Synopsis:
Winnie Campbell is sixteen and a burgeoning serial killer. Her father blames her for her mother’s death, dotes on her little sister, and executes increasingly cruel punishments meant to humiliate Winnie. As the punishments morph into torture, she begins fantasizing about regaining some semblance of power, eventually working through her rage by killing small animals.
When her violent games escalate and she accidentally kills an infant while babysitting, Winnie gets a taste of a power she doesn’t want to let go of. Her obsession with killing grows, and so does her fascination for Leigh, a girl that reminds her of her younger self.
Winnie wants to kill. She wants to die. She wants to be someone other than herself. And killing Leigh, a symbolic suicide, could be the key to her metamorphosis.
Review:
Crushing Snails by Emma E Murray is a malicious and nauseating story of deception, abuse and taking control. I had the absolute pleasure of blurbing Emma’s upcoming novelette “When The Devil,” (out May 7th) and I simply had to know what she could do with a full length novel. I was not disappointed. Sad, frustrated and empty- yes, but definitely not disappointed. It’s a novel that crawls under your skin, and only burrows deeper after you’ve finished with it. My sleep was disturbed, my stomach was churned, and my spine was thoroughly tingled, making it obvious to me that Emma is a rising star in the horror genre. I’d like to thank her for giving me the opportunity to read the vile, repugnant and frankly offensive “Crushing Snails,” pending its release on August 6th 2024, I hope it gets the recognition it deserves.
Edwina (Winnie) Campbell’s life was once, a long time ago, normal. Then Theresa’s mental health deteriorated. One night, one of her mother’s midnight episodes became too much, and Winnie (aged 11) confronted her in an altercation which left her with facial scarring, and her mother in a psychiatric hospital, in which she later died. Her father blames her. Now, aged 16, she is forced to keep the home running, whilst juggling a part-time babysitting gig, bullying at school, and maintaining her turbulent friendships with Gabe and Krystal. As her academic success fades, her relationships deteriorate and her father’s abuse edges closer and closer to torture- she just needs some semblance of control over her own life. So she starts crushing snails. The rush of taking a life, no matter how small, feels great- but soon, snails aren’t cutting it anymore… As you can imagine, it only gets worse from here.
One of the cruellest parts of “Crushing Snails,” is that it’s written in the first person, so as readers we are not just passive observers, and feel complicit in the unfolding horrors. Initially you feel nothing but pity for Winnie, and her anger and bitterness is well justified. Unfortunately though, things get dark fast, and you as a reader, try as you might, can’t stop the inevitable direction things are heading in. You want to drag your feet and slam on the brakes, maybe give Winnie a stern talking to, and get her some help- but you can’t. You’re forced to watch this timid little girl turn into a monster, from a victim to a villain, and whilst by the end, it’s obvious what’s going to happen (it would be cheap if it didn’t) you’re still praying for an alternative. This is a book in which no one wins- no one is happy. Not the protagonist, not the side-characters and definitely not the reader.
Every relationship Winnie has, throughout the novel’s entirety, is complex, and partly to blame for her downward spiral. The first, and most interesting relationship I want to talk about is a rather fleeting one: Leigh. Winnie is particularly attracted to the notion of killing Leigh due to the similarities between her younger self and the child. It’s a twisted form of self-hatred mingled with a desire for continuity, a warped way of achieving a so-called “pseudo-suicide,” whilst still clinging on to existence. Perhaps this shows an internal struggle between Winnie’s self-loathing and her perverse craving for the continuation of her murderous path.
Her relationship with her friend Gabe is also an interesting one. To put it politely, Gabe is a dick. He eats her food, spends her money, and even ridicules her home-life. His dismissal of her sick fantasies (which she opens up to him about) are a crucial turning-point- he is perhaps the only person who could have prevented Winnie from acting on her desires. However, despite his treatment of her, they stick together- likely due to Gabe’s own troublesome relationship with his mother, and shared interest in the macabre. This is ultimately commenting on trauma-bonding- which can bring people together, but when a relationship is this unhealthy, ultimately leads to their unravelling.
In “Crushing Snails,” both shells and spirits are trampled. This novel practically oozes with discomfort and pain, enveloping readers in an atmosphere that’s as icky, sticky and slimy as its name suggests. To evoke such visceral reactions, capture such bleakness and depravity and descend SO far into the depths of the human psyche is utterly remarkable. It’s testament to her writing that following the emotional roller coaster I’ve just endured I can not WAIT for Emma’s next novel, also coming from Apocalypse Party Press in 2025. I will scream and shout about this author until the words dry out.
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