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A review by river24
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
4.5/5
On a long enough timeline, endings are inevitable.
Tragedy is inevitable.
Fortunately, so is joy.
This was amazing! I enjoyed literally every moment, even the ones where I could feel my heart in my mouth. This was just so good, I don't even know where to start.
I loved the bordering-satirical, terrifying-in-its-absurdity tone of this book. I adored how meta it was, it's a book about horror and the tropes and themes of that genre, and it does an expert job of exploring them with nuance and fascination.
Our main character, Misha, is the writer of a show that instantly brings to mind X-Files and Supernatural and Buffy, and I loved seeing those influences in this depiction. Misha is given an ultimatum by the suits who run the studio; either don't make the two lead characters of his show gay, or make them gay and kill them off because 'queer tragedy sells'. Misha doesn't want to do either of these things, he's actually pretty pissed at being forced to choose between these two options. But what if fighting for a happy ending will cost him everything?
I don't want to give anything away because part of the excitement is slowly discovering what the hell is going on, it makes the book unputdownable, but I am dying to talk to someone about how absolutely genius this book is! It's the perfect story for me that I didn't even know I wanted!
I adored seeing the battle Misha had to fight to find his way out of a horror story of his own creation, I adored how meta and insightful it was. It's blatantly clear how well-versed Tingle is in horror tropes and themes, I adored all the in-world horror movies and villains he constructed, the villains of Misha's stories were full of so much intrigue and—for all their horror—vibrant life. They were so creative and so essential to the story Tingle wanted to tell.
And while tragedies are important stories to tell, our appetite can be satiated with more than just suffering.
I loved how crucial queerness was in so many aspects of this story. I adore queer horror, I think it is so necessary and speaks to such nuanced pain and forced concealment and painted-upon villainy, but I love the fact that queerness was able to play an important part in many other subsequent themes. It introduced a lot of complexity to Misha as a character that not only delved into his shame but also his acceptance, without demanding from him trauma. We were also able to explore queer joy and queer friendship and the importance stories like these hold. Queer people deserve more than just one type of story. I adored how intelligently Tingle handled this, in his skilled writing we were able to see the capitalistic greed of corporations above all else. Whether homophobic or pinkwashed, corporations prioritised money above everything.
This takes me neatly to the crux of the story: corporations are not your friends and they do not care about your art or your joy or your lives! So true, Chuck Tingle (he says it in a much more eloquent and slightly more subtle way), so true! There is theme after theme after theme packed into this rather short novel and I adored that about it because it handles each one with cleverness and wit and rage. It's a book that has so much to say and never fumbles the point. There is so much to discover in this story and I know it's one that will stay with me for a very long time, I don't imagine I'll ever stop thinking about it or that it'll ever not be relevant.
"Your stories aren't worth your life."
My stories are my life.
Do yourself a favour and pick up this book! I am so excited to read Camp Damascus and any other horror novels Chuck Tingle bestows upon us! I have been converted, I am a true Tingler (I have no idea if I just made that up or if that is potentially what Chuck Tingle fans already call themselves, but if they don't they absolutely should)!
I will not be able to look at any worm-shaped creature for a very long time! (Tingle writes incredible gore and body horror, I'm as in awe of it as I am disgusted by it! But, oh my goodness, check the trigger warnings if either of those things affect you!) Also, point zero zero three one six two will haunt me just as badly as the worm, now that is horror!
What a fun, terrifying, powerful and phenomenal book!
Thank you so much Titan Books for an arc in exchange for an honest review. If you couldn't tell, I loved it!
On a long enough timeline, endings are inevitable.
Tragedy is inevitable.
Fortunately, so is joy.
This was amazing! I enjoyed literally every moment, even the ones where I could feel my heart in my mouth. This was just so good, I don't even know where to start.
I loved the bordering-satirical, terrifying-in-its-absurdity tone of this book. I adored how meta it was, it's a book about horror and the tropes and themes of that genre, and it does an expert job of exploring them with nuance and fascination.
Our main character, Misha, is the writer of a show that instantly brings to mind X-Files and Supernatural and Buffy, and I loved seeing those influences in this depiction. Misha is given an ultimatum by the suits who run the studio; either don't make the two lead characters of his show gay, or make them gay and kill them off because 'queer tragedy sells'. Misha doesn't want to do either of these things, he's actually pretty pissed at being forced to choose between these two options. But what if fighting for a happy ending will cost him everything?
I don't want to give anything away because part of the excitement is slowly discovering what the hell is going on, it makes the book unputdownable, but I am dying to talk to someone about how absolutely genius this book is! It's the perfect story for me that I didn't even know I wanted!
I adored seeing the battle Misha had to fight to find his way out of a horror story of his own creation, I adored how meta and insightful it was. It's blatantly clear how well-versed Tingle is in horror tropes and themes, I adored all the in-world horror movies and villains he constructed, the villains of Misha's stories were full of so much intrigue and—for all their horror—vibrant life. They were so creative and so essential to the story Tingle wanted to tell.
And while tragedies are important stories to tell, our appetite can be satiated with more than just suffering.
I loved how crucial queerness was in so many aspects of this story. I adore queer horror, I think it is so necessary and speaks to such nuanced pain and forced concealment and painted-upon villainy, but I love the fact that queerness was able to play an important part in many other subsequent themes. It introduced a lot of complexity to Misha as a character that not only delved into his shame but also his acceptance, without demanding from him trauma. We were also able to explore queer joy and queer friendship and the importance stories like these hold. Queer people deserve more than just one type of story. I adored how intelligently Tingle handled this, in his skilled writing we were able to see the capitalistic greed of corporations above all else. Whether homophobic or pinkwashed, corporations prioritised money above everything.
This takes me neatly to the crux of the story: corporations are not your friends and they do not care about your art or your joy or your lives! So true, Chuck Tingle (he says it in a much more eloquent and slightly more subtle way), so true! There is theme after theme after theme packed into this rather short novel and I adored that about it because it handles each one with cleverness and wit and rage. It's a book that has so much to say and never fumbles the point. There is so much to discover in this story and I know it's one that will stay with me for a very long time, I don't imagine I'll ever stop thinking about it or that it'll ever not be relevant.
"Your stories aren't worth your life."
My stories are my life.
Do yourself a favour and pick up this book! I am so excited to read Camp Damascus and any other horror novels Chuck Tingle bestows upon us! I have been converted, I am a true Tingler (I have no idea if I just made that up or if that is potentially what Chuck Tingle fans already call themselves, but if they don't they absolutely should)!
I will not be able to look at any worm-shaped creature for a very long time! (Tingle writes incredible gore and body horror, I'm as in awe of it as I am disgusted by it! But, oh my goodness, check the trigger warnings if either of those things affect you!) Also, point zero zero three one six two will haunt me just as badly as the worm, now that is horror!
What a fun, terrifying, powerful and phenomenal book!
Thank you so much Titan Books for an arc in exchange for an honest review. If you couldn't tell, I loved it!