The Cabin at the End of the World
By Paul Tremblay
Blurb
Seven-year-old Wen and her parents, Eric and Andrew, are vacationing at a remote cabin on a quiet New Hampshire lake, with their closest neighbours more than two miles in either direction.
As Wen catches grasshoppers in the front yard, a stranger unexpectedly appears in the driveway. Leonard is the largest man Wen has ever seen but he is young and friendly. Leonard and Wen talk and play until Leonard abruptly apologises and tells Wen, "None of what's going to happen is your fault". Three more strangers arrive at the cabin carrying unidentifiable, menacing objects. As Wen sprints inside to warn her parents, Leonard calls out, "Your dads won't want to let us in, Wen. But they have to. We need your help to save the world."
So begins an unbearably tense, gripping tale of paranoia, sacrifice, apocalypse, and survival that escalates to a shattering conclusion, one in which the fate of a loving family and quite possibly all of humanity are intertwined.
Our Review
The Cabin at the End of the World is a prime example of apocalyptic fiction at it’s best.
Seven-year-old Wen and her parents are holidaying in a remote cabin in the woods when a stranger appears unexpectedly on the driveway.
Wen makes friends with the stranger against her better judgement and begins to play with him but after a short time he apologises to her and says that none of what is about to happen is her fault and that she needs to convince her parents to let him and his friends into their cabin because the fate of the world depends on it.
Paul Tremblay has a real knack for keeping you guessing. Are the visitors crazy cult members or can this family really be responsible for the fate of the entire world?
The first chapter is written from Wen’s perspective and I felt this works well because it endears the reader to her whilst letting us know a little more information about her past.
Wen was adopted by her two dad’s Daddy Andrew and Daddy Eric and brought from her home country to live in America with them.
Wen was born with a cleft palette and had to have extensive surgery. As a result, she “isn’t easy with her reconstructed smiles. Her smiles have to be earned.”
From Wen’s chapter we gather that she is an intelligent girl and aware of stranger danger but “This man’s smile is warm and wide. His face opens its curtains naturally. Wen can’t fully describe the difference between a real smile and a fake one, but she knows when she sees it. He’s not faking. His is the real thing, so real as to be contagious.”
She begins to sense something is off and then Leonard says, “You are a beautiful person, inside and out. One of the most beautiful people I’ve ever met, Wen. This isn’t about you. It’s about everyone.”
The Cabin at the End of the World was fast-paced, and I felt physically sick at times whilst I was reading. It is gruesome at times and unpleasant, but it all felt necessary for the story.
Our Final Rating...
Read & Shared 18 Times.
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