Book Review: We Spread by Iain Reid

About the Book

Penny, an artist, has lived in the same apartment for decades, surrounded by the artifacts and keepsakes of her long life. She is resigned to the mundane rituals of old age, until things start to slip. Before her longtime partner passed away years earlier, provisions were made, unbeknownst to her, for a room in a unique long-term care residence, where Penny finds herself after one too many “incidents.”

Initially, surrounded by peers, conversing, eating, sleeping, looking out at the beautiful woods that surround the house, all is well. She even begins to paint again. But as the days start to blur together, Penny—with a growing sense of unrest and distrust—starts to lose her grip on the passage of time and on her place in the world. Is she succumbing to the subtly destructive effects of aging, or is she an unknowing participant in something more unsettling?

At once compassionate and uncanny, told in spare, hypnotic prose, Iain Reid’s genre-defying third novel explores questions of conformity, art, productivity, relationships, and what, ultimately, it means to grow old.

My Review

That was, well, something… It’s a hard one to describe (and perfect for Halloween, as it’s creepy and weird) and you won’t know if it’s for you until you start to read it. And even then you still may not be sure. I know I’m not making a lot of sense, but honestly I have no idea how to describe the experience of this book. Much of the writing is absolutely phenomenal. It is lyrical and lovely and evocative and disturbing. Ditto the story. At least, what I take it to have meant. And that’s where things start to get confusing – I’m really not entirely sure what I read although I enjoyed the experience of it.

I was not familiar with the author before this book but was intrigued by the descriptions and the reviews so decided to give it a go. It’s very short and reads very fast. The writing is excellent and there are about 10,000 possible interpretations of it – much like one of the paintings Penny describes throughout the course of the narrative – but I don’t really know what to make of any of them.. (To be fair, that is much the reaction I have to abstract modern painting also.)

On the whole I enjoyed it. It’s quite evocative, with a tension pervading the pages that is palpable. I’m intrigued by the meandering and obtuse wat the author presented the story, and will pick up another title of his to see if that is indicative of his writing style or unique to this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.