Don Reid
Review: I initially assumed this book would be based on suicide. I was hoping to encounter some thought-provoking questions and self discovery. Upon reading the first page though, I was sure this book would in-fact not be about ending a life and instead ending a relationship. Yet, the disappointment was fleeting as I realized the book was really a physiological thriller, the feeling of eeriness and fright kept me enticed.
The pages of interrupted dialogue that take place in the beginning/middle of the book then began to bore me. The dialogue definitely provoked thoughts but the questions being asked by the characters were so “deep” that they were too open-ended, almost bland, as if they were trying entirely too hard to have intellectual conversation. The author did make note that writing the dialoging was enjoyable for him. I can also understand that keeping a reader engaged in pages of pure conversation is difficult. Overall it depends on an individual to decide if the dialogue portion is worthwhile for them.
It seems like the ending is supposed to be profound, like the reader is supposed to realize something big, which is true, I did, but there was no shock factor for me.
My understanding was: The unnamed narrator, Jakes girlfriend, is really just a part of him that wants to end things, his life. The part of him that is lonely, depressed and mentally ill. The car ride represents the thoughts a person may experience before they plan to end their life. (It is mentioned that Jakes girlfriend has been thinking of “ending things” with him for a few weeks) The abundance of questions, wondering why, or if, it has to end, and Jakes odd need for his “girlfriend” to meet his parents/see his childhood home, are the acts of a person who is contemplating suicide. Jake believes being around his parents and the home where he was brung up might change his decision.
There are probably lots more minor, leading, details throughout the story but I’ll just discuss my interpretation of the main idea/ending: Jake, Jakes girlfriend, and the Janitor are all the same person. The school represents the mentally ill mind of Jake. The dark, eery, halls of the school feel familiar to the narrator although “she has never been to the school”. In reality she, Jake, works there. I interpreted this as Jake hiding from the truth. He can’t deal with his fear he would rather forget that part of him, deciding that ending things is better than dealing with the problem. The narrator cycles through hiding, running, and trying to escape the school. Her seemingly short time spent doing so represents the years of running and hiding from others that eventually lead to her/Jakes demise. In the end she realizes there is no escape, because you cannot escape yourself, your own head, your loneliness. Jake eventually succumbs to his fate the job he chose out of fear, a janitor is what kills him in the end.
Overall, the story highlights the importance of human connection especially when an individual is dealing with mental illness. It encourages the audience to not let fear guide them in life and to embody a human experience with the company of others. I gave this book three stars. It is a shorter read that leaves you to interpret your own meaning. I don’t believe the time I spent reading was outright wasted, as it ended up being about ending things after all and had some introspection on human companionship. Yet, the story could benefit from further explanation regarding the strange girls at the ice cream shop, “Steph”, the ending in general, and other unexplained situations.
