More Paperbacks from Hell and another #allthebookreviews title – I’m hopeful we’ll keep up our momentum for the year!
WHEN DARKNESS LOVES US – Elizabeth Engstrom (Originally Published January 1st, 1985)
Book Description:
Sally Ann is a bright and bubbling farm girl, still caught in the thrill of a brand-new husband and a shining future ahead. When a careless exploration leaves her trapped underground, she learns to live again in the absence of everything she once knew. Even driven by love and light, Sally Ann finds the deepest darkness within herself in When Darkness Loves Us.
Old Martha Mannes has been a part of Morgan, Illinois since her birth. The whole town knows her as the dim-witted woman who was born without a nose, but Martha’s mind wasn’t always a blank slate. Unlocking the monster buried deep in her memories may bring back the sparkling child she once was…or it may send those around her crashing down into the nightmares of a little girl gone wrong.
A reprinting of Elizabeth Engstrom’s first book, this two-novella collection twists together the beauty and horror underlying the seeming simplicity of small town life.
Chandra’s Thoughts: 5/5 stars
When @jessicamap brought this to my attention to do a #buddyread, I looked at the cover and was “UM, YES”. .. even though I hate dolls and think they’re an abomination of hell… but I read (and watch) what scares me the most as it’s FUN. Color me surprised when I found out it contained TWO stories! WHEN DARKNESS LOVES US and BEAUTY IS.
They are both utterly different with their commonality only in their women protagonists who are in very precarious situations. I found both stories equally intriguing in their own unique natures. The title story follows Sally Ann, who gets stuck in a series of tunnels and gets stuck underground. She will do whatever she has to for the safety of herself and her unborn child. Surely her husband is looking for her too. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t THAT. And within the short pages this story is told, Engstrom takes us from here to there with such precision that nothing is wasted for the reader. Each bite a tastier morsel than the next.
Up next is the longer story of the two and focuses on a mentally challenged, middle aged woman named Martha who is learning to live life on her own now that her parents have passed. This story see-saws between her story and her mother’s, giving us Martha’s story from birth to present in an explanation of sorts to the actions within. Again, whatever I was expecting, it definitely wasn’t THAT. Less horror feeling than the preceding story, the climax really packs a punch. Definitely my favorite of the two. Fucking hell.
I absolutely love reading some vintage horror. This was originally published in 1985 and you can certainly tell by some terminology, among other things. It takes me back to when I first started reading horror. It’s good to be home.
My Thoughts: 4/5 stars
I originally heard of this book after I read about it in Paperbacks from Hell – that book is incredible and you should read it if you want to learn more about the horror novels of the 70s and 80s. This is a collection of two novellas – When Darkness Loves Us and Beauty Is… and they are such different kinds of horror that it was almost hard to believe they were the same author.
When Darkness Loves Us is exactly what you want in a horror novel. This was a wild ride. Creepy and twisty and I definitely had a few, “what the fuck” moments while reading. You think things are all wrapped up in the beginning of the story but what follows is just a cascade of shocks. It 100% could have been longer, BUT I think the author ended it perfectly without dragging the plot out.
The second story, Beauty Is… is a different kind of horror. More emotional and just a straight shot to the heart. It’s much slower moving than the first story and riveting in a different way than the title novella. I can see the stark change in pacing between the two throwing some readers off but they’re both beautiful and horrific in their own ways.
Another solid entry from Paperbacks from Hell and I know Chandra and I have a couple more to read!
Jessicamap Reviews 