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Camille is a tradwife influencer, living in near-total isolation from all humans but her awful and mostly absent husband Graham and her nosy neighbor Renee. She directs her own life like it's a perfect Instagram post, constantly obsessing over the perfect shade of beige and how her followers will react if she disagrees with a more successful tradwife influencer's insistence on a folic acid-free diet. The best way to get followers is to get pregnant, and she and Graham haven't managed that yet. But there's something lurking in the dark, deep well near the dark, deep woods that might be able to solve that problem for her.
The first quarter or so of this book is so repetitive and anvillicious that I might have DNF'd it if I hadn't been reading it for the horror book club. However, it picks up once Camille has sex with the creature in the well. (Camille tells herself it's an angel but can't stop calling it "the creature;" its actual nature is pleasingly ambiguous.) Her extremely weird pregnancy and increasingly desperate efforts to conceal its weirdnesses from Graham, Renee, and her online followers had me glued to the pages, and once her baby is born, I went from being entertained to actively loving the story. I don't want to give away too much about the baby, but I think it's the first time I have ever gotten deeply attached to a fictional baby. Of course, it helps that the baby isn't quite human...
The story is predictable but in a good way once you're past the interminable first quarter; you can't wait for certain things to happen. It gets increasingly batshit and darkly, gleefully funny as it goes along. It's a good female rage book, and has some quality monsterfucking scenes. Despite the rough start I really enjoyed this.
Sweetheart is the best little nephilim/alien/monster baby. I would die for her.
I was literally howling with laughter when Sweetheart was swinging by the teeth from Renee's arm, and later when Camille basically hurls her into the cop's throat. The visual images are sheer gold.
I was delighted by the happy ending. Truly, they are the best and most functional family. I'm sure they'll be very happy in the woods. Hopefully they can make it out to Graham's church when the larder runs low.
Content notes: Very gory.
Incidentally, there are at least three novels called Trad Wife or Tradwife released this year. One by Sarah Langan is coming out in September.
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Incidentally, there are at least three novels called Trad Wife or Tradwife released this year.
They are definitely taking over the zeitgeist, which possibly means they're going to be passe soon, or at least that's what I tell myself to get through the day. It's not actually called Tradwife, but Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke is a similar sort of novel that has me intrigued. Not enough to buy it, but perhaps if the library acquires it.
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Must be something in the water.