Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
One Bloody Thing After Another
by
Joey Comeau (Goodreads Author)
At turns heartwarming and horrifying, this strange and funny novel deals with the terror of losing one's family and the extreme measures people will take to hold on. Jackie and her crush, Ann, both have odd family situations: Jackie's mother, although dead from cancer, is a ghost that only Jackie can see, while Ann's mother and sister have turned into such violent creature...more
ebook, 160 pages
Published
March 22nd 2010
by ECW Press
(first published March 1st 2010)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,657)
this is one of those books...
wait, is it??
i'm not entirely sure what kind of book this is...
it opens with some bloody vomit at the breakfast table and ends on an awkward comic relief rimshot of a line.
and in between. well, there's ghosts and zombie-ish types and a really endearingly stupid dog and good old fashioned teenaged helpless desperation and rage. and if that sounds like a jumbly mess to you, remember that this is the same author who brought you bible camp bloodbath, and if anyone's goi...more
wait, is it??
i'm not entirely sure what kind of book this is...
it opens with some bloody vomit at the breakfast table and ends on an awkward comic relief rimshot of a line.
and in between. well, there's ghosts and zombie-ish types and a really endearingly stupid dog and good old fashioned teenaged helpless desperation and rage. and if that sounds like a jumbly mess to you, remember that this is the same author who brought you bible camp bloodbath, and if anyone's goi...more
39 likes · like · see review
view all 19 comments
Dec 16, 2011
jo
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
jean, jennifer, mike, ceridwen, rashida, peter, bren, collette
this book is perfect. i hadn't read a perfect book in quite some time and now i have. no, wait. Lord of Misrule is perfect too (though it's easier for shorter books to be perfect, isn't it?), so now i've read TWO PERFECT books back to back. this is life smiling at me with a big fat grin.
as with Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, of which this book reminded me, and as with The History of Love, of which also i was reminded (i just read it), and maybe most of all like An Invisible Sign of My Own...more
as with Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, of which this book reminded me, and as with The History of Love, of which also i was reminded (i just read it), and maybe most of all like An Invisible Sign of My Own...more
7 likes · like · see review
Jul 22, 2010
Shellie (Layers of Thought)
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
quirky horror lovers
Recommended to Shellie (Layers of Thought) by:
Kittyism
3.5 stars actually
The original copy of this review is posted at Layers of Thought.
A very dark and hilarious horror story with an ending that will gross you out, blow you away, and leave you smirking.
Set Up: There are several main character in this layered story. One is a teenager, Jackie, who is experiencing a variety of life stresses, one of which is that her favorite tree has been cut down. She loves trees. Worse yet is that she is also in love with her best friend Ann, whom has yet to acknow...more
The original copy of this review is posted at Layers of Thought.
A very dark and hilarious horror story with an ending that will gross you out, blow you away, and leave you smirking.
Set Up: There are several main character in this layered story. One is a teenager, Jackie, who is experiencing a variety of life stresses, one of which is that her favorite tree has been cut down. She loves trees. Worse yet is that she is also in love with her best friend Ann, whom has yet to acknow...more
This is a short odd horror novel. It is funny, spooky, stomach-churning, and makes you care.
Jackie keeps track of trees that are important in her life. There is one for her first kiss, one for a car accident, etc. When one is cut down Jackie reacts in a distant, yet logical to her way. My favourite line in the book occurs when the police arrive: "That's embarrassing," Jackie says to him. "You both wore the same outfit today." It is Jackie's dead mother who assists in her escape.
Jackie's best fri...more
Jackie keeps track of trees that are important in her life. There is one for her first kiss, one for a car accident, etc. When one is cut down Jackie reacts in a distant, yet logical to her way. My favourite line in the book occurs when the police arrive: "That's embarrassing," Jackie says to him. "You both wore the same outfit today." It is Jackie's dead mother who assists in her escape.
