Catherynne M. Valente

A terrifying new thriller from bestseller Catherynne M. Valente, for fans of Gone Girl and Spinning Silver Sophia was made for him. Her perfect husband. She can feel it in her bones. He is perfect. Their home together in Arcadia Gardens is perfect. Everything is perfect. It's just that he's away so much. So often. He works so hard. She misses him. And he misses her. He says he does, so it must be true. He is the perfect husband and everything is perfect. But sometimes Sophia wonders about things. Strange things. Dark things. The look on her husband's face when he comes back from a long business trip. The questions he will not answer. The locked basement she is never allowed to enter. And whenever she asks the neighbors, they can't quite meet her gaze.... But everything is perfect. Isn't it?

Comfort Me With Apples

Comfort Me With Apples is a terrifying new thriller from bestseller Catherynne M. Valente, for fans of Gone Girl and Spinning Silver Sophia was made for him. Her perfect husband. She can feel it in her bones. He is perfect. Their home together in Arcadia Gardens is perfect. Everything is perfect. It's just that he's away so much. So often. He works so hard. She misses him. And he misses her. He says he does, so it must be true. He is the perfect husband and everything is perfect. But sometimes Sophia wonders about things. Strange things. Dark things. The look on her husband's face when he comes back from a long business trip. The questions he will not answer. The locked basement she is never allowed to enter. And whenever she asks the neighbors, they can't quite meet her gaze.... But everything is perfect. Isn't it? At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

I don't know what to say about this book. I appreciate the effort and thought behind it; I can see how the concept can be appealing; and I must admit it does make you question and wonder what it has in pocket for you; however, I didn't 

anything while reading. I wasn't awed, scared, on the edge of my seat. I wasn't emotional, tense, or anything else. The ending was underwhelming. The one thing I enjoyed most is knowing something is wrong from the first few sentences while the main character is unassuming. This eerie looming feeling was nice.

blue

I don't know what to say about this book. I appreciate the effort and thought behind it; I can see how the concept can be appealing; and I must admit it does make you question and wonder what it has in pocket for you; however, I didn't feel anything while reading. I wasn't awed, scared, on the edge of my seat. I wasn't emotional, tense, or anything else. The ending was underwhelming. The one thing I enjoyed most is knowing something is wrong from the first few sentences while the main character is unassuming. This eerie looming feeling was nice.

Molly M

Isabella 

i recently watched a video essay about (view spoiler)[stepford wives (hide spoiler)], and this is so similar to the movie. i havent really watched the movie, but based on the video essay, i could tell the similarities. (view spoiler)[aside from that, it is also a play of adam and eve, and i think it's a really smart and interesting move... eve was made for adam, but she doesn't truly belong to him. (hide spoiler)] it's a really nice book. it's short, unsettling, and very fun to read. a recommend!

felt like watching mother and i actually liked this more

Cici Pearson

spoiler maybe???????

felt like watching mother and i actually liked this more

kayla 

this book was odd, in good and bad ways.

the writing was beautiful and captured the eerie setting we're placed in, the tension was built perfectly and the horror aspects were added smoothly - but the book was just too short for it to pay off well. the ending was clunky and misguided at best, it did not feel like a horror book and there were many many questions (or even just basic world building points) left unanswered, it was definitely interesting and i would've liked to read more about it (again.. a longer book) but it fell so flat in the atmosphere the author had already created.

edit; also.. the ending was so so so sudden! i did mention this by saying it was clunky but oh my god. one page you were left in the dark, still wondering but getting small (and effective) hints, and then the next everything's been spelt out for you; by the end of the book everything is quite literally explained to you and it rips the eerie feeling right out.. it's disappointing.

Keely Calagos

Stepford Wives meets The Handmaids Tale meets ____ with a teeny-tiny sprinkle of horror. 

Filling in the blank would be a major spoiler. 

I can't say much about this book without giving anything away. I went down a Googling rabbit hole to piece together the references and parallels I didn't understand completely. Even just a little research gave me so much more respect for Valente's storytelling.

