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Synopsis:

A mindbending and visceral experimental horror about a young man trapped in an infinite Montreal subway station, perfect for readers of Mark Z. Danielewski and Susanna Clarke.

Vicken has a plan: throw himself into the Saint Lawrence River in Montreal and end it all for good, believing it to be the only way out for him after a lifetime of depression and pain. But, stepping off the subway, he finds himself in an endless, looping station.

Determined to find a way out again, he starts to explore the rooms and corridors ahead of him. But no matter how many claustrophobic hallways or vast cathedral-esque rooms he passes through, the exit is nowhere in sight.

The more he explores his strange new prison, the more he becomes convinced that he hasn’t been trapped there accidentally, and amongst the shadows and concrete, he comes to realise that he almost certainly is not alone.

A terrifying psychological nightmare from a powerful new voice in horror.

Review:

Coup de Grace by Sofia Ajram is a slim novella that does many things. The main character Vicken is riding the subway in Montreal on his way to drown himself in the Saint Lawrence River. He has been clinically depressed for years, and this is the day that he is going to end it all. After a quick encounter with a stranger, Felix, Vicken finds himself stuck in an underground station. A station with no exit, no trains coming or going, and no other people. Time, the station, and Vicken’s actions continue to expand and grow, and as the story continues, the things that Vicken encounters get stranger and clarity becomes something that nobody receives. 

Vicken is brought to this place on his last day, on his last journey, but the journey is just starting for him. Arjam writes a novella that really does not have an obvious direction but instead relies on building a feeling of dread and desperation. Vicken is at the end of his rope throughout the whole story, and by the end of the story, we can feel this too. There is a feeling that we kind of hope something (or someone) comes along and either saves Vicken or puts him out of his misery. This is really the point of the story. Journeying to the very end of your nerves before you are able to take that last, final push over the edge seems to be the real reason behind this story. The writing and language is a manipulation, a way that Arjam tries to prepare the reader for the coup de grace that might or might not be coming. Either way, Vicken is a wounded person desperate for an end, and the readers feel these wounds as well. 

This will not go well for many readers. Like the latest Chuck Palahniuk novel, Coup de Grace, is an interactive novella, one that is trying to bring out strong emotions in the reader. And honestly the strong emotions are supposed to be negative. This novella is supposed to make you feel bad, feel depressed after reading, so that we empathize with Vicken (which is pretty close to “victim” when you think about it), and that we understand him and his actions. The novella even has parts where it breaks the fourth wall, makes us choose the next steps, and punishes us for any decision that does not match the bleakness that the book has already displayed. This makes Coup de Grace a difficult book that does not end with a good feeling but makes you think about the different ways that literature can be pushed beyond its normal boundaries.