Horror Aficionados discussion

The second choice for June - Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones

Remember to use spoiler tags where appropriate.
Have fun and dance in the moonlight... just look around a bit first.

i'll be joining in this one. i've never read anything by Stephen Graham Jones before. and my library has it! yay!

Looks like it's just me. :( well I'm starting this one early.

I just ordered this and am going to start soon!

Welcome Jen :)

Ok I’m 47% into this book. It’s not really grabbing me. I could quit today and it wouldn’t bother me. Should I continue or move on?

Latasha wrote: "Ok I’m 47% into this book. It’s not really grabbing me. I could quit today and it wouldn’t bother me. Should I continue or move on?"

I'd say move on. I've seen several reviews on the book with same opinion you have. I was fence sitting on reading this one. And since I'm already a few books behind on my reading goals I'm passing on reading this one.

LOVED this book. SGJ is a mastermind.

Ok. I saw the reviews were very mixed.

Latasha wrote: "Ok. I saw the reviews were very mixed."

I would finish it.

I just finished it yesterday and found it to have an original mythology. It does weave a lot of stories into the narrative to the point that I felt they might be overloading it, but I found it worked.

I enjoyed it.

Starting it today!

Finished it. I didn't love it. 3 stars.

I read this last month, and personally, I loved it! I can see why it could be a bit polarizing, though - some people that I almost always agree with were somewhat indifferent to this. Non-linear storytelling can sometimes put people off, and it does make it more difficult to follow at times.

Werewolves have always been my favorite of the "classic" monsters, and this book didn't disappoint in that respect, having a lot of info and some original (to me, at least) takes on the myth, but in some ways it only provided a framework for a story that was really about family, and loyalty, and responsibility.

While there is quite a bit of action mixed in throughout, it is very character-driven. Another book I think is just brilliant but that other people find "boring" is Stewart O'Nan's The Night Country. It also focuses very much on the characters and themes, and at times the story becomes secondary. I could be way off - just a personal theory.

While I sometimes get bummed when people I usually agree with didn't care for a book I loved, If we all loved the same books, the conversations would get pretty dull here! :-)

Starting this one today/tonight

Ok I'm not gonna lie, this one is a struggle. If it doesn't improve soon, it will be my first entry on my DNF shelf

How far are you?

Just picked this up today and will be joining the discussion soon. I have another book going I want to finish first.
The synopsis reminds me of a short story by Jones I read in his collection When The People Lights Go Off. This must be an expansion of that theme.
Can't wait to get started.

Latasha wrote: "How far are you?"

only about 100 pages

Cujo wrote: "Latasha wrote: "How far are you?"

only about 100 pages"

if it hasn't got you by now, i don't think it will.

I started today, and finished the first chapter (28 pages). I'm all in. Even without the horror themes, it's a very well-written coming-of-age story with a lot of character - - 8 year old boy being raised by relatives, questioning his life and searching for identity and getting a big surprise. Is he the same blood as his family or isn't he?
Jones seems to be putting his own spin on werewolf mythology and I like where he's taking it so far. Some are more like wolves than humans with wolf-like features. Four legs are more pure blood than the two-legged werewolf variety. And have more self-control, not slaves to the moon cycles. Interesting.

Now at Page 148 / Beginning of Chapter 10. The first nine chapters of this book have been what I want to call “odd”, but “different” seems more appropriate. MILD SPOILERS BEGIN . . . .
Rather than a sequence of events leading up to the introduction of a major conflict, Mongrels is episodic, reading as a series of anecdotal memories - each with it’s own point to make or detail a learning experience in the maturation of our young narrator.
Not that there isn’t conflict. Two themes run throughout each chapter — survival (especially the lack of regular food, and a proper income to provide it) as well as the avoidance of discovery. This is a dysfunctional family like no other.
This has not been an easy read, despite the fireside chat/story-telling nature of the narration. Chapters jump around in time, from past to present and back again. The narrator (never identified or addressed by name so far) is eight, then ten, then thirteen years-old. The most traumatic among several disturbing events occurs in Chapter 9, which may mark a turning point.
Also a bit jolting is the occasional change in tense from chapter to chapter. After a compelling chapter of first person narration, the next chapter will be in third person. This occurs in Chapter 2, 4, 6, and 8.
It takes a bit of reading to catch onto what Jones is doing. These chapters are still told by the young narrator - - he’s just referring to himself in third person like an imaginative youngster experiencing waking dreams of which he’s the star - - - first a vampire, then a reporter, next a criminal, and finally a biologist. What he really wants most is to become a werewolf like Uncle Darren who he seems to admire and find faultless (despite plenty of evidence to the contrary).
However, Aunt Libby is just as messed up with her own self-control issues. Even wannabe girlfriend Brittany is not as perfect a fit for our narrator as she first appears. I’m not really warming up to any of these characters, except for the narrator. I wish Jones would give us a hint at a name, make him more personable to us. But, I am fascinated by each and every one of these misfits.
I’ll continue to read this, despite the eerie feeling that I’m now alone in this group discussion. (Looking over my shoulder and squinting - - Is that someone back there in the dark following me?)

