I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Wild Spaces by S.L. Coney Published by Tordotcom on August 1 2023
Genres: Adult, Coming of age, Horror
Pages: 122
Format: Finished paperback
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Dreamy, evocative writing and emotional themes make this an intriguing tale, but I didn’t enjoy the ending at all.
“There are two kinds of family,” his father says. “The kind you share genes with, and the kind you welcome into your heart.”
Please note, spoilers about the dog ahead.
I’m so sad that I didn’t love this story more. I fully expected it to be a “me” story, especially with so many rave reviews on Goodreads. Unfortunately, there is a completely unnecessary death of a dog, and it just didn’t sit well with me.
The story is fairly simple but deals with some heavy themes. A boy (unnamed) and his parents live a rather idyllic life near the seashore. The boy has a beloved dog named Teach, and the father loves to study the local sea life. Teach is the boy’s constant companion and is very protective of him. One day, their safe, comfortable lives are interrupted by the appearance of the boy’s grandfather. Teach immediately senses something wrong with the man, and the boy’s mother seems scared in his presence. Nevertheless, the grandfather settles in for an extended visit, despite the fact that he isn’t really welcome.
Little by little, the reader comes to realize that things are not quite right with the grandfather. A growing sense of dread permeates the story and eventually builds to a crescendo at the end when the grandfather’s true identity is revealed in a horrific fashion.
There is a lot I loved about Wild Spaces. Coney’s prose is evocative and atmospheric and conveys just enough information to set the tone of the story. If you’re one of those readers who loves reading between the lines and not being hand fed information, you’ll love their writing style. I loved the contrast between the time before the grandfather arrives, and after. Before, the boy and his tight knit family exist in a dreamy, carefree world. There’s a sense of discovery, especially since the father loves the ocean and studying the lifeforms that live there, and that curiosity rubs off on his son. The ocean plays a big part in their lives, since the boy loves pirates and the mother writes stories about them. But the minute the grandfather enters the picture, the tone turns ominous. The mother clearly has a terrible past with her father (it’s not stated, but implied that she was abused) but she’s too polite to ask him to leave. I was surprised just how much tension the author was able to create by inserting this one character into the mix, especially when, for most of the book, he doesn’t really do anything bad.
Coney drops hints about what’s to come. The grandfather says things to the boy like “The sea runs in your veins,” which turns out to have more than one meaning. I also thought the author did a great job with the coming-of-age elements. The boy is eleven, just on the cusp of puberty, and his body is changing, although maybe not in the usual ways.
But let’s talk about poor Teach. There is one scene where Teach rescues the boy from drowning, and you think he died saving him. But no, he didn’t! At this point I thought, great, the dog survives!! But no. Almost at the end of the story, he’s killed by the grandfather, and it just felt like a slap in the face. Teach isn’t the only death in the story, but his was definitely the worst. There are some other weird, confusing things that happen at the end that just didn’t make much sense, so overall the ending didn’t work for me. I did love the story up until this point, though, and I’m definitely willing to give the author another chance.
With thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
Ok – I had this on my August TBR and now sadly, it’s going off. I’m so sad because otherwise it sounds like a pretty good tale and one I would enjoy but I cannot sign up for the death of Teach – even knowing that going into the tale. Sounds like too much and I know my limits. Thanks for the spoiler and I’m forced to ask, why do authors think people want to read about dogs dying so much????
It had a lot of potential, lots of emotional moments that should have worked for me. But yep, the dog’s death ruined it for me.
It drives me nuts when the author makes crazy choices at the end, as if they were stuck and didn’t know how to finish it
I’m sure the author had a plan, I just didn’t like it!
The cover reminds me of some Katherine Arden books. No dice with me if the dog dies.
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Yep, I know I have a log of dog lover blogging friends, so I’m happy to warn you off:-)
For reasons I cannot explain, I never felt compelled to add this one to my TBR. Sounds like my sort of thing, but I just… had a feeling, maybe? I think it is too depressing for me, tbh, that one man can ruin this whole family (and kill the poor dog!) that I don’t think I’d enjoy it, especially if the ending was mediocre at best. Now I can rest assured that I won’t be missing out, so thanks for the great review!
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Thanks Shannon! It was overall a pretty sad book. Good choice staying away…
Sounds intriguing and atmospheric but, I don’t like dogs die in books.
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Me either!! 🙁
Not one for the TBR list then, due to the death of the dog. Things like that tend to put me off a story.
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Dog lovers should definitely stay away.
I literally said noooo out loud when I read there’s an unnecessary death of a dog. I consider myself an eclectic reader but that’s something I just don’t want to read about. It would hurt my heart too much. 🙁
I think I’ve read maybe one book where I was (sort of) OK with the dog’s death, but this one just didn’t make sense.
That’s a shame the ending went all wrong. The death of a dog would have ruined it for me too.
I appreciatw the warning about the dog.
Knowing this; I still want to read the story.
From the description and review, it seems to have some cosmic horror themes, which may help explain the colder.actions towards the end.
So frustrating when the ending doesn’t work for you – and after such much promise. Drat. I really like the sound of this one in so many ways but I don’t think I’m in the right mood atm for that type of ending.
Lynn 😀