Comfort Me With Apples

Well….. I’m really at a loss for words. 😬 This was one of the strangest, most bizarre books I have ever read! Like ever!😂 Did I enjoy it…. Umm…yes…sort of. Did I hate it…. Well yes, that too! Did it leave me speechless…absolutely! Sophia is living her best life. She couldn’t be happier. She lives in the most exclusive neighborhood. And her husband is is everything she dreamed of. She feels she was made for him. But hey... why does everyone keep asking her if she is happy? Careful how you answer that question Sophia! Do I recommend this book? Maybe?😉💁🏻‍♀️ A super-fast buddy read with Susanne! Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Tor/Forge

What in the world?? This author never ceases to amaze me with the clever, outlandish way she writes a story. It’s always stranger than fiction and I enjoy her descriptions and I love her characters. At first I thought that I was reading something about Stepford wives and then I said no, no, this must be more like Handmaidens tale and then I thought…. I thought, WTH am I reading ? It will be of biblical proportions and that all I’m going to say about that. You’ll have to have a great imagination to follow this journey through. I like this author and her creativity. I do recommend this and I chose to listen to this book on audio and the narrator was great. It’s short, only 2 hrs and 29 mins of interesting, slightly out there listening. Thanks Dreamscape Media via Netgalley.

Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente is a strange and poetically written novella about Sophia, who seems to have the perfect life. She is a devoted wife with a lovely home and is friends with her neighbors. She resides in a closed patriarchal community with strict rules, where transparency and homogeneous behavior is paramount. Though she seems to have it all, she becomes curious about her life when she finds some strange inexplicable items in her home. The plot moves quickly and mystery of what was going on intrigued me. We learn what's happening/happened with Sophia and things become more unsettling with a grim conclusion. I listened to the audiobook which was well narrated by Karis Campbell and kept me interested in the story. Thank you Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for providing this ebook and audiobook ARC.

Well, that was UNEXPECTED! This one was peculiar and yet, I could not stop reading it. Everything is perfect in Arcadia Gardens. There are, of course, rules one must live by. They seem very homeowners assosiation-ish in the beginning and then the rules take on a certain slant. But what can you expect from a place that is so perfect? I mean everything is perfect (It MUST be perfect). Sophia is happy. She has the perfect husband, the perfect house, the perfect life. But her husband goes away at times and comes home in a dark mood. He works for hard, it must be rough on him, but she is there to make sure everything is perfect. But things don't look so perfect when she begins finding horrible "things" and why is everyone so worried about her happiness? She is happy, isn't she? This book is polarizing readers and I get why. When you get to then end, some will enjoy where the book takes you and reveals, others will not be as pleased. I'm happy I went in blind, and I am also happy that this was a novella and not a novel. I think this would have been even more enjoyable with parts cut out. I thought there were some characters and scenes that were not necessary. But I enjoyed this peculiar and out there kind of book. I am happy I went in blind. I agree with others who recommend doing the same. 3.5 stars Bizarre, kooky, and original.

With elements of ancient origins and fairytale horror, Catherynne M. Valente has crafted Comfort Me With Apples, creating an unsettling tale of Sophia and her life in Arcadia Gardens. From the first sentence, Arcadia Gardens makes an impression on the reader as an exclusive gated community, with intrusive and punitive rules with any infraction leading to expulsion. And in the midst of this seeming paradise, Sophia wakes each morning with the thought that she was made for her husband, and everything is perfect - until it isn’t. She goes through her daily routine in her oversized home, pleased by her husband’s status within the community but fretting with his long absences and puzzled by what she begins to find. But no matter what clues are put in her way, Sophia is not prepared for what she will find. Comfort Me With Apples reminds me of why I need to read more of Catherynne M. Valente’s work. It tempts me to make statements like “it plumbs the depths of the Western psyche” - though that is simultaneously limiting and overblown - since I had a strong reaction at my first sighting of the title and cover and, combined with the description, immediate impressions that held true, though in ways that created a creeping dread and twisted those expectations. Recommended. This review refers to a temporary digital galley I voluntarily read through NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. A positive review was not required and all opinions expressed are my own.