We Spread

Reviews

“I loved this book and couldn’t put it down—a deeply gripping, surreal, and wonderfully mysterious novel. Not only has Reid given us a brilliant page-turner, but a profoundly moving meditation on life and art, death and infinity. Reid is a master.”
— MONA AWAD, author of Bunny and All’s Well “A taut and frightening read, perhaps best called a thriller. But the true thrill is in how so slender a book tackles such big questions—What does it mean to make art? What happens as we near death?—with such grace.”
— RUMAAN ALAM, author of Leave the World Behind  “[We Spread] flashes by at a pace that becomes ever more breezy as the true nature of Six Cedars and its inhabitants becomes clearer.”
— Toronto Star “[An] exquisite novel of psychological suspense . . . [Leaves] readers contemplating their own mortality and primed to see the sinister behind the mundane . . . This deep plunge into fears about growing old and losing control is unforgettable.” 
— Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) “Iain Reid does a masterful job at an unreliable narrator and keeps us off balance throughout this highly accomplished and fascinating novel.”
— The Globe and Mail “Reid combines magnetic character development with clipped, eerie prose in this masterfully crafted psychological thriller that will keep the reader guessing until the very last word on the final page.”
— Booklist  “Pure storytelling magic. Suspenseful, philosophically rich, and fully audacious in both setting and voice, it is a psychological thriller that enthralls through distinctly lucid and propulsive prose. Iain Reid once again most powerfully illuminates the mysteries of art, life, and consciousness.”
— DAVID CHARIANDY, award-winning author of Brother “A powerful evocation of aging and loss. . . . Genuinely affecting. It’s a powerful approach to storytelling, and a courageous one: to commit to ambiguity requires a leap of faith on the part of the reader, and trust in the writer. In We Spread, Reid demonstrates once again that such trust isn’t misplaced.”
— Quill & Quire (Starred Review) “Insidious, unsettling, creepy, tense—they’re all words that can describe this genre-defying novel. At its heart, We Spread asks the question, ‘What happens to our minds when we approach death?’ . . . We’re exposed to the uncomfortably raw experience of facing the fears we all share when contemplating the end of life.”
— Canadian Living “Simply hypnotic. This novel works by a fine hat trick of genre-twisting subtlety, chilling suspense, and a bone-close two-fold portrait of aging in a world that devours everything. The book surprises, even betrays, and every second of its rich rewards is earned by Iain Reid’s winning, wise restraint. Read it to be caught in this brilliantly inspired vision of art and life. I am glad I did.”
— CANISIA LUBRIN, Griffin Poetry Prize–winning author of The Dyzgraphxst Expand reviews