[Review] The Strange Thing We Become and Other Dark Tales by Eric LaRocca
The Strange Thing We Become and Other Dark Tales
Eric LaRocca
Off Limits Press
5/5 Stars
Content Warning: incest, body horror, elderly abandonment, suicide
Attempting to describe the experience that is reading Eric Larocca’s work is one of the hardest tasks I’ve ever faced, seeing as his stories evoke so many emotions simultaneously. As with his last novella, Thing Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, the reader should expect a fair amount of body horror, abusive relationships, and, above all, huge emotional punches.
The Strange Thing We Become comprises eight short stories, and I loved all of them, especially You’re not supposed to be here, about a young couple having a pleasant day at the park with their infant son being approached by another, overly friendly couple. People trying to make conversation with me in public was already a huge fear of mine (being a woman is awesome, right?). After this story, I might not talk to anyone new ever again. Where flames burned emerald grass was both sad and infuriating all at once. At its core, the tale comprises a widowed dad trying his best to parent his young daughter. Once again, we have someone being stupid enough to trust a complete stranger, but in this one there’s a sprinkle of supernatural horror that makes it even creepier.
For fans of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, I’m glad to inform you that one of the short stories is written as forum posts, which are also about the downfalls of a couple. Although not nearly as disturbing as the novella, the tale that titles the anthology The strange thing we become chronicles the slow but unstoppable erosion of a relationship. This irked me to my core. The only thing I wish had been different is the length, that story could easily be another novella, and that way LaRocca could’ve developed it better.
I’ll be gone by then; You follow wherever they go and Bodies are for Burning were absolute emotional punches and honestly, I’m not over them yet. These stories approached death, compulsion, bravery, and regret in such a beautiful way that they rendered me speechless. They made me cry with the characters and for the characters; I connected with all of them although the author built them in only a few pages. If any of the themes I mentioned can be triggering for you, I advise that you either skip these three entirely or, at the very least, approach them with care.
There were only two that I disliked: The trees grew because I bled there and Please leave or I’m going to hurt you. I found the first one to be boring, didn’t connect at all with the story and didn’t care about what was happening to the characters. However, I had a huge problem with the other: the protagonist is in love with his elderly father and I’ll never be able to not despise incest narratives, no matter how they’re executed.
The book is less than 150 pages, however; the stories were so heavy that they felt much longer (which is not a bad thing) and I had to take breaks in between them to process my emotions. I know this will most likely sound insane, but the best way I can describe this reading experience is by comparing it with my grandfather’s funeral. It was equal parts devastating and highly uncomfortable, but, somehow, there was beauty tucked away in it.
Once again, these stories are very intense and tackle heavy issues that can be triggering for many people, so I recommend you check the content warnings before picking the book up. Remember to take breaks whenever you need to and to put your mental health first.