If you're curious, I highly recommend picking this book up. Plus its only ~100 pages.

3.5/5

arth

Ends my year of 2022 reading this. And I don’t know how to feel about it. The ending ruined what’s already good start and interesting premise. A biblical satire that should’ve worked but sadly it doesn’t, really. The real question is, what’s the motive of everyone around Sophia wanted to help her out just like that? Doesn’t make any sense at all. But truthfully, I did enjoy reading this. It has a grip on me. Somewhat mysterious and dark and intriguing still despite the catastrophic ending. 3/5⭐️

jess larry

** spoiler alert **
           2.5, for the plot

90% of the book was overly descriptive, i forced myself not to dnf it because of the plot but damn it was not a pleasant experience 

the reveal was very predictable, still i wanted to see how it would actually play out & was def expecting something better than what we got

i really liked the portayal of denial & how we lie to ourselves when confronted to traumatic situations, the switch that happened in her mind when she finally accepted reality

very unsatisfactory ending but i get it

très bonne idée une bible fiction like this mais ça garde un goût d'inachevé

Zarah Hashim

** spoiler alert **
           Wow. Wow. Wow.

What a great spin on the book of Genesis - I truly enjoyed this perspective and was quite literally kept on my toes the whole time. 

Absolutely brilliant!

Lara Engle

** spoiler alert **
           What a weird little story, and ultimately unsatisfying for me. Biblical twists just don't really work for atheists, I guess. I'm giving it two stars for a bit of cleverness. I twigged to the tricks pretty quick and just didn't really get into it.

so, i can understand why so many people would dislike the concept but i'm a huge sucker for retellings — though i wonder if this technically counts as one — especially when they get a little gritty. i did figure out what was happening by the halfway mark but it was still enjoyable to see our main character piece everything together herself, especially with valente's prose being as engaging as it is. it's a little overwrought at times, sure, probably too purple for some readers, but it works well enough with this kind of story. tone and atmosphere were constructed expertly, and the dialogue was a highlight for me too.

will definitely be reading more of her longer work after this, i think there's immense potential for her to become a favourite of mine.

rory

so, i can understand why so many people would dislike the concept but i'm a huge sucker for retellings — though i wonder if this technically counts as one — especially when they get a little gritty. i did figure out what was happening by the halfway mark but it was still enjoyable to see our main character piece everything together herself, especially with valente's prose being as engaging as it is. it's a little overwrought at times, sure, probably too purple for some readers, but it works well enough with this kind of story. tone and atmosphere were constructed expertly, and the dialogue was a highlight for me too.

will definitely be reading more of her longer work after this, i think there's immense potential for her to become a favourite of mine.

Morgan Thomas

When I began I wasn't sure how I would feel about this book. I was convinced it was more a bluebeard retelling but was pleasantly surprised (and pleased!) that it took a biblical turn to Adam and his wife. But I think it was billed to much as some feminist, "Gone Girl" horror story which this was not. Disappointed with that ending.

Melyssa Tromberg 

I have no idea what I just read 🤯 this book wasn't for me, I've heard really good things though.

Abdullah

I just read this in one sitting and it was EXCELLENT. Like oh my god. It's written so well and it's so short and it was just an amazing reading experience. I was into it from the start but the last fifty-something pages were just so so good.  if they ever do an adaptation for this, Nicolas Hoult is perfect for the role of Husband. If you've watched the Great (tv show), you'd know what I'm talking about.

this was so fucking spooky what the FUCK

I was so confused at first with the prose and I really did think it was just due to the fact that English isn't my first language. but what I loved about the book was how the writing got clearer and less cluttered as the fmc started figuring things out and seeing past the haze of her perfect life. wow. it was such a smooth transition that I didn't even notice until I realised I was reading way faster. brilliantly done.

