Book Club: “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” by Iain Reid

Author: Anna Davis

Anna is changing lives in her gap year as a Yipiyap Tutor. Think you could be a future Yipiyap?

I was nervous about the novel selected for last month’s book club for two reasons. First, I knew how divisive it was with both critics and readers and second, I was worried about the review on the cover – ‘deliciously frightening’!

However, this is why I love book clubs and have always chosen to get involved with them at school, college, and now with Yipiyap; I would never have read Iain Reid’s I’m thinking of ending things! As someone with a deep-rooted aversion to horror films I would never have picked up a book from the horror genre at all! I recommend anyone who wants to diversify their reading, or even simply to start and maintain a regular reading habit, getting involved too in a book club.

Personally, I found the novel equally creepy and frustrating. Characters and dialogue seemed strange and unconvincing until the end when a final twist reveals it was deliberate all along.

There were certainly the deliciously frightening moments I was promised…

‘‘It must get really dark at night?”

“It does…”

But for me these chilling details were sometimes smothered by extended scenes of philosophical discussion and deep ruminations on the human condition…

“Questions are good. They’re better than answers. I appreciate not knowing. Not knowing is human. That’s how it should be. Like space. It’s unsolvable. And it’s dark”

Obviously not everyone felt the same. For some, the ending was the best part, for others, it was the worst. Some people were more invested in the philosophy than the psychological horror.

One of the most fascinating aspects of book club is that a single starting point can spark such varied responses. This was the first book club taking place during a full lockdown, a period of isolation which made the social aspect of it even more appealing. The discussions allow you to listen to other people’s perspectives, turning the otherwise somewhat solitary act of reading into a communal activity.

This book in particular was one of the most interesting in terms of polarising opinion. Was the diary like format, split by mysterious dialogue, gripping or a cheap attention grab? Should all the unsettling details build to satisfying conclusions or be left to simmer in the back of your mind unexplained? And the ending – clever or clumsy?

Overall, I agreed with those who warned of the dangers of over-analysis. I don’t believe Reid planned every creepy moment or line of dialogue to represent something deeper. I don’t believe that it is necessary to find a purpose for each of his individual choices throughout the book.

Some things are clearly inexplicable so maybe all of it is? Why do some questions need answers when others don’t? Maybe questions are better than answers after all.