I'm Thinking of Ending Things
Iain Reid, 2016
Gallery/Scout Press
224 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781501126925
Summary
I’m thinking of ending things. Once this thought arrives, it stays. It sticks. It lingers. It’s always there. Always.
Jake once said, "Sometimes a thought is closer to truth, to reality, than an action. You can say anything, you can do anything, but you can’t fake a thought."
And here’s what I’m thinking: I don’t want to be here.
In this compelling literary thriller, debut novelist Iain Reid explores the depths of the human psyche, questioning consciousness, free will, the value of relationships, fear, and the limitations of solitude.
Reminiscent of Jose Saramago’s early work, Michel Faber’s cult classic Under the Skin, and Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk about Kevin, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is an edgy, haunting debut.
Tense, gripping, and atmospheric, this novel "packs a big psychological punch with a twisty story line and an ending that will leave readers breathless" (Library Journal, starred review). (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—1981
• Where—Ottowa, Ontario, Canada
• Education—B.A., Queen’s University
• Awards—RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Award
• Currently—lives in Kingston, Ontario
Iain Reid is a Canadian writer of two memoirs and a novel, who won the RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Award in 2015.
Reid is a graduate of Queen’s University where he studied history, English literature, and philosophy. Following graduation, he established his writing career by publishing articles and columns in national magazines and newspapers. He drew the attention of the National Post, garnering a weekly column assignment. In 2015 he began appearing in US magazine and The New Yorker.
In 2014 Reid was one of six international young authors invited to teach at the inaugural Iceland Writers Retreat.
His first memoir, One Bird's Choice: A Year in the Life of an Over-educated, Underemployed Twentysomething Who Moves Back Home, was published in 2010, and was followed by The Truth About Luck: What I Learned on my Road Trip with Grandma in 2013.
His debut novel, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, an edgy suspense thriller, was published in 2016. He lives in Kingston, Ontario. (Adapted from Wickipedia. Retrieved 8/31/2016.)
Book Reviews
Iain Reid has written a creepy but enthralling new novel.... It’s a psychological thriller that keeps readers guessing.
NPR's Weekend Edition
Reid’s gradually building spookiness and plainspoken intellectualism make I’m Thinking of Ending Things a smart and unexpectedly fun book.
New York Journal of Books
This is the boldest and most original literary thriller to appear in some time.
Chicago Tribune
Your dread and unease will mount with every passing page.
Entertainment Weekly
This is a deliciously frightening novel, Reid has a light, idiosyncratic touch but never lets his vice-like grip of suspense slacken for a second. Once finished, you will be hard pressed not to start the whole terrifying journey all over again.
Independent (UK)
(Starred review.) Nonfiction author Reid fuses suspense with philosophy, psychology, and horror in his unsettling first novel set in an unspecified locale.... Capped with an ending that will shock and chill, this twisty tale invites multiple readings.
Publishers Weekly
(Starred review.) [T]he unnamed narrator is traveling with her new boyfriend Jake to visit his parents at the family farm. The novel's vague title seems to become clearer as the narrator repeatedly ponders calling off their relationship.... This slim first novel packs a big psychological punch with a twisty story line and an ending that will leave readers breathless. —Portia Kapraun, Delphi P.L., IN
Library Journal
(Starred review.) Reid's preternaturally creepy debut unfolds like a bad dream, the kind from which you desperately want to wake up yet also want to keep dreaming.... Reid's tightly crafted tale toys with the nature of identity and comes by its terror honestly, building a wall of intricately layered psychological torment so impenetrable it's impossible to escape.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
SPOILER ALERT—proceed with caution.
1. Discuss the significance of the title. Why does Reid choose to call his novel "I’m Thinking of Ending Things"?
2. Who is the "Caller"? Describe the calls he makes to the girlfriend. How do these calls help to further the plot? Why doesn’t the girlfriend tell Jake about the caller? Do you agree with her decision to keep the calls secret? Why or why not?
3. Why is the "Girlfriend" unnamed throughout the novel? What were your original impressions of her? When you finished reading I’m Thinking of Ending Things, did your feelings about her change? If so, in what ways and why?
4. There are conversations between strangers interspersed through the girlfriend’s narration. What’s the effect of including these conversations in the novel? How do they help you understand the story? Who do you think is speaking during these conversations?
5. Were you surprised by the ending of I’m Thinking of Ending Things? If so, were there any parts you found particularly shocking? What were they?
6. The girlfriend says, "I think a lot of what we learn about others isn’t what they tell us. It’s what we observe" (p. 29). Do you agree? What do you learn about Jake and the girlfriend by seeing their interactions with Jake’s parents? Are there other examples in I’m Thinking of Ending Things where the actions of a character tell you something about him or her? Discuss them with your book club.
7. When the girlfriend asks Jake if he thinks "secrets are inherently unfair, or bad or immoral in a relationship," his answer is, "I don’t know. It would depend on the secret" (p. 30). What do you think? Are there circumstances where keeping a secret from your significant other is permissible? What are they? What secrets do Jake and the girlfriend keep from each other?
8. Jake describes himself as a "cruciverbalist" to the girlfriend when they first meet. Does his description give you any insight into his personality? If so, what does it tell you about Jake? What, if any, puzzles exist in the book that Jake attempts to solve? Is he successful?
9. Describe Jake’s parents’ farm. Was it what you expected? When Jake takes the girlfriend on a tour of the farm, she sees a chilling sight outside. How does this sight affect the girlfriend? Compare her reaction to seeing this sight to her reaction to Jake’s story about how his father had to put the pigs on the farm down. Why do you think Jake tells her about the pigs?
10. In describing the events at the school, an unnamed speaker says, "This isn’t about us" (p. 89). Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?
11. While she is trapped in the school, the girlfriend says that "before tonight, when anyone asked me about the scariest thing that happened to me, I told them the same story. I told them about Ms. Veal. Most people I tell don’t find this story scary" (p. 172). Why does the girlfriend think the incident with Ms. Veal was scary? Did you find it frightening? If so, why?
12. The girlfriend tells Jake, "I’m glad we don’t know everything.... Questions are good. They’re better than answers" (p. 35). Why does the girlfriend feel this way? Do you agree with her? Explain your answer. Are there any questions that the girlfriend should have asked as she was getting to know Jake? What would you have asked?
13. Describe the basement in Jake’s parents’ house. Why does Jake tell the girlfriend that there is nothing in the basement? What does she find? When the girlfriend is in the basement, she remembers having a conversation with Jake where he told her, "We depend on symbols for meaning" (p. 107). What do you think makes her think of this particular conversation while she is in the basement? Are there any recurring symbols in I’m Thinking of Ending Things? Discuss them with your book club.
14. The girlfriend asks Jake, "How do we know when a relationship becomes real?" (p. 69). Discuss Jake’s answer. What do you think it takes for a relationship to be "real"? Do you consider the relationship between Jake and the girlfriend to be a real one? Why or why not?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)