Making sense of the inexplicable -- or just ignoring it entirely

Come Closer
Sara Gran

Well, I’m back. I’ve put quite a few books behind me, and I suppose I can delay reviewing them no longer. I’m lucky to have read a lot of good books recently, which makes reading fun but reviewing hard.

So, anyway, awhile ago I thought I might cook some Indian food. (God, I just loooove Indian food. SO. GOOD.) Like any idiot, I thought I could easily cook what I so easily devour at my favorite restaurant. Browsing cookbooks on Amazon.com, I realized that I needed only one more small purchase to qualify for free shipping. It made sense at the time, even though shipping was only five dollars and so was Come Closer. It makes even more sense now, after I have cooked zero Indian dishes. The cookbooks may not be getting used, but Come Closer was really effing good.

easier to eat than to make, sadly

To be fair, I’m not sure Come Closer qualifies as a novel, or even as a novella. It’s more like a short story, and once I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down. That wasn’t a problem, though, since it only took me about an hour to read. It would have been better if I waited until closer to Halloween to read this tale, as it would have fit the atmosphere better, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

The story revolves around Amanda, who starts to hear strange noises in her apartment. Her husband hears them too, but they are never more persistent than when she is alone. Soon other inexplicable events start occurring; is someone messing with her, or is she going crazy? She chooses to ignore these early signs, noting, “We could devote our lives to making sense of the odd, the inexplicable, the coincidental. But most of us don’t, and I didn’t either.” What seems like a smart move slowly becomes her undoing, for by the time she takes these signs seriously, it might be too late.

As examples of “the inexplicable” increase, Amanda’s behavior starts to change. It starts innocuously enough: she resumes smoking after quitting to please her husband. This in itself is not necessarily a big deal; one should change for oneself, not another person. But then her behavior takes a decidedly more insidious turn, and soon her relationships start to suffer. As her marriage takes a turn for the worse, it becomes clear that Amanda must make a concerted effort to help herself or else lose herself entirely.

Come Closer is gratifying to read because such a short work achieves what most take 200 pages to do: the characters of Amanda and her husband are fully developed, and Amanda’s progression from disbelief, to terror, and finally to her final state (omitted to prevent spoilers) is believable and developed. And, once you realize what is happening to her (which you learn fairly early on, but it’s such a fun read that I don’t want to spoil anything for you), you’ll find sufficient surprises that prevent Come Closer from being predictable.

True, the novel has its flaws, but in my opinion they are minor and do not prevent one from enjoying the book. You won’t find philosophical digressions or even any illuminating answers, but if you aren’t expecting such depth, you’ll enjoy this book. By the way, avoid reading the reviews on Amazon if you wish to be surprised by what is happening to her. I’m glad I didn’t; I found the beginning of the novel quite enjoyable for being able to discover the source of her problems along with the protagonist.

In a nutshell: Come Closer is fast, fun, and creepy. Just be warned: it’s a really fast read, so keep a backup book for an extended trip or a long spell in a waiting room.

Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars