Book Review: The Grimmer by Naben Ruthnum
Title: The Grimmer
Author: Naben Ruthnum
Release date: September 26th, 2023
First, huge thanks to Naben and ECW Press for sending me a digital ARC!
Life’s funny isn’t it?
A few years back, I connected with Brennan Storr, author and podcast host. After we got chatting, we discovered that we grew up only ninety minutes apart from each other. He in Revelstoke, BC, myself in Burton, BC.
Fast forward to early last year, and I connected with Naben via Twitter and soon after read and reviewed his phenomenal novella, ‘Helpmeet.’ Recently, Naben had posted about looking for YA reviewers for his upcoming release and I reached out. YA isn’t my go-to category, and by no means am I an expert or authority on YA works, but what I do know is that YA should make me feel emotions. It should make me feel attachments and nostalgia and move me in ways some dark fiction may not.
It wasn’t until after reading this novel that I did some brief Googling, and discovered that, oddly, Naben grew up (I’m honestly not sure for how long) in Kelowna and lived in Vancouver where he started an Indie Rock band. Here we were, another random connection, where he’d grown up on the other end of the Monashee from me, and, with this book being set in 1996, the main character, Vish, is fifteen, the same age I was in 1996. It all connected then. Much like my recently released memoir was a cathartic experience, I could feel how much of this novel was based on Naben’s youth, and those days cavorting around Pandosy during the Halcyon days at the end of the 90’s. The only annoying part of the ARC was there was no afterword, so I’ll be curious to see if Naben adds anything about the writing of this novel.
What I liked: As mentioned, the story follows fifteen-year-old, Vish, who has returned to Kelowna, BC. For the last two years, he’d been cast away to a private school on Vancouver Island, as his father grappled with addiction and his mom wanted him far away from how his father was. To make matters more awkward (or worse), Vish is a visible minority, one of the few darker skinned people in the town. He’s isolated himself from his two best friends (Danny and Matt) and just wants to focus on reading and listening to metal music.
Naben infuses – what I can only assume – are a lot of the real moments and feelings he had from back in those days. Growing up, Kelowna was the ‘big city’ for us, a place three hours away that had everything – malls, concerts, celebrities – all the trappings of a big city that had this small-town boy’s eyes wide during every visit. But, it was also an overwhelming place to visit. There was A LOT of buildings, A LOT of people and I could only imagine what it would’ve been like to return to a place where you’re different because of your skin color, but also different because your dad had an addiction that everyone knew about.
From here, Vish seemingly at random, becomes a key player in a battle of good-versus-evil (even if we learn there’s no such thing as random in these battles) and meets Gisela and Agastya. Agastya owns the book store that Vish loves and soon finds out he is also grieving for the loss of his significant other.
But that’s minor in comparison to the reality that an ancient evil is attempting to bring forth horrible people through a portal, into Kelowna, where the town – and then the world – will be devoured. Vish’s participation is vital to this, but it’s offset by the family aspects he’s struggling with. As well as his reluctance to start up his friendship with his best friends again, even if he misses playing music with them. The theme of isolation and feeling lost are predominant throughout, and again, it feels that much ‘more’ because it seems clear that Naben has infused so much of his own life into this story.
Now, while a lot of this novel is focused on Vish, we also get some really amazing character building with Gisela – her past, her struggles and how she survives now, in a time far removed from her origins, with Agastya, his battles, hints at who he is and ultimately how his hurt controls so much of his heart.
We get an ‘ultimate battle’ where we see how Gisela’s magical abilities are put to the test, some sacrifice all and how good comes together to fight against the growing evil. We even get a hint towards the Ogopogo-lore and a subtle nod to a follow up in the future.
Throughout, this novel spoke to me as a reader, in a way few novels do. It connected with that small-town, BC kid, that one that lived near that place during that time and it made me think of some of the memories I have of visiting Kelowna over the years of my youth. It felt like I was there beside Vish and fighting with him, to save his family, his friends and his future.
What I didn’t like: Honestly, I wish there had been more time spent on the socioeconomic aspects of Vish and his family, as well as the reduced multicultural aspects of that time period. It is clear Vish’s family is well off – his father is a therapist, his mom is now a major realtor in the area and he was sent to a private school hundreds of kilometers away. On top of that, he is a minority. So, I would’ve been interested in seeing how some other kids might’ve treated him and if that did effect his relationships with Matt and Danny at all. It might not’ve in the least, which is why Naben minimized it to a degree, but I think it could’ve heightened Vish’s internal struggle regarding where he fit and how he was received.
Why you should buy this: Outside of the magic aspect and the battle versus good and evil, this reads closer to a contemporary drama, with a very heartfelt look at growing up different, trying to fit in and how a kid struggles to fit in after some time away. All small towns are cliquey and having left for a few years, that could make it even harder for Vish to return and find his place. Naben does a wonderful job of highlighting those aspects while also giving us hope. Hope that we can do anything we want, especially when we team up with those we love and when we want to save those we love the most.
This was really well done, a gem of a novel that ticked every box off that I was looking for when I dove into this and shows the scope and talent Naben has as a writer. Very few could pull off such a vastly different 1-2 release of ‘Helpmeet’ and ‘The Grimmer’ and pull it off so masterfully.
5/5
