Lovely Little Shelf

The Book: Horns, by Joe Hill

The Story: Ig (as in Ignatius…huh?) is kind of going through a rough patch.  Last year, his long-time girlfriend, Merrin, was murdered and while he was never formally charged, everyone in his small town assumes that he was responsible.  His brother is a famous talk show host and everyone loves him.  His new girlfriend is kind of a mess.  He’s developed a drinking problem.

One night, he drinks more than usual and when he wakes up, he can’t really remember the night before and he, you know, has grown horns.  Right off the bat, he starts noticing that people are just spilling their guts to him.  They are telling him their deepest, darkest secrets and their horrible thoughts about him.  He is kind of blown away and it takes a few encounters for him to make the horn/confessions connection.

Through the confessions that are made by his friends and family, Ig is kind of taken on a journey through is past with Merrin and what actually happened the night of her murder.

What I Thought: Just a week or so ago, I reviewed Joe Hill’s first book Heart-Shaped Box.  My main complaint was that it was completely unoriginal.  Everything that he did had been done before, most likely by his own Papa.

In Horns, Joe Hill did his own thing.  Way to go, Joe.  The storyline here was fresh and was totally a new concept for me.  The idea of hearing everyone’s worst, most horrible thoughts about you as well as getting information on your girlfriend’s murder because you woke up with horns?  That’s a new one.

I loved how he blended the past and the present pretty seamlessly.  The coming of age story, the love story, and the horror story fit together like puzzle pieces, and that’s not an easy thing to do.  The letter that Ig reads from Merrin made me literally tear up.  I know I’m a fairly easy one to make cry, but I have to say, this is probably the first time I’ve cried during a horror novel*!

The only real problem I had was that parts of the novel felt rushed while other parts seemed to lag.  There was just something in the pacing that was off, but that’s really a minor issue.  Joe Hill is still young writer coming into his own, and problems like this, I think, get fixed as an author writes more.  Totally forgivable.

And, maybe it was just me, but the ending was a little unclear to me and if it was ever explained why/how Ig got his horns, that was a part that I missed out on.  Again, minor issues really that probably stem from me reading to fast and/or being unable to stay awake through more than 5 pages at a time lately!

Conclusion: Good stuff.  If you’re into “scary” stuff (although this one won’t keep you up at night, I don’t think) or just want to check out Joe Hill, make this your first stop.  An impressive second novel that deserves the attention that it has gotten.

*Edit:  No. When Gage died in Pet Semetery, I kind of sobbed.  So, the second time, but still.