Book Review: MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW by Stephen Graham Jones

MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW by Stephen Graham Jones (Gallery / Saga Press, expected release date August 31, 2021)  Hardcover, 416 pages.  ISBN # 1982137630 / 9781982137632 

Summary on the Goodreads website . . . . .

 In her quickly gentrifying rural lake town Jade sees recent events only her encyclopedic knowledge of horror films could have prepared her for in this latest novel from the Jordan Peele of horror literature, New York Times bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones.

“Some girls just don’t know how to die…”

Shirley Jackson meets Friday the 13th in My Heart Is a Chainsaw, written by the author of The Only Good Indians Stephen Graham Jones, called “a literary master” by National Book Award winner Tananarive Due and “one of our most talented living writers” by Tommy Orange.

Alma Katsu calls My Heart Is a Chainsaw “a homage to slasher films that also manages to defy and transcend genre.” On the surface is a story of murder in small-town America. But beneath is its beating heart: a biting critique of American colonialism, Indigenous displacement, and gentrification, and a heartbreaking portrait of a broken young girl who uses horror movies to cope with the horror of her own life.

Jade Daniels is an angry, half-Indian outcast with an abusive father, an absent mother, and an entire town that wants nothing to do with her. She lives in her own world, a world in which protection comes from an unusual source: horror movies…especially the ones where a masked killer seeks revenge on a world that wronged them. And Jade narrates the quirky history of Proofrock as if it is one of those movies. But when blood actually starts to spill into the waters of Indian Lake, she pulls us into her dizzying, encyclopedic mind of blood and masked murderers, and predicts exactly how the plot will unfold.

Yet, even as Jade drags us into her dark fever dream, a surprising and intimate portrait emerges…a portrait of the scared and traumatized little girl beneath the Jason Voorhees mask: angry, yes, but also a girl who easily cries, fiercely loves, and desperately wants a home. A girl whose feelings are too big for her body. My Heart Is a Chainsaw is her story, her homage to horror and revenge and triumph. 

 

My Five-Star Review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

Great book! 

     Fans of slasher horror films may feel that MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW is a bit slow in getting around to the killing floor with its early pacing. Just you wait. Be patient. All good thrillers require a sufficient amount of set-up time. And Stephen Graham Jones has a lot to unload here. The final third of this book commanded my attention, kept me guessing, and on the edge of my reading chair for page after page, chapter after chapter. 

     This is so much more than a simple homage to the slasher horror film, obviously written by someone with a love for the genre, a thorough background in all its' nuances, and a file-cabinet of a memory. 

     The SCREAM films paid tribute to the slasher movie, broke through the fourth wall as characters discussed what might happen next as if they were story consultants, defined the genre and then violated some of those tropes. MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW does the exact same thing for slasher novels, stands it on its' head, and makes it spin. You may think you know who the final girl is, but then again . . . . .

     Here's the biggest difference, and the reason why (if forced to choose) I'll pick a repeat reading of this book over multiple watchings of the SCREAM films. The SCREAM movies depended on the cleverness of the killings and overall quirkiness to keep movie-goers in the seats. What drives the story in MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW forward is the character development and progress of Jade Daniels. She begins as a misfit adolescent, high school outcast, escaping from both the mundanity of her day-to-day existence as well as an abusive, traumatic incident from her past by consuming as many horror films (on VHS) as she can. Her encyclopedic knowledge of the slasher genre helps her identify the early signs of trouble in her small town. Then, she does everything she can to prepare anyone who will listen to her to get ready for the mayhem. It's not her fault that nobody takes her seriously. 

     The secondary characters are just as fully realized. Along with telling a great horror and coming-of-age story, Jones confronts some stereotypes regarding drunken Indians, social mores, prejudice and even gentrification of the wilderness. The ending is a welcome surprise.

I received an advance review digital copy from the publisher via Net Galley without obligation. I wrote this review voluntarily.