Book Review: Hell Followed With Us
I have fallen behind on book reviews over the (long) holiday season. I read Andrew Joseph White’s Hell Followed With Us in October. It’s a memorable book though, and I have notes as well as a book club discussion synopsis (provided by the leader—I was unable to go). I remember that this book was way too much body horror for me. And it was visually and spatially confusing. And the representation was often too obvious and veered into token characters. But it was a nominee for a lot of awards in 2022. And it was, as I said, memorable.
Queer teen boy Benji is on the run from the cult that raised him, rejected him, and infected him with a bioweapon. Benji desperately wants to find a place he feels accepted, but he also wants to keep the growing weapon inside him out of the hands of the world-destroying cult. He finds a home for LGBTQ+ kids amidst the rubble of a dystopian world, where the leader is handsome and autistic and may not be exactly who he says he is. Benji is torn between this new boy and his cult husband, between his grip on reality and the raging thing inside him.
The number one thing that I have to say about this book: gory. So gory that it became numbing (and therefore the shock of it wasn’t working for the author anymore). It’s like I shut down. And the trend of biting the inside of the cheek to draw blood in modern literature continues! (That was the least of my worries, here, as far as body horror, but it still makes me queasy and roll my eyes.)
This book is meant for trans kids, mainly. I suppose it is also meant for people around trans kids to read and to understand, but anger and hurt come across a lot more here than any sort of education. There were also elements of overdoing the representation (LGBTQ+, neurodiversity, and racial diversity). Honestly, the book was one giant metaphor for living life as a queer teen, so we didn’t really have to have all the non-plot-developing scenes about actual daily life as a queer teen. (Some, sure. Carefully chosen.) And if White had focused on the struggles and representation of his two main POVs (trans, gay/bisexual, autistic) without throwing the entire toolbox of diversity and lifestyles into everyone, I think it would have been much more effective. I have read criticism elsewhere that complains about some of the characters coming off “token.” Yeah, I see that.
Honestly, it was interesting enough for me to keep reading, even though it was so gory. The opening scene throws the reader right into the action and there is plenty of intrigue. What is Benji’s past? Where is he headed? And what is going on with his body? (Metaphor. See?) I wanted to keep reading. I kept reading. Only when I looked back over my experience did I realize that the pacing was inconsistent, the plot not very clear, the world-building a bit myopic, and the characters a little sparse and flat. But still I had read and, well, I don’t know if they word was “enjoyed” it, but maybe that.
For me, the main issue was actually that I couldn’t see what I was reading. The descriptions are often disjointed or missing. There might be plenty of descriptive words, but somehow they didn’t come together in my imagination to create a sense of space or a meaningful picture. I am not alone in this either, and no one in book club had a real sense of what Seraph even looked like at the end. And up until then, I was often changing my ideas about what the places and creatures looks like, never quite settling. Metaphorically, it worked. Visually (as in the reader’s imagination), not so much.
Which means that in the end I had a hard time loving a “monster.” Because even though the concept and the mystery were engaging, the confusing excess of side characters, the lack of coherent world- and scene-building, the lack of representational focus, and inconsistent pacing (all seconded by the book club discussion synopsis), I could not really go into the book or into Benji’s heart. I couldn’t care as much as I wanted to.
As for the religion thing, I was afraid it was going to be yet another slaughter, but actually I, as a believer, was not offended. The issues with religion were directed mostly at this cult (which works as an effective metaphor for more specific things), religion reads as more ambiguous, and some characters are even left with their belief (even though it might be conflicted based on their experience with the humans attached to their particular belief). Yeah. Again, I hear you.
I didn’t hate reading this book, though I was utterly disturbed by the body horror and excessive gore. I kinda liked reading it. I learned some things. I was on the edge of my seat, sometimes. I would probably recommend it for certain people. But on reflection, it fell flat in some really important ways. Since it’s a debut novel, there is a (strong?) chance White will get these things right-er in future novels.
Props to his covers, for sure.
Andrew Joseph White is a trans autistic writer out of the DC area. He is really moving with the novels, and his first three are all New York Times bestsellers and all YA horror revolving around trans and autism identity. They are Hell Followed with Us, The Spirit Bares Its Teeth, and Compound Fracture. His first adult book, You Weren’t Meant to Be Human, is set for publication this year. He is also working on two more YA novels, You’re No Better and Beast/Warden.
His website can be found HERE.
“That may not be my fault, but it is my responsibility” (p274).
“99 per cent of lying is just figuring out what the other person wants to hear” (p306).
About the time I was reading this book, they announced development of an anime-inspired (animated) feature film for this story. Honestly, I might like that better, but I also might not be able to stomach the gore on screen. Since it’s a shorter format, they’ll have to cut excess and that could be a great thing. Focus. But you never know if these projects will really make it. It does seem to have some names and some enthusiasm and some real ideas behind the venture.
