Sophia was made for him. Her man. Her everything. She knows it in her bones every time she looks at him, every time she goes about her day making sure everything is perfect for him.
Because everything in Arcadia Gardens is perfect. He’s made sure of it–building steps and stools and adjustments so Sophia doesn’t feel dwarfed in their too-large house with their too-large things. And soon, she’ll have her own space; a basement he’s building out just for her.
Her husband is away quite a bit, leaving Sophia alone to get to know her neighbors, to keep up their home. But that’s just how marriage works, isn’t it? How can it be anything else when it’s all so perfect?
But perfection doesn’t mean that Sophia is without questions. It starts with the locked drawer and a strange hairbrush. It keeps going with a shard stuck in the knife block.
Everything is perfect. Surely the neighbors would tell her if they knew otherwise. Surely someone would say something. But there just isn’t any need when it’s all going so very well, right? in Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente.
Comfort Me With Apples is a brief novella exploring suspense, horror, and retelling a story you might already know. To say more would be to give away the story’s biggest reveal.
Valente layers in a lot of interesting details from the chapter titles to the creepy excerpts from the Arcadia Gardens Homeowner’s Association agreement sprinkled throughout the story. Each layer expertly adds suspense and builds tension as Sophia–and the story–move toward one final revelation. While the payoff is satisfying, it is also clearly the entire point of this novella leaving little room for what came before or what might follow. Readers wanting more will be served well by Valente’s extensive (and often longer form) backlist of titles as well as The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey–a full length novel that explores similar themes in a more sci-fi setting.
At just over a hundred pages, Comfort With Apples is a quick, atmospheric jaunt perfect to read before bed–preferably with a glass of apple cider and all of the lights on.
Possible Pairings: Six Months, Three Days, Five Others by Charlie Jane Anders, And Again by Jessica Chiarella, The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey, Magic For Beginners by Kelly Link, Foe by Iain Reid, Among Others by Jo Walton
*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*
Miss Print 