Jackie's best fri...more
In ONE BLOODY THING AFTER ANOTHER by Joey Comeau, three eerie stories intersect–a psychopathic teenager who can see the ghost of her dead mother has a lesbian crush on her friend, who keeps her own mother–afflicted by a strange disease that makes her ravenous for living flesh–chained in the basement, and a cranky old man with a stupid dog who see a headless ghost every day and tries to figure out what it wants.
The story moves along swiftly, has a great sense of the macabre while also being mildl...more
The story moves along swiftly, has a great sense of the macabre while also being mildl...more
I usually judge how much I enjoy a book by how hard it is to put down. Do I stay up far later than I should, until my eyes are burning with the need for sleep, or do I roll over and call it quits for the night? Do I forgo stopping for coffee in the morning in order to get ten more minutes of reading in before I have to leave for work? If I answer yes to these questions (particularly the later), then I know that I’m in possession of a great book.
This is where I found myself with Joey Comeau’s One...more
This is where I found myself with Joey Comeau’s One...more
1 like · like · see review
When one approaches a horror book, you expect a couple of things. Horror is very much a scripted affair - you're guaranteed death and destruction and madness. There are a couple of different ways for it to branch out, and sometimes a talented writer can permute it a little and work something novel in. But, as a reader of the horror genre, I've seen a lot of it by now.
Joey Comeau is a surprise however.
You wouldn't expect a web comic writer to go about the horror novelist path, but Joey is not exa...more
Joey Comeau is a surprise however.
You wouldn't expect a web comic writer to go about the horror novelist path, but Joey is not exa...more
The cover of this book says just about all you need to know - the plot of this story seems normal at first, like the black cat on the cover, but reality is set on its side, and on second thought, appears slightly sinister. The title, too, is a tongue in cheek clue to the plot. Read it once, it's a mundane complaint. read it again, and it is a quite chilling warning.
I don't want to delve too much into the particulars of the plot as much of the spine tingling is related to the mystery of what come...more
I don't want to delve too much into the particulars of the plot as much of the spine tingling is related to the mystery of what come...more
One Bloody Thing After Another is an apt title to this book. It is a gory horror story, told in an episodic manner, with short chapters.
It tells us the stories of Jackie, her trees and schoolgirl crush on her friend Ann; of Ann and her mother's strange disease that transforms her into something akin to an animal; and of Charlie, his dog that walks into corners, and the headless ghost that has him bother a tenant every single day. These storylines cross somewhat, but follow their own path.
Jackie'...more
It tells us the stories of Jackie, her trees and schoolgirl crush on her friend Ann; of Ann and her mother's strange disease that transforms her into something akin to an animal; and of Charlie, his dog that walks into corners, and the headless ghost that has him bother a tenant every single day. These storylines cross somewhat, but follow their own path.
Jackie'...more
If I had read the description of what would be in the book, I would not have taken the time to read it. At any rate, I started the book and it was an extremely fast read so I finished it.
I only have one word to describe this book: CRAZY. Wait, I need two words. My other word would be WEIRD. I think it's supposed to be a horror, but it's not really. Actually it feels like a story from the Twilight zone - though not as good.
Jackie's is the first story that we read. Jackie is really crazy. She just...more
I only have one word to describe this book: CRAZY. Wait, I need two words. My other word would be WEIRD. I think it's supposed to be a horror, but it's not really. Actually it feels like a story from the Twilight zone - though not as good.
Jackie's is the first story that we read. Jackie is really crazy. She just...more
1 like · like · see review
If I could only say one word about this book it would be DISTURBING! I read this in just a few hours and I couldn't put it down (so that's something). When I finished it my first thought was "what an awful book." However, now days later I keep thinking about it and telling people they should read it. I know, confusing right? I'm still not sure I liked it but I can't really say I didn't like it anymore either. I think I want other people to read it so I will have someone to talk to about it. It i...more
Really expertly structured for maximum emotional impact, and somehow oddly subtle even when dealing with page upon page of teen angst and gore. Comeau has a real knack for finding simple, creative ways to render, in literary form, human emotions and relationships, with all their peculiarities. Surely commendable is his ability to diagnose the troubling gap between caring about and/or loving someone being universal (excepting psychopaths) human experiences, and these experiences also being so uni...more
1 like · like · see review
This book promised me a story about teen lesbians and zombies and ghosts and this book was a story about teen lesbians and zombies and ghosts.
