Coup de Grace by Sofia Arjam
I would like to thank Titan Books for an advance copy of this novella in exchange for a fair and honest review
Publisher – Titan
Published – 1st October
Price – £10.99 hardback £8.99 Kindle eBook
Vicken has a plan: throw himself into the Saint Lawrence River in Montreal and end it all for good, believing it to be the only way out for him after a lifetime of depression and pain. But, stepping off the subway, he finds himself in an endless, looping station.
Determined to find a way out again, he starts to explore the rooms and corridors ahead of him. But no matter how many claustrophobic hallways or vast cathedral-esque rooms he passes through, the exit is nowhere in sight.
The more he explores his strange new prison, the more he becomes convinced that he hasn’t been trapped there accidentally, and amongst the shadows and concrete, he comes to realise that he almost certainly is not alone.
Trigger Warning - this review will discuss themes of suicide, depression and mental illness. The book handles these themes very well
Horror can unfairly get the reputation as being the equivalent of a ghost train ride. Designed to scare you and entertain in equal measure and that is all it does. I don’t share that view. For me horror is a genre that allows readers to explore the darker side of being human, what scares us in the world, what scares us about ourselves and allows us to talk about things other genres like to put a positive spin on things. Horror says it is allowed to talk about it, it is ok to be scared and may help explain why you have that sense of fear. From werewolves to haunted houses there is often a point to the monster just hovering in front of you. In Sofia Ajram’s dark and thoughtful novella Coup de Garce we have a person trapped in an endless disturbing world they were not expecting but it also explores mental illness and autonomy creating a feeling of empathy that really stands out.
Vicken has finally decided to take their life and drown in the Saint Lawrence River. They take a subway ticket and get off at the station but find themselves in an unexpectedly new station. One full of concrete, rooms and escalators but apparently no exits or other platforms. One they cannot leave. They meet one other occupant, but they still cannot find escape. It is a place of disturbing events, that seems to know much about its prisoners and Vicken constantly searches for a way to freedom before it is too late.
Mental Illness and suicide are subjects that can be mishandled. There can be handwavium solutions that will of course make everything better. There can be stories where its all treated shallowly for effect and to create a tragedy and gives no consideration to how people with these conditions really feel. I am very pleased to say I sense neither in Ajram’s novella and this while it stays true to the nature of a horror story uses its setting to explore how mental illness feels and creates a nightmarish tale but one that readers may gleam what it can feel like for those for whom depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts may feel for days on end.
The mysterious endless subway of concrete, escalators and steel is one of many horrible endless traps that dot the horror landscape. Those that people enter and get trapped in, where reality ‘s rules are firmly set to the off switch and the nightmare is not that you are deserving of punishment, but the universe just picked you at random to suffer. Arjam creates a dark oppressive environment that is filled with an absence of sound and people. You feel Vicken’s panic, fear and worry at what they are into. Without warning the corridors may shift and floors may rise. There is a sense that this place knows the people it traps as it reveals in its walls to reveal unpleasant images from people’s pasts and plays games with their fears. There is a terrifying lift that offers escape, horror and even a chance to talk in equal measure. There are things in here to scare Vicken and chase them and we feel that apprehension build and build. Arjam’s writing throughout is sumptuous, lyrical and makes this malevolent place come alive.
On its own this would be a wonderful piece of horror but what makes Coup de Grace really interesting is that Vicken themselves suffers from depression and has decided to take their own life. Our instinct as caring people is we don’t want this to happen. We like Vicken. Arjam never fully explains why but we see their career as an EMT working hard cases, their loneliness as an adult and their childhood and non-reaction to various medications all get mentioned. Vicken is not a problem for the reader to solve. A bit like the subway this is a reminder mental health issues can happen to anyone. Indeed, the one other character we meet has a physical condition that echoes Vicken’s situation. What the subway does help the reader understand is the degree that every day for a person with these conditions it can feel like you’re trapped, eating the same food, visiting the same rooms and seeing no escape. The solitary glimpse of daylight Vicken experiences on their travels offers a brief respite for them and the reader but then we are back into these endless corridors. The horrible images from Vicken’s past, the sense of endless repetition with no purpose and that you’re all alone all help remind us of what Vicken’s days were like even before taking their steps on the platform.
What the book does explore is choice. Vicken wants their life and even their potential to end it on their own terms. This book is not pro-suicide, but it explores the importance to someone of having choices of their own and a reminder that sometimes even what you want to choose may not be an option to have. In the latter sections of the book Arjam takes this idea in a fascinating direction where we as readers are given options to choose the story’s ending and while a happy ending is possible Arjam makes the reader aware other options are still available and this underlines that for those with such conditions there can be sometimes no happy endings however much we want a magic solution to have problems away. I don’t come away from this story that mental illness is hopeless, but I do get a reminder how difficult every day can be for those with it. Reading is great for reminding us of the power of empathy and taking it forward in our lives.
Coup de Grace is not a simple dark treat for the spooky season. I would ask readers to consider the themes it will explore but as a dark exploration of a subject that the genres can often handle badly this is thought-provoking, disturbing and eloquent in equal measure. Highly recommended!
