![]() ![]() The writing is both macabre and fantastical, a kind of fairy-tale that makes the worst of the Grimm tales look child-appropriate. The setting is flooded with filth and creepy crawlies, and I found myself desperately hoping that the story would end – just so Mara had the faintest hope of getting some peace. We only know what Mara does – the walls of her home with her murdered father and her cruel mother. I’m not sure what, exactly, and that felt very intentional. In only 100-ish pages, WE CAN NEVER LEAVE THIS PLACE is claustrophobic and grim, with a teen girl living in some kind of dystopian (? war-torn?) society. It’s no understatement to say that Eric LaRocca is an insta-buy author for me now. I’m pretty resilient, preferring my horror as grotesque as possible, and I still think that I have had a visceral shudder reaction to every single one of his novellas that I’ve read so far. I highly recommend looking up the content warnings for this one – as with all of Eric LaRocca’s work – because he doesn’t flinch away from dark and horrifying topics in his horror. This is really difficult to review because I think it’s best approached almost entirely blind. After her father dies violently, young Mara is surprised to find her mother welcoming a new guest into their home, claiming that he will protect them from the world of devastation and destruction outside their door. It's in reference to the fact that the tapeworm inside her is beginning to pass.A precocious young girl with an unusual imagination is sent on an odyssey into the depths of depravity. Title Drop: One occurs near the end, in an email from Agnes to Zoe.Time Skip: About a month and a half passes between parts 3 and 4, during which Agnes broke off all contact with Zoe after the latter convinced her to kill a salamander.One of Zoe's first commands for Agnes is to go out and buy a red dress and bright red lipstick to wear at work, supposedly as a symbol of Agnes recognizing her "true worth as a person". Sanity Slippage: Agnes falls into this hard towards the end of the book.Parasitic Horror: In part 4, Zoe convinces Agnes to eat raw meat that has been left out for days, purposefully infecting herself with a tapeworm in order to fulfill Agnes' desire to be a mother.Foregone Conclusion: The author's notes at the beginning let the reader know that Agnes does not survive the events of the book.I close my eyes, and for a moment I wonder if I truly deserve them today. Eye Scream: It is implied from the final words of the novel that Agnes commits suicide by gouging her own eyes out with the apple peeler.Epistolary Novel: The entire story is conveyed through emails and chat logs between Agnes and Zoe.Driven to Suicide: Not directly stated, but it is easy to infer that this is how Agnes dies.The one, tiny bright spot, mentioned in the Author's Notes, is that Zoe may be convicted for what she's done. At the end, it is all but stated that she commits suicide. A few days later, Agnes passes her tapeworm, crushing her dream of being a mother and completing her Sanity Slippage. Zoe cuts off communication with Agnes after seemingly having a crisis of conscience. Not quite played straight, as by the end Agnes and Zoe never meet each other in real life. However, as the story unfolds her actions appear closer to this trope. Domestic Abuse: Zoe initially sets herself up as a Dominatrix, promising to take care of Agnes as long as the latter remains her slave.In part 5, Agnes' descriptions of her tapeworm infection. ![]() In part 4, Zoe details a dream she had in which Agnes' skin is burned off in a nuclear explosion. ![]()
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