Book Review- One Bloody Thing After Another by Joey Comeau

Paperback
160 pages
Release date: March 22, 2011
Publisher: ECW Press
Author: Joey Comeau
Thank you to Nikki at ECW press for sending this copy for review!

Jackie has a map of the city on the wall of her bedroom, with a green pin for each of her trees. She has a first-kiss tree and a broken-arm tree. She has a car-accident tree. There is a tree at the hospital where Jackie’s mother passed away into the long good night. When one of them gets cut down, Jackie doesn't know what to do but she doesn't let that stop her. She picks up the biggest rock she can carry and puts it through the window of a car. Smash. She intends to leave before the police arrive, but they're early. Ann is Jackie’s best friend, but she’s got problems of her own. Her mother is chained up in the basement. How do you bring that up in casual conversation? "Oh, sorry I've been so distant, Jackie. My mother has more teeth than she’s supposed to, and she won't eat anything that’s already dead." Ann and her sister Margaret don't have much of a choice here. Their mother needs to be fed. It isn't easy but this is family. It’s not supposed to be easy. It'll be okay as long as Margaret and Ann still have each other. Add in a cantankerous old man, his powerfully stupid dog, a headless ghost, a lesbian crush and a few unsettling visits from Jackie’s own dead mother, and you'll find that One Bloody Thing After Another is a different sort of horror novel from the ones you're used to. It’s as sad and funny as it is frightening, and it is as much about the way families rely on each other as it is about blood being drooled on the carpet. Though, to be honest, there is a lot of blood being drooled on the carpet.

It's been a long time since the last line of a book had me laughing so hard I was crying. Flat-out howling with laughter--so hard I couldn't catch my breath.
Granted, it could have been because I was overtired--I WAS up until 4am reading this book. Yep, it's THAT good! (And also short.)

One Bloody Thing After Another is weird and wild and just plain awesome.
I can honestly say I've never read such a touching, horrific book....It was a pleasure to do so!

Jackie was a fascinating character. Insane, sad and REAL, but Charlie and Mitchie were my favourites. That old man and his old dog wormed their way into my heart at the word, 'ghost'. ;)

This is my first Comeau book, and now I'm dying to read more. His writing is wonderful. Evocative and slightly twisted.
Perfect for me, really.

Of course, I'm a strange person, so this book won't be for everyone. If you like weird, off-beat  horror/humour with a touch of LGBT romance, this is right up your alley!