Pictures of You by Josh Malerman
I would like to thank Tor Uk for a copy of this novel in exchange for fair and honest review
Publisher – Tor UK
Published- Out now
Price – £22 hardback £10.99 ebook
After a magical night out on the town with her fiancée Jack, Emily wakes alone in a huge bed situated in a beautiful, well-lit room. But the pink ceiling, the mauve walls, and the deep, dark corners are nothing like the hotel she and Jack rented. More worrisome yet: Emily has no memory of this place from the night before.
A woman’s voice directs her to remain in bed. And beyond the end of the bed, a picture frame upon an easel – a frame with no canvas, no painting, no art. Only . . . there is the silhouette of a person Emily does not recognize. A person emanating demand, danger, evil. And the way the woman talks . . . She’s acting as if Emily herself is the painting. The still life. The art.
Emily is as confused as she is scared. But it’s immediately clear that she is trapped – and that Jack’s life is on the line along with her own.
The clock is ticking . . .
For Emily.
For Jack.
For being forever trapped.
Horror is an emotional reaction, but it can also very easily be art. I do not jest works of literature and film in this genre do not transcend it but actually just underline how a genre produces gems that make us look at being human very powerfully and deeply. Sadly, when I read Pictures of You by Josh Malerman I found a story that ultimately felt a little too flat to hit its points.
Emily and Jack are in a new blooming relationship where everything seems to underline that they’ve each met their soulmate. A night out by the Great Lakes leads them to a small town and a night to celebrate. But the next day Emily awakens in a strange bed, finding herself being painted by a woman and warned if she moves something very bad will happen to Jack. Emily now has to try and work out how she can get out of this dangerous situation.
Ok there is a fascinating start but ultimately this story left me cold. It’s a short novel that ultimately still feels dragged out and despite an argument on what is art is ultimately people falling into a small town nightmare and having to escape. Emily and Jack ultimately feel plot devices than people we know deeply and care for. The stylised villains feel a little bit out of stock casting and there feels a lack of surprise throughout. Rather than a sense of horror I came away non-plussed
Pictures of You feels a novella trapped in just under 300 pages, but I come away feeling it was treading water for something dramatic to happen which rarely did. I bit of a disappointment so not one I can recommend.
