Dan is your average emo-kid working in a bookstore called Only Books. Rhoda is junkie babysitter who lost a kid in the mall. Rhoda forces Dan to help her find the kid. They embark on a journey through the dark side corridors of the mall, through dirty tunnels and rooms filled with mirrors and screams. Eventually they make it back into the Mall, except there is something different about this mall, a consumer driven society seems to have toppled over the edge. Will they get brainwashed into accepting the ‘ideal’ world or will they find their way back to the old Mall.
This book was my induction into the world of horror fiction. Interestingly enough the actual content of the book is not scary as much as it is grimy and gross. I must admit that there were moments where I became very weary of the dark corridors of my local mall and looked very carefully at sales people and shoppers. There are moments in the book where your skin will crawl and your toes will curl. Descriptions are present, but not overtly, the content provides a platform for our imaginations to run wild. On surface level, the book is a horror adventure, but deeper it is a philosophical statement on the current consumer market and materialistic nature of the world.
A fantastic read, with lovely South African references and a solid plot. Excellently written, a book to fully immerse yourself in, an exciting journey, but one that makes you think.
I was told that this book was brilliant and I wasn’t disappointed.
Only Books. Yeah right, make that Only Books, Coffee, Chocolates, Chips, gift-wrap, stationary, Even f#$*ing Cellphones. Corporate bullshit.
But it’s clear enough that I’m a human turd in antiseptic Barbieland….
Title: The Mall
Author: S.L. Grey
Nationality: South African, but published in the UK.
EAN: 9780857890429
Publisher: Atlantic Books Ltd.
First Edition: June 2011
Original Language: English
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