Coup de Grâce
This novella is hard to read. Sofia Ajram is the architect of a disturbing labyrinth deep underground—or perhaps deep in the protagonist’s mind. The blueprint contains deep depression, self-harm, and suicidal ideation. Construction adds flowery language over layers of body horror, psychological thriller, and nightmare dreamscapes.
Vicken is ready to commit suicide. That is until he meets a handsome man on the metro on the path to his final destination. Does that change his mind? The only thing clear in this grotesque novella is that Vicken gets lost. At some point, the metro transforms into an inescapable puzzle. Brutalist design traps Vicken in a loop of hallways, rooms, and unknowable horrors hiding around every concrete corner.
In the ’90s, Alice Notley gave us a feminist subversion of the epic poem tradition in her Descent of Alette. In 2020’s horror, Sofia Ajram uses a similar setting to show the reader that Dante’s Inferno can play out all in one poor soul’s mind. Coup de Grâce is a book for abstract horror fans prepared to navigate the scary stories our own minds tell us when we get lost in the maze of our mental health.
Author | Sofia Ajram |
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Star Count | 3.5/5 |
Format | Hard |
Page Count | 144 pages |
Publisher | Titan Books |
Publish Date | 01-Oct-2024 |
ISBN | 9781803369624 |
Bookshop.org | Buy this Book |
Issue | January 2025 |
Category | Horror |
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