Michael wrote: "Now at Page 148 / Beginning of Chapter 10. The first nine chapters of this book have been what I want to call “odd”, but “different” seems more appropriate. MILD SPOILERS BEGIN . . . .
Rather than ..."

I did enjoy it and I'm following the comments with interest.

I am still reading comments as well, and glad to hear that others enjoyed it. While I can see why that style of storytelling would put some people off, it really worked for me, particularly the "titles" he gave himself when he jumped to 3rd person, as you pointed out.

Hopefully some others will pick this up before the end of the month.

Thanks for the feedback. I was starting to feel lonely and isolated. Anyway, that helped me empathize with the main character more. I really do like him.

Now at Page 247 / Beginning of Chapter 17.
The episodic chapters continue, although there are two more events that seem to be to be more of a continuing conflict than other incidents so far. I’m hoping to see them both come up again and provide some resolution/conclusion.
The chapters continue to alternate between first and third person, with the third person chapters dealing with shorter flashback scenes. Some of these seem so incidental I’m not sure why Graham chose to include them.
Our young narrator becomes a mechanic, a hitchhiker, a prisoner and a villager in those alternating chapters. Usually the choice of imaginary occupation comes from the professions of characters who he interacts with, although I’m not entirely sure who influenced him to be an imaginary criminal in an earlier chapter. We still don’t know the full name of our narrator/protagonist, although his English teacher addresses him as Mr. Tolbert (perhaps a homage to Larry Talbot, the identify of the Wolfman as portrayed in the movie by Lon Chaney Jr.)
I’m still enjoying the book, although the stop/start, episodic nature of the storytelling doesn’t compel me to read large chunks at one time, or get caught up and keep turning the pages. That makes it easy to read a chapter at a time and put it down, do something else, and come back to it whenever. If the story was more straightforward I believe I would have finished by now.

I finished the book last night. Chapter 17 - The Mark Of The Beast - is the best chapter in Mongrels. This kept me reading until the end. It’s like a standalone novella within the novel. However, for complete appreciation of what happens here readers need all the information that preceded it in the rest of the book.
Everything ties together in a way that I didn’t see coming and I’m very satisfied with the conclusion of the book, even though things are left open enough that Jones can continue to tell stories of this family if he chooses to. Our still mostly-unnamed main character has asked multiple questions throughout the novel, which is the device Jones used to fill in all the backstory and history. However, the end of the book finally answers the biggest question of them all, one that was posed very early in the novel and reinforced throughout. I actually didn’t think this was the answer, which in hindsight was a nice surprise.
Prior to this I was enjoying the book but I didn’t think it deserved more than a three-star rating. Now I can confidently give it a four-star rating.
Had I paid more attention to the information and endorsements on the dust jacket I might have had a different approach to reading this, but I’m glad I just went for it.
The statement on the interior flap tells readers exactly what’s in store here: “A spellbinding and darkly humorous coming-of-age story about an unusual boy, whose family lives on the fringe of society and struggles to survive in a hostile world that shuns and fears them.” I couldn’t have said it better.

glad you liked it Michael.

Yes!! I tried this one because I saw it here on the group read and I am so happy! This was fantastic. I loved the gritty take on werewolves from the perspective of a kid. It was dark, funny, and heartfelt.

I loved Mongrels. I think SGJ did a brilliant job depicting the experience of being monstrous outsiders. There is danger and drudgery, but also freedom and family. I definitely became more invested as the book progressed.

I *did* finish this in June! I swear! :) But I didn't attach my review until just now. I loved this book, and I'm going to be purchasing my own copy (I'm a library book reader) to push onto my friends. I loved the detail that SGJ put into the mythology, and the relationships between this eccentric, yet caring, family.

I’m glad y’all liked it.

It's great to hear from some other folks that enjoyed this one also!

I just finished and I loved it. It’s the first Stephen Graham Jones read for me and I’ll definitely be looking for more.