Synopsis:
1989, Lamesa, Texas. A small west Texas town driven by oil and cotton—and a place where everyone knows everyone else’s business. So it goes for Tolly Driver, a good kid with more potential than application, seventeen, and about to be cursed to kill for revenge. Here Stephen Graham Jones explores the Texas he grew up in, the unfairness of being on the outside, through the slasher horror he lives but from the perspective of the killer, Tolly, writing his own autobiography. Find yourself rooting for a killer in this summer teen movie of a novel gone full blood-curdling tragic.
Review:
‘Some people are just good, aren’t they? I wonder what that must be like.’
It feels almost as if we are cheating as fans of horror by following the works of Stephen Graham Jones. Indeed, the blood had scarcely just dried, and our wounds barely healed after reading the heart-wrenching conclusion of Jade Daniels’ story in ‘The Angel of Indian Lake’, before we were summoned once again to draw our weapons, sharpen our blades, and prepare for more bloodshed with Jones’ latest slasher novel ‘I Was a Teenage Slasher’. SGJ has spoken about the relationship between these two novels himself and so I will simply add that it is a testament to his creativity and master of craft that both novels are individually brilliant in their own right. It is only the slasher genre that loosely ties them together, and in fact the rules that genre stories are typically confined within has never been a hinderance for SGJ. In the works of SGJ the slasher sub-genre has always seemed like a playground of infinite bloody possibilities, and ‘I Was a Teenage Slasher’ offers in my opinion, not just another example of how genre can be subverted and bent to the creator’s will to create something fresh from tired and worn parts, but the greatest example of such in SGJ’s burgeoning catalogue of stories.
The immediate and obvious difference between ‘Teenage Slasher’ and your typical slasher is that the story is written from the perspective of the slasher. Regrettably I cannot make any real comparisons between this and the recently released film ‘In a Violent Nature’, that I know toys with similar concepts to controversial reviews, but what I can say is the idea definitely worked for me on paper. Before we really get to know Tolly Driver and his story we know one thing for certain, he is a killer. In this context the talkative, autobiographical tone of the story is in two words ‘morbidly addictive’. It feels impossible to look away even as Tolly nonchalantly talks about his past killings as if he was recounting any other mundane activity. The writing feels tinged with a scent of insanity, think Joe Goldberg, and this is immediately captivating and terrifying.
Indeed, the tone of the story develops drastically from this strong opening. One of the themes prevalent throughout the whole story is the age-old debate of free will and determinism. What exactly makes a good person? What differentiates a good from a bad person? How much control does anyone really have over that? Towards the end of the novel Tolly describes his autobiographical account of his bloody past as an apology, and the story absolutely carries all the necessary traits of an apology. Our protagonist recounts his past with guilt and regret, but also with sorrow and acceptance. This is not your typical slasher story and Tolly is not your typical slasher. SGJ makes you confront your own moral compass and question the meaning of right and wrong in the most extreme of circumstances. The story batters you with a maelstrom of conflicting feelings and emotions, unapologetic and remorseless in its attack.
Just like a slasher, if there is one thing you come to expect from a new SGJ novel it is bloody, visceral carnage. Fear not, the story does not lack in this department, but I would argue that another strand that I have came to expect from SGJ is heart. Through Jade Daniels and the Lake Witch trilogy, SGJ crafted a cast of memorable characters who we grew to love and care for, making it that much more painful when they were taken from our clutches. In many ways this is story-telling 101 but the way SGJ marries heartless bloodshed with moments of tender human emotion is uniquely impressive. Of course, the story’s unique perspective on the slasher contains all the memorable hallmarks of the genre, but what sets the story apart from the rest is its relationships. The autobiographical nature of the story offers us a level of honesty and intimacy with Tolly that simply cannot be replicated in any other way. Take away the killings and you just have Tolly and Amber, two teenage best friends with their lives ahead of them, and the world right up against them.
‘I Was a Teenage Slasher’ once again highlights Stephen Graham Jones’ unique ability to bend genre to his will to create art that rings both comfortingly familiar and gratifyingly unfamiliar. Trust me, this one will stay with you for a long time, just not for the reasons you might expect.
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