My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones
You think you love horror movies? You don’t love them like Stephen Graham Jones . With “My Heart is a Chainsaw” Jones writes a bloody love letter to the slasher movie, one of the horror genre’s most popular tropes.
The plot
When a body turns up in the lakeside town of Proofrock, our young protagonist, Jade, is ready. Jade is educated in the ways of all things slasher, due to her lifelong obsession with horror films. So what if she’s a socially awkward teenager who is dealing with some severe emotional problems? You see, Jade’s got the whole situation figured out. Her whole life is lived looking through horror-colored glasses. For Jade, it’s impossible to imagine something weird not happening. In her world, murderers and serial killers lurk just around every corner, just waiting to strike. When shit gets creepy—and it does—Jade is ready. She knows there’s going to be a bloodbath (mini-spoiler: there is, literally) and she’s even identified the killer’s final girl—Letha Mondragon, the preppy and pretty daughter of local tech magnate. But will anybody in town believe Jade’s warnings? When the bodies start to drop, it’s a race against time for Jade to figure out who the killer is, not to mention keeping herself and Letha alive.
My opinion
“My Heart is a Chainsaw” is a thoroughly enjoyable summer read. The horror is tempered by Jade’s often-humorous musings about how the world relates to horror films in all their bloody glory. Although the pacing in the beginning creeps a bit, the tempo picks up once the bodies start to stack up. Plus, the killer’s identity will keep you guessing until the very end. Best of all are the pages dedicated to Slasher 101, Jade’s English thesis paper and ode to the slasher film. Here, Jones gets to flaunt his own ideas about the genre in glorious detail. Who knew there was so much to learn about the history and psychology of slasher films? Stephen Graham Jones is quickly becoming one of the kings of horror fiction. Recently NPR called him “one of the best writers working today.” Fans of his work—and of slasher films—will not be disappointed.
Conclusion
Ready to get your hands on “My Heart is a Chainsaw”? Well, you’ve got to wait another month. The official release for the novel is August 31. I won my copy in an advanced giveaway through Goodreads, which means the horror gods are smiling on me. Hey, at least I’m on their good side.