Except for how it wasn't.
It was a story about love, and how awkward it makes us feel, how at that point when we're falling in love, we realize how deeply disconnected we are from others, how unable we are to truly express what we feel, how unlikely it is that we'll convey the right message and that we'll understand correctly what is told to us in return.
I...more
Except for how it wasn't.
It was a story about love, and how awkward it makes us feel, how at that point when we're falling in love, we realize how deeply disconnected we are from others, how unable we are to truly express what we feel, how unlikely it is that we'll convey the right message and that we'll understand correctly what is told to us in return.
I...more
Feb 07, 2011
Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who likes good stories and can handle horror
Recommended to Snail in Danger (Sid) by:
NetGalley
Joey Comeau? The Softer World guy? Sign me up! Within 24 hours, the publisher let me know via NetGalley that the digital galley was available to me. (Which means that yes, I did receive a free time-limited PDF to review.)
But enough about that. This is a story with ghosts and zombies. But mostly it's a story about growing up in a difficult world, where people die or leave you behind in other ways, but you still have to grow up, and grow old, and simply go on.
I'm half-tempted to put this on my chi...more
But enough about that. This is a story with ghosts and zombies. But mostly it's a story about growing up in a difficult world, where people die or leave you behind in other ways, but you still have to grow up, and grow old, and simply go on.
I'm half-tempted to put this on my chi...more
I received a copy of this book directly from the publisher (ECW Press) thanks to me being a member of their "Shelf Monkey" team. These are people that the publisher sends books to asking them to review them and post them everywhere. In case you were wondering, the name came from the novel of the same name by Corey Redekop, which was published by ECW Press.
From the Publishers Weekly review via Amazon.Com, here is a rundown:
From the Publishers Weekly review via Amazon.Com, here is a rundown:
Canadian author Joey Comeau, best known for his darkly surreal web comic,...more
Feb 22, 2012
Jean
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy-sci-fi,
gr-authors
This is the first book ever that I truly don't know what rating to give it. I like and sort of understand the characters. Yet, I detest the same people. On one hand, I empathize with their emotions, however, on the other hand, I believe they are too weird to contemplate. My range of rating is somewhere between 2 and 5, therefore, I choose to remain befuddled and chicken out on assigning a number rating.
1 like · like · see review
Sep 07, 2010
Shelleyrae at Book'd Out
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
netgalley-reviews
*Reviewed for NetGalley*
One Bloody Thing After Another is an untraditional horror novel. It's format is spare and the language stark. This establishes the tone for the odd premise that combines three stories that veer from normalcy to the bizzare. The characters are simply drawn yet strangely engaging, particularly Jackie as a disturbed, yearning teen.
The flow felt uncomfortable, perhaps that was the authors intent, but it made it difficult for me to settle into it, particularly near the end wit...more
One Bloody Thing After Another is an untraditional horror novel. It's format is spare and the language stark. This establishes the tone for the odd premise that combines three stories that veer from normalcy to the bizzare. The characters are simply drawn yet strangely engaging, particularly Jackie as a disturbed, yearning teen.
The flow felt uncomfortable, perhaps that was the authors intent, but it made it difficult for me to settle into it, particularly near the end wit...more
Joey Comeau has written a funny, sad, and often gross horror novel, which while maybe not for everyone, was right up my alley.
Ann and Jackie are teenagers with the usual the usual angst going on. Charlie is an old man with a dumber than dumb dog named Mitchie, who are an integral part of the book.
