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The Beast You Are

Stories

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

A haunting collection of short fiction from the bestselling author of The Pallbearers Club, A Head Full of Ghosts, and The Cabin at the End of the World.

Paul Tremblay has won widespread acclaim for illuminating the dark horrors of the mind in novels and stories that push the boundaries of storytelling itself. The fifteen pieces in this brilliant collection, The Beast You Are, are all monsters of a kind, ready to loudly (and lovingly) smash through your head and into your heart.

In "The Dead Thing," a middle-schooler struggles to deal with the aftermath of her parents' substance addictions and split. One day, her little brother claims he found a shoebox with "the dead thing" inside. He won't show it to her and he won't let the box out of his sight. In "The Last Conversation," a person wakes in a sterile, white room and begins to receive instructions via intercom from a woman named Anne. When they are finally allowed to leave the room to complete a task, what they find is as shocking as it is heartbreaking.

The title novella, "The Beast You Are," is a mini epic in which the destinies and secrets of a village, a dog, and a cat are intertwined with a giant monster that returns to wreak havoc every thirty years.

A masterpiece of literary horror and psychological suspense, The Beast You Are is a fearlessly imagined collection from one of the most electrifying and innovative writers working today.


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    • Booklist

      April 15, 2023
      From the author of The Cabin at the End of the World (2018), Survivor Song (2020), and The Pallbearers Club (2022) comes this wonderful collection of short fiction. These 15 gems, polished to perfection, range from straight-up horror to speculative fiction to psychological terror. Some of the stories conceal their purpose for most of their duration (in "The Last Conversation," for example, a man in a room converses with a woman via intercom); others leap right in ("Mostly Size" opens with a giant monster terrorizing a city). The writing, too, shifts dramatically from piece to piece. One story is a single, multipage paragraph; another one's in the form of a series of blog entries, with comments from readers. Oh, and here's one written in the manner of an epic saga. Present tense, past tense, first person, third person, even the rarely used second person all take a turn--a brilliant display of Tremblay's versatility as a writer. Fourteen of the stories were previously published, but the title story, which is also the book's longest, appears here for the first time. As an added bonus, the author includes notes on the creation of each story, giving us a fascinating glimpse into a writer's mind. For fans of Tremblay, horror, or short fiction in general, this one's a must-have.

      COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from June 12, 2023
      These 15 invigorating horror shorts from Tremblay (The Pallbearer’s Club) showcase the author’s imagination and versatility. Two are radically different ghost stories: in “ Ice Cold Lemonade 25¢ Haunted House Tour: 1 Per Person,” the narrator reflects on the youthful experiences that haunt his adult self, while “I Know You’re There” explores the ways in which grief repeatedly reshapes a character’s perceptions of reality. There are also two prescient pandemic stories, both originally published before the Covid-19 outbreak: “The Blog at the End of the World” works backward chronologically through online posts about a mysterious epidemic to form an incisive critique of the dissemination of disinformation on social media; “The Last Conversation” delivers a poignant sci-fi riff on the difficulty of letting a loved one go. The brilliant title novella takes the form of an animal fable, laced with references to fear-mongering authorities and cultish believers that resonate deeply with the contemporary zeitgeist. Whether he’s writing a subtly disarming tale in the manner of Shirley Jackson (“The Party”) or a grisly monster story (“The Large Man”), Tremblay draws well-developed characters whose recognizable humanity makes it easy for readers to accept the weird events happening around them. This will be a smash with horror fans. Agent: Stephen Barbara, InkWell.

    • Library Journal

      Starred review from June 1, 2023

      Tremblay returns with another horror story collection, this time gathering 15 tales--some from award-winning anthologies; others, gems previously only available in smaller outlets--all of which will be enjoyed by long-time fans and new readers alike. Showcasing his award-winning brand of psychological horror, which derives its emotional terror from the characters, he reveals a terrible truth and then makes readers watch as the characters confront both the horror itself and their reactions to it. Every story, no matter the specific details, will break readers' hearts but ultimately leave them with hope. The titular new novella which anchors this volume is a great example, subtly nestled into his A Head Full of Ghosts universe; Tremblay presents an unsettling, anthropomorphic animal story told in free verse--a captivating, visceral, and menacing tale that, while fantastical, is also clearly about humanity right at this moment. Readers will be unable to look away, even as they see themselves in the horror. VERDICT Yet another not-to-miss release by the popular and critically acclaimed Tremblay (The Pallbearers Club), showcasing a discomfort that is reminiscent of Shirley Jackson but still new and thought-provoking.

      Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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