The Horror Hoser: The Psychological Horror of Iain Reid’s “Foe”
The Psychological Horror of Iain Reid’s Foe
For fans of: Jacob’s Ladder, A good 3rd act twist
Set against the backdrop of the near future, where citizen space travel and human replicants are possible, Foe is a psychological horror story by the author of I’m Thinking of Ending Things. Reid sets the story in farm country where industrial farming has become even more prolific. Our main characters, Junior, and his wife Henrietta are two of the last remaining farmers who actually live where they farm. Things are already tense between the husband and wife, but when a man named Terrance arrives at the farm with an offer—which is far from optional—Junior and Henrietta’s relationship and minds are put through the ringer.
For a novel about space travel and the future, Foe is an incredibly self-contained and claustrophobic story. The entire novel takes place just on Junior and Henrietta’s farm. If you’ve read Reid’s first novel, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, or have seen the Kaufman adaptation, you’ll know one of Reid’s skills as a write is to induce that feeling of claustrophobia, almost to the point of suffocation. The juxtaposition between the feelings of entrapment in the farmhouse, and by one’s circumstances, and the vastness of the sparse farmlands only adds to this feeling.
Foe will hit especially hard for anyone who’s been in a long-term or serious relationship. The realism of Henrietta and Junior’s conflicts and conversations immediately suspends disbelief, and makes all the more horrific elements hit even harder.
Rating: 5 out of 5 mysterious black beetles
Review by Ian A. Bain
I purchased this book
