The Grip of It, by Jac Jemc

I generally trust blurbs about as much as I trust promises from politicians. Everyone praises their friends, writers routinely trade blurbs. I only put stock in a few esteemed sources. If Peter Straub makes a recommendation, I pay attention. Same with King. I don't always see eye-to-eye with these gentlemen, but I believe they are honest and I know they have excellent taste.

I happened upon the visually arresting cover to Jac Jemc's The Grip of It while I was at Amazon, and I was immediately interested. When I saw that Dan Chaon cited the novel as his favorite book of 2017, I was interested. Seeing praise from Benjamin Percy sealed the deal. I ordered a copy.

The Grip of It is a difficult novel, and it is one I think will be hated by a lot of horror readers. It seems especially unsuited to the Vomit Fiction brigade. It's the kind of novel where readers moan that nothing happens, and that it isn't scary at all. I found it to be extraordinarily frightening and deeply disorienting.

A young couple buy a house under somewhat mysterious circumstances. They are already dealing with the typcial pressures. Anxiety, addiction, difficulty with social and working pressures, and friction within their marriage. They hope their new home will solve their troubles.

Things immediately begin to go awry. A neighbor seems obsessed with them, but shuns their advances of friendship. Stains on the walls seem to grow and shrink. The woman gets large and mysterious bruises. The couple experience hallucinations. Nearby woods seem to rush toward the house and recede as if by tidal pull. Strange, creepy drawings appear and disappear in the house and in a nearby cave. They lose interest in their jobs and their appearances, living in filth. They cannot even trust their senses.

Questions arise. Is the house haunted, as some locals suggest? Are they simply losing their minds? Is a mold infection affecting them?

The Grip of It is, to me, a terrifying novel. Very little frightens me more than losing grip on my own sanity. Jac Jemc takes readers deep into the characters' fractured minds. I read the middle hundred pages of the novel after a Covid-19 vaccination, and I already felt disoriented. It was a disturbing but exhilarating experience.

I do wish the end had been a bit more cohesive, but all in all The Grip of It is a smart, effective horror novel that will hopefully appeal to fans of Shirley Jackson and Mark Danielewski. Or even William Burroughs.

I plan to read more Jac Jemc, but I honestly need a break after The Grip of It. This novel exhausted me. She has a new novel coming out next year, and I will make a definite point to read it.

Written by Mark Sieber