainsaw and am currently well into the second book in the trilogy.

Synopsis

My heart is a chainsaw follows Jade, a teenager with a deep knowledge of horror movies, specifically slashers, that knows something is wrong in her mountain town. It is not just the stories about Camp Blood, the rich building vacation homes in “Terra Nova” on what was designated park lands, or the rich flora of myths surrounding Indian Lake, Jade knows that something is coming for them all.

Thoughts

Jade was so much better than I expected. What an unusual main character to spend time with. An absolute delight in all the ways that it wasn’t a perfect, lovely, straightforward character. Jade made me think of Lisbeth Salander, there is a darkness and fierceness that both characters share.

The first couple of pages made me so tense. Stephen Graham Jones excels at not giving me the complete picture which is a must for me to get truly scared. When one of my family members by mistake (husband) or on purpose (kid) turns off the light as I’m walking up from the basement I will legit shriek convinced my time has come.

I loved the side characters not being what I expected them to be. They were more human and frequently veered away from stereotypes. The references to horror movies, concepts and references were delicious. I was fighting myself hard to not create a movie tbr. I’m still scarred from Friday the 13th and I know who I watched it with, decades ago. My nervous system cannot handle horror movies and the stress from work, I’ll start screaming out loud the next time someone calls me on Teams.

The details by Ia Genberg

My first International Booker is done! I’m honestly pleased that although I’m enjoying the buzz I haven’t bought all the longlisters. Coming to terms with the fact that my reading of library books and buying of other books rarely overlap, plus the fact that I don’t have anywhere near the same reading pace as others, has kept me from adding to a book collection that is too big already. I am however looking forward to deliveries of multiple longlisters through the library.

Synopsis

A woman lies bedridden from a high fever. Suddenly she is struck with an urge to revisit a novel from her past. Inside the book is an inscription: a get-well-soon message from Johanna, an ex-girlfriend who is now a famous television host. As she flips through the book, pages from the woman’s own past begin to come alive, scenes of events and people she cannot forget.

There are moments with Johanna, and Niki, the friend who disappeared years ago without a phone number or an address and with no online footprint. There is Alejandro, who appears like a storm in precisely the right moment. And Brigitte, whose elusive qualities mask a painful secret.

The details is a novel built around four portraits; the small details that, pieced together, comprise a life. Can a loved one really disappear? Who is the real subject of the portrait, the person being painted or the one holding the brush? Do we fully become ourselves through our connections to others? This exhilarating, provocative tale raises profound questions about the nature of relationships, and how we tell our stories. The result is an intimate and illuminating study of what it means to be human.

Thoughts

Enjoyed the writing style, loved the vibe, will not stick to my memory. The book is subtle in terms of its message, a reflection on life and relationships and this is just hard for me to engage with at the moment.

International Booker excerpts review

Having ranked the books based on their first lines I was curious to see if the impression remained the same after reading the excerpts on the prize website. The inspiration for this post comes from BookTuber Charlotte R Malloy.

Undiscovered – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This does not pull any punches in the opening paragraphs. It is honest and to the point about many of the things that are wrong in today’s society. I’m very intrigued!

Lost on me – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Really liking the prospect of this! It has tone, good writing, relationship focus but within a family, mental health and politics. I want to read this!

Crooked plow – ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

This feels very mysterious and ominous, I feel bad vibes oozing of the page. In comparison to the others I’ve sampled at the point I read it this appears more plot driven. Curious to see where this story goes.

The Details – ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is my current read and is a book that has a distinct tone as it reflects over life and the relationships that have come and gone. I think the excerpt hints at a book that is conversational and reflective.

Kairos – ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I find this similar to The Details in how it appears to reflect on relationships in the past. It has a tone that is its own, but it has aspects to it that I think might annoy me as the chapters go on. Placing it lower than The Details.

Not a river – ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I suspect this will discuss masculinity, fatherhood and parenthood. I’m also getting a vibe of nature as a stand-in for mothers or women. A definite improvement compared to the first sentence.

The House On Via Gemito – ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I like the reflection on a difficult relationship with a parent and how that affects you. A critical look on masculinity and violence, but at the same time the writing feels heavy to me. Like it is taking turns I’m not expecting.

The silver bone – ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Direct, intense, terrifying, and with a drive. The writing is simpler compared to many of the others, yet has a purpose. These first paragraphs hit me hard.

White nights – ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I like the writing and want to learn more about the characters.

What I’d rather not think about – ⭐⭐⭐💫

Disturbing and ominous, but I don’t vibe with the writing really. Willing to give it a go though because of its theme.

Mater 2-10 – ⭐⭐⭐

I enjoy the writing and I think it might go somewhere interesting. But I also don’t feel like I have to see how it ends.

