Book Review: My Heart Is a Chainsaw

My Heart is a Chainsaw is a love letter. It’s intense and intimate. Familiar and shocking at the same time. You can practically see the grainy, underexposed horror lighting throughout.

This book is not a casual read. The author’s style is challenging and at first I wasn’t sure I liked that so much happens between the lines. This level of lyrical, skeletal prose is rare in horror, but outrageously successful here.

What makes this piece beautiful is the distance. Yes, it’s about slashers and everything you already know about them, but that’s all through the safety of the tv screen. You, the reader, get to know Jade, but the angsty teen stubbornly remains at arm’s length. The glacial pacing makes this a study in anticipation. After the shocking prologue, the plot pumps the brakes, comes to a rolling stop, then guns it. Like Jade, you think you’re more than prepared, but when it finally comes, omg no no no you’re not ready.

This is a compulsive, memorable read that I would recommend to select readers, but not everybody. If you’re passionate about horror movies – excuse me, SLASHER movies – you’ll thoroughly enjoy this. Some parts were too specialized, too in-crowd for me, and if I were even a fraction as passionate as the main character, this book would turn my world upside down. Still, this is one story that will stick with me for many reasons.

It’s not often I turn the last page and think, “Damn, now that is a story,” My Heart Is a Chainsaw is art unlike anything I have ever read before.

My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones is expected to be published August 31, 2021.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.