My Year in Books 2024: October

Well, I've not really improved my reading-for-fun streak this month. In my defence, I was really tied up with Halloween events this month, and I had a few books to read for review. I did start another novel, but I didn't finish it by the end of the month, so sadly today's post only has one title on it.

In case you're curious, here are my posts from the rest of the year so far: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September

Coup de Grâce by Sofia Ajram (2024)

I got this in my Abominable Books box this month, and I was so intrigued by the premise that I jumped straight in. The book is about a man called Vicken who is travelling on Montreal’s Metro with the intention of ending his own life. He reaches a station at the end of the line, only to discover that there’s no exit and no trains leaving from the platform. The building that Vicken finds himself in is a labyrinthine, impossible space that defies logic. I was drawn to this idea, as I do enjoy a bit of impossible architecture. Some of the descriptions of the Metro station are dizzying and utterly bizarre, so I wasn’t disappointed in that aspect at all. To be honest, I wasn’t disappointed by anything in the book, though it’s certainly not subtle. It’s told through first-person narration, so a lot of it is about Vicken describing his state of mind to the reader. The subway station is a pretty obvious metaphor, though there are times when Vicken denies this is the case. However, the nature of the metaphor is a bit more elusive than you might expect, and there are certainly moments that will give the reader pause. Ajram uses a narrative technique in the final section of the book that I really enjoyed (though I won’t say what it is, as I don’t want to spoil it). The book resists a trite or placatory conclusion, and that really worked for me. Enjoyed this one.