the story itself... damn. from the first page the book sets such a weird and bone-chilling tone that is so wonderfully written and you just KNOW something's not right, but I honestly didn't see the twist coming up until the end. some things I did figure out, but almost at the same time as Sophie. I love how this is a "modern retelling" but every single image/sentence taken out from the source material is placed within the text with the particular purpose of underlining the mysoginistic tendencies that have been oppressing woman and have been prevalent ever since the... making of the world? (iykyk)

this traumatised the shit out of me lol it was fantastic but I'm definitely keeping it really sweet and fluffy for the rest of the month

Midori Kobayashi

fantastic cover, intriguing blurb, and grasping storytelling. but the ending/reveal was just meh i didn't care for it. and had i known what it is, i probably wouldn't have picked it up. thoroughly disappointed:3

Jade Iveson

Fucking hell, this shit got me in the best way possible

Jeff James

Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review. Originally posted at Full of Words.

All I knew about Comfort Me With Apples before I read it is that it’s hard to summarize without spoilers. The basics are that it’s about a woman, Sophia, who lives in a planned community; Sophia’s only purpose in life is to please her husband. She was made for him.

When Sophia finds a mysterious object hidden in her kitchen, cracks start showing in her seemingly perfect existence. The simultaneous arrival of a dangerous new person only makes things worse, and things go downhill from there.

Comfort Me With Apples is short, just over two hours long in audio, and I finished it in two sittings. The narrator, Karis Campbell, alternates between too-perfect chirpiness as she reads out the rules of Sophia’s community between chapters and Stepford Wife calm as Sophia navigates her daily life. She’s also pretty great at unique voices for everyone else.

I was definitely disturbed at several points. I also didn’t guess where the story was going until pretty close to the final reveal. However, I feel like the ending somehow diminished everything once I understood the true nature of the story. It was horrifying, yes, but it was somehow less unsettling than I was expecting. Possibly I feel that way because I recognized what Valente was subverting.

It turns out that Comfort Me With Apples is a certain type of story. It’s an excellent example of the genre, but the ending made my writer’s brain fixate on the moving parts instead of fully enjoying it. All those potential mysteries collapse into something very specific, and that is somehow mildly disappointing.

If you have a few hours to spare, Comfort Me With Apples is definitely worth checking out. However, I’m not sure I would pay full price for such a short book. I also recommend reading the relevant quote from Song of Solomon.

tina

boring af. the blurb is much more interesting than the actual book.

Camila

Amani Zaha

"A knob of fresh cheese Sophia made herself, a squirming mass of tiny pink bloodworm larvae, and a sopping wet red lump of fresh, glistening meat: a heart, still bright with oxygenation, just this side of beating."

What a thing!! Catherynne Valente's prose is gorgeous and colourful, its imagery vivid and sharp, and the plot itself is tightly coiled. All of it is shrouded in a sense of discomfort and mystery, the wonderfully apt title and striking (!) cover being perfect finishing touches to this delicious book.

I'm very tempted to give this 5-stars, but the story loses some of its edge during the climax; I also think the horror aspect could have been ramped up a bit. Otherwise a quick but engrossing read - I'll likely reread it in the future.

I think going into this book knowing as little as possible is best. The atmosphere is very creepy and claustrophobic. There are horror elements. Eventually pieces come together and there is a very explicit reveal and exposition at the end. The very end was the weekest part for me. The novella was creative and interesting. My favorite parts were the prose and the atmosphere.

Cheryl Hedlund

Victoria Drake

Wow, I guessed about a hundred different things and that was not one of them. This is one of those reads that will stick with you.

kate humphreys 

(3.5 stars) a genuinely fascinating commentary on gender through a biblical lens - listened to the audiobook of this and was so intensely creeped out by the performance and thought i would be giving this a two star rating until i understood what was happening and what was being said through the characters and their actions. very truman show-esque and i genuinely laughed when i heard that the housing community was named arcadia because of the episode of the x files of the same name in which mulder and scully go undercover as a married couple and move into a house in a creepily perfect community literally called arcadia - hmmm must be an x file ;)

Comfort Me With Apples

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