A dictator calls – ⭐⭐💫

I’m not drawn in by the writing and not sure I will care to continue. For sure not a purchase. What does intrigue me a little is the references to Tirana, Moscow and politics.

Simpatía – ⭐⭐

This did not work for me, I’m a little surprised. I think I’m not that keen on men dealing with hatred of women, it is important that it happens, but it is not written for me. I also think there is a disadvantage for me to not understand the references, not the book’s fault, and I would absolutely need to give it more time than just a few paragraphs. What did intrigue me is the references to people leaving or staying, the conflict that inevitably holds. I’m also a cat person.

International Booker – publisher predictions #1

Many have joked about a certain blue-covered publisher making frequent appearances on the International Booker longlist, which inspired me to take a deeper look at publisher’s track records. Countrary to popular belief, there are actually 3 publishers likely to make an appearance on each year’s longlist.

Fitzcarraldo Editions

Their blue covers appear on the longlist on all years, except in 2016. You can basically count on there being 1 book from them, or more likely 2.

Eligible books for this year’s longlist are:

• Mild vertigo by Mieko Kanai, translated from Japanese by Polly Barton.
• The annual banquet of the gravedigger’s guild by Mathias Enard, translated from French by Frank Wynne. Mathias Enard was longlisted in 2017. The translator is more frequent on the International Booker scene with 3 past longlistings.
• A shining by Jon Fosse, translated from Norwegian by Damion Searls. At 56 or 48 pages depending on edition it might be too short to meet the criteria of “long-form fiction”. But, I did my homework and A cup of rage by Raduan Nassar with its 64 pages was longlisted in 2016. Jon Fosse has been longlisted twice, both times with Damion Searls as translator, and won the Nobel prize in 2023.
• The singularity by Balsam Karam, translated from Swedish by Saskia Vogel.
• The book of all lovers by Agustín Fernández Mallo, translated from Spanish by Thomas Bunstead.

From this list I would be happy to see Mild Vertigo, and The singularity, on the longlist. I would say The annual banquet of the gravedigger’s guild and The book of all lovers have that fuzzy type of synopsis that International Booker loves, but that makes my focus wander.

Hachette

Through its imprints MacLehose Press and Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Hachette is another publisher with a solid record that has an average of over 1 book per longlist. It started out strong with 2 books on the longlist the first couple of years but then fell into a slump, missing the longlist or getting 1 book in there. Hachette is however back in force after last year’s 3 books (Time shelter, Standing heavy, and Jimi Hendrix live in Lviv). Out of the two imprints MacLehose Press is the most frequent, with Weidenfeld & Nicolson making its first appearance last year.

Rudely I’m excluding all genre fiction which means crime fiction (Oliver Bottini, Åsa Larsson, and Karin Smirnoff), and fantasy (Jin Yong). Although these are some of my favourite genres so I wouldn’t mind being proven wrong. Eligible books:

• Hunter in Huskvarna by Sara Stridsberg, translated from Swedish by Deborah Bragan-Turner. Both author and translator have been longlisted together in the past for The faculty of dreams.
• Nothing belongs to you by Natacha Appanah, translated from French by Jeffrey Zuckerman.
• The movieteller by Hernan Rivera Letelier, translated from Spanish by Margaret Jull Costa. The fact that it isn’t on the list of eligible books on Goodreads makes me wonder if I’m missing something. Maybe it is considered too “commercial”? The translator has one previous longlisting.
• Vengeance is mine by Marie NDiaye, translated from French by Jordan Stump. This would be the second longlisting for the pair, they were previously longlisted for Ladivine.
• Canoes by Maylis de Kerangal, translated from French by Jessica Moore. The duo has been longlisted once before for Mend the living in 2016.
• The silver bone by Andrey Kurkov, translated from Russian by Boris Dralyuk. Kurkov was longlisted last year for Jimi Hendrix live in Lviv.
• Your absence is darkness by Jón Kalman Stefánsson, translated from Icelandic by Philip Roughton. The duo were longlisted in 2017 for Fish have no feet.
• Before the queen falls asleep by Huzama Habayeb, translated from Arabic by Kay Heikkinen.
• And the stones cry out by Clara Dupont-Monod, translated from French by Ben Faccini
• The physics of sorrow by Georgi Gospodinov, translated from Bulgarian by Angela Rodel. Last year’s winning author and translator with Time shelter.

Out of this very long list I would want to see Before the queen falls asleep, Vengeance is mine, and The stones cry out make it.

Penguin

The first couple of years this was the prize’s Fitzcarraldo, having a record of 5 longlisted books in 2017. Their track record includes 5 imprints.

Penguin definitely wins the prize this year for having websites so annoying I couldn’t find a single eligible book.

Disclaimer

This is based on my skills when using an online Excelish sheet and the limited information available about some imprints. If you use this post to make your predictions and they are off, causing you to lose standing in the bookish community, I can not be held responsible.