Jackie has a crush on Ann, but Ann and her sister have a bigger problem....their Mom is a live flesh, eating monster. Nothing dead for her, no sir. As Ann and her sister struggle to feed Mom, and Jackie...more
Ann and Jackie are teenagers with the usual the usual angst going on. Charlie is an old man with a dumber than dumb dog named Mitchie, who are an integral part of the book.
Jackie has a crush on Ann, but Ann and her sister have a bigger problem....their Mom is a live flesh, eating monster. Nothing dead for her, no sir. As Ann and her sister struggle to feed Mom, and Jackie...more
Joey Comeau has a true talent for transmutation. His stories never end how they start, and they're never about what they seem to be about. One Bloody Thing is a fantastic example of this talent. A horror story, with ghosts and monsters and horny teenagers, is actually a story about family and longing and what it feels like to be alone. It sounds like Friday the 13th and it feels like P. T. Anderson.
Comeau doesn't waste words. He uses precise, evocative language for entirely utilitarian purposes....more
Comeau doesn't waste words. He uses precise, evocative language for entirely utilitarian purposes....more
I planned on reading this book over several days, but was unable to put it down after the prologue. One Bloody Thing After Another tells the tales of two sisters, caring for their flesh-eating mother, a teenaged girl in love with her best friend, and a cranky older man who lives with his bone-headed dog.
As Comeau describes the lives of his characters, you feel as if you know them personally... or know someone very much like them. They could live in your neighborhood or go to your school. Jackie...more
As Comeau describes the lives of his characters, you feel as if you know them personally... or know someone very much like them. They could live in your neighborhood or go to your school. Jackie...more
You ever have one of those weeks? The sort where nothing goes right, you keep screwing up and doing the wrong thing, saying the wrong thing, and you figure at some point you'll get your act together, but the next thing you know, the bad week has turned into a bad month and then it's the apocalypse. Whoops.
The horror in this novel is the hysterical sort, normal people reacting to outrageous things. One girl's mother turns into a zombie, another dies of cancer, and both of these things are equally...more
The horror in this novel is the hysterical sort, normal people reacting to outrageous things. One girl's mother turns into a zombie, another dies of cancer, and both of these things are equally...more
This is quite possibly the most bizarre and frequently disturbing books ever... also in a twisted way one of the most delightful. I'm not sure how to describe it other than to say it follows 3 different stories, each featuring a mother/daughter element with varying degrees of perverseness. Each is also, at least on some level, totally surreal. Although I've never read the series that actually bears the name, I would also venture to say this one is probably more deserving of the title A Series of...more
Who knew a book that has the essential elements of horror could intersect a beautiful narrative about sexuality and a troubled teen, family relationships and the love between sisters and daughters and dads, a lovable old man and his dog, and HUMOUR of all things?! Seriously, Comeau is some kind of writer, and I cannot wait to get my hands on Overqualified.
The book- practically a novella- is a small but powerful wonder. Characters I got to know and love, and a wonderful series of intersections th...more
The book- practically a novella- is a small but powerful wonder. Characters I got to know and love, and a wonderful series of intersections th...more
Have to shelve this one mentally as being in the genre-busting category, part horror, part YA fiction, with ghosts, carnivore-cannibals, teen sexual angst and some perfectly ordinary people thrown into the mix. Found it a quick and compelling read and it certainly makes me curious about some of Joey Comeau's other work. Still, there's something 'irreverently skimming the surface of some really serious subject matter' about this book in which Jackie, the main character, is dealing with her mother...more
I don't think this is a horror novel, exactly. Sure it has elements of horror but it is mostly bizarre people and maybe a ghost or monster or two thrown in the mix. I liked parts of it, but I wasn't terribly impressed with Comeau's writing style. At the beginning it switched between different characters by chapter, but toward the end it fcused on mainly the two girls, and I'm not sure I like how all of the little stories were wrapped up in the end. It's a pretty quick book to read, I read it in...more
I was glad that this book was short, not because it wasn't well written, but because it was so disturbing. In such a short space the author is able to really convey the tragedy of these character's situations - dealing with a mother's death and coming to terms with being a lesbian, doing whatever it takes to care for your family, the loss of your best friend. Then the reality of these characters are juxtaposed with headless ghosts and kitten eating zombies. The writing pulls down your defenses w...more
I was a heavy heart to carry.
