Book Review - Foe by Iain Reid



Title: Foe
Author: Iain Reid
Publication Date: August 7, 2018
Genre: Horror
Pages: 272 pages
Rating: 4/5 stars
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Goodreads Blurb:
We don’t get visitors. Not out here. We never have.

In Iain Reid’s second haunting, philosophical puzzle of a novel, set in the near-future, Junior and Henrietta live a comfortable, solitary life on their farm, far from the city lights, but in close quarters with each other. One day, a stranger from the city arrives with alarming news: Junior has been randomly selected to travel far away from the farm...very far away. The most unusual part? Arrangements have already been made so that when he leaves, Henrietta won't have a chance to miss him, because she won't be left alone—not even for a moment. Henrietta will have company. Familiar company.

Told in Reid’s sharp and evocative style, Foe examines the nature of domestic relationships, self-determination, and what it means to be (or not to be) a person. An eerily entrancing page-turner, it churns with unease and suspense from the first words to its shocking finale.

My Thoughts:
Iain Reid is an author who has been on my radar for a while now, but this is the first of his books that I've read. I came across this book via other reviewers, and their positive comments immediately bumped this up on my to-read list. Junior and Hen live an extremely isolated life in a vaguely futuristic society, until late one night, a stranger arrives and reveals that Junior has qualified in a lottery that may potentially end in a stint in space. The stranger, Terrence, becomes a fixture in their daily lives, instilling change and paranoia into their sedate lifestyle. 

I absolutely loved Reid's writing style. His sentences are straightforward and punchy, but in a way that serves to disorient the reader within the world he's built. The world seems very similar to our own, until he reveals tidbits such as livestock bans and self-driving vehicles, so that every time you think you have a handle on exactly where and when this may be taking place, Reid throws you off again. This novel hits the uncanny valley in a way I've rarely experienced in a book, and it was definitely my favorite aspect of the novel. 

Really the downfall of this novel for me was the slow burn of the plot. I'd figured out the "twist" very early on and had even predicted most of the details of the twist as well. This isn't in any way a mystery novel and there are enough breadcrumbs throughout to lead the reader to the twist well ahead of time, so maybe it was intentional, but if that's the case, then I felt that the first two acts of the novel could have been more compact with greater focus on some of the more philosophical implications of the twist. To me it felt a bit too obvious with not enough detail surrounding the aftermath, which could have made the reveal more satisfying.

Even though the plot didn't fully deliver for me, I really did enjoy reading this novel. The premise is unique and the style is absolutely fantastic. The more I think about this novel, the more impressed I am with everything Reid managed to accomplish. This is an incredible example of how philosophy and horror can be combined to create a deep and unsettling dread. I can't wait to explore more of Reid's work, and I'm kicking myself for not having read him sooner. 

**Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.** 

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