Kindle Edition, 277 pages
Published December 16th, 2015 by Valancourt Books (first published 1985)
3/5 Star
Have you ever read a book that unsettled and disturbed you, but you're not sure what even happened? Well, that was Toplin for me. I'm not sure I would categorize this weird novel as horror, but the whole experience surely was horrific.
First of all, the narrator is creepy. There's no other word for it. Not only is he completely unreliable, but he is also so certain of his perfection that he sees everyone around him as lesser beings. Everyone is ugly, grotesque, and just downright gross in his eyes. Well, maybe except for his "girlfriend", but the way he describes her doesn't shout affection either. So, yeah. He thinks he is king and everyone around him is a peasant.
If I had to describe the events in the book, I would say it's about a disturbed man that spirals into madness... maybe... But again, I'm confused and appalled. Especially about the "slime". Please don't say slime ever again. I'm going to go back to my regular Michael McDowell books now.