“Penpal” a narrated horror tale that follows the life as
recounted by the narrator of childhood events that spell-out a horrific, to say
the least, youth. The tale begins in the early years, with great detail of
dreadful events that occurred. The flow of the story is very well constructed,
but is it really believable? The detail exposed from the narrator – his recount
of his childhood is quite grand. I can barely recall where I went to school,
let alone complete sentences, I may have muttered.
Perhaps the recounts take on some liberties, as they would
for such a story and I am just being nitpicky. So, I digress, once again.
Overall this is a tightly written tale that brings to mind a more traditional
type horror, meaning it is not gore or sex filled but written with purpose. The
child factor and the events that unfold are enough to heighten the dread that
Penpal provides.
Novel length – seemingly sewn from the threads of a series
of shorts, writers understand that this is hard to pull off. I’d submit that Auerbach
provides proof positive that it is a workable feat. There are holes, maybe, if
you try and read to deeply into the storyline. There are questions if you
expect every detail to be spoon fed to you. This is fiction and horror and it
stands much on its own.
For the reader, grab a copy. If you like horror that isn’t gore
infested, foul-mouthed or sex over the top – then Penpal may be to your liking.
For the writer, mainly the weaving the shorts into a novel –
there is fluff and long drawn out periods of ho-hum but it gives you an idea. Characterization
may be something you can hop on or not, depends on how you approach the tale.
For me it was a no go.
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