I'll be okay, just not today. That's how I woke up.
I woke up with a mongrel heart and I reached for scotch. Single Malt. But then instead I listened to the #rdio playlist Single Malt http://rd.io/x/QVn51TNYTYE. I listened to Single Malt and I reached for red lipstick. Because with red lips you can face anything, you know? But I skipped the red lips. I reached for One Bloody Thing After Another.
I read One Bloody Thing After Another and I wasn't carrying a heavy hea...more
I'll be okay, just not today. That's how I woke up.
I woke up with a mongrel heart and I reached for scotch. Single Malt. But then instead I listened to the #rdio playlist Single Malt http://rd.io/x/QVn51TNYTYE. I listened to Single Malt and I reached for red lipstick. Because with red lips you can face anything, you know? But I skipped the red lips. I reached for One Bloody Thing After Another.
I read One Bloody Thing After Another and I wasn't carrying a heavy hea...more
Jan 19, 2011
Rowena
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
love-like-romance,
wow-i-own-some-books-really
i looove joey comeau. i began to love this at the line "he can joke because none of the blood landed on him". i usually cannot pinpoint/memorize the exact sentence where my love begins but this book is just exceptionally well done. i loved the way it ended. it sort of made me cringe, happily? it really couldn't have ended any other way. the characters were adorable or pitiable or loveable (or some combination). the only problem i have is that i would really not call this a horror novel (not that...more
It's pretty rare that I can read an entire book in a day, these days. This little gem compelled me to do it however. Joey Comeau has got to be one of the sickest, most creative writers out there.
The book comes on strong and doesn't pull any punches. Each character is an amalgam of confusion and pain and bliss and fear. It's extremely intense from the beginning, and then picks up speed. It is utterly bizarre and I loved every page of it.
Recommended for readers who love zombies, death, confused se...more
The book comes on strong and doesn't pull any punches. Each character is an amalgam of confusion and pain and bliss and fear. It's extremely intense from the beginning, and then picks up speed. It is utterly bizarre and I loved every page of it.
Recommended for readers who love zombies, death, confused se...more
This book was odd. There were moments of hilarious one-liners, but then there were bits of plot that wandered as if the author didn't quite know where he wanted to go with it. I mean, all of Part III was one character reliving earlier bits of the novel or dreaming, and one chapter even ended with "Etc." I know that was supposed to be comical, but it felt like the author kind of stopped trying on that chapter.
ONE BLOODY THING AFTER ANOTHER is very short. Some chapters are only a few paragraphs l...more
ONE BLOODY THING AFTER ANOTHER is very short. Some chapters are only a few paragraphs l...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Joey Comeau is a Canadian writer. He is best known for his novels Lockpick Pornography and Overqualified, and as co-creator of the webcomic A Softer World (with Emily Horne).
Comeau currently resides in Toronto, Ontario. He has a degree in linguistics. His fourth book, a novel based on Overqualified, was published in 2009.
More about Joey Comeau...
Comeau currently resides in Toronto, Ontario. He has a degree in linguistics. His fourth book, a novel based on Overqualified, was published in 2009.
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“Kissing girls is easy, like breaking windows.”
—
9 people liked it
“She needs you, Dad," Julia says. "She has unfinished business in this world."
"What is the matter with you?" Charlie asks his daughter. "Any sane person would have told me to go to the doctor. I'm seeing a headless apparition every day. Maybe my medications are conflicting. You should see the list of side effects on this stuff.”
—
6 people liked it
More quotes…
"What is the matter with you?" Charlie asks his daughter. "Any sane person would have told me to go to the doctor. I'm seeing a headless apparition every day. Maybe my medications are conflicting. You should see the list of side effects on this stuff.”
