The creeping dread, the disorientation... clever and moving. Happy to include this title in the September instalment of Novel Encounters, my regular column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for the Books section of Zoomer magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)

There is so much love for this much anticipated new novel from Ian Reid so excuse me while I totally go against the grain. A look into the honesty of what aging does to the mind and body, I felt for the main character Penny as she is forced to leave behind her home and memories of her life. But then I'm lost as to what is really going on. Thriller type feels, hauntingly beautiful depictions of aging and hints of some lucrative goings on. But I feel like I still have questions. A beautiful reading experience that left me with questions.

All gonna be safe, and we're all gonna have a great time ... *puts finished book down* what the Jesus Christ was that?

Thank you very much to Simon and Schuster Canada for sending me an early copy! I was obsessed with <I>I'm Thinking of Ending Things</I> when I first read it and was excited to get my hands on this one.

This was a quick read with surprisingly sparse writing. Made even more surprising by how tightly paced and fulsome a story it was. Penny is an elderly woman who lives alone. She has a fear that she'll begin to forget things and so she leaves herself little notes everywhere and keeps to a quiet and simple routine. Her love for painting and art has faded, tied to memories of a partner who was a renowned artist that belittled her work. When she suffers a nasty fall on top of growing paranoia that she is being watched, she is whisked away to the strangest and most remote care home. Here, there are only three other residents living with two staff, each assuring Penny she and her partner had planned and taken care of the arrangements for her stay years ago.

There is such a delicious unsettling quality to this book. I didn't know what to think at all because I couldn't decide if the narrator was reliable or not. Are the staff at the care home gaslighting her, is she being drugged, or are these all simply lucid moments from a woman with onset dementia? It was absolutely intriguing and difficult to put down since I had zero clue of who to trust. Is this person genuine in their care of her, or should I be deeply concerned for Penny? Has it been four days, or three years? Is she just being paranoid or is she really part of some twisted experiment? That takes incredible skill to pull off. This disturbing quality carries right through the end as the other residents start to act differently and a STEM angle comes into play that takes this into near horror territory.

Where it lost me, sadly, is the ending. Probably about the last thirty pages or so. The entire book had been pretty slow and steady, building that tension beautifully, but then Penny jumped to a certain conclusion and it just ... took off. With the writing being so sparse, my comprehension of the ending suffered for it. It was hard to catch up and keep up. I know what happened, and I support it wholeheartedly, but I feel like I may need to re-read it in future to better sit with it. Still, compared to Reid's debut, it wasn't as satisfying as I would have hoped.

Thanks to NetGalley, Scout Press and Simon & Schuster for an ARC of this book.
This story is about Penny, an ageing senior who is living alone in her apartment after her long-time partner died. She suffers a number of “incidents” and finally, a fall from a chair prompts her landlord to take her to an assisted living facility. This process was all arranged prior to her partner’s passing and with Penny’s full knowledge and approval. Unfortunately, she does not remember any of this. Her initial reaction is that she is being held captive in the facility. Eventually she starts to accept her life there. She prospers, eating better, sleeping better and even starting to paint again. As time passes, she goes in and out of awareness. The story line follows her lucid periods and her confusion and disorientation when she “wakes’ again and everything around her has changed.
It is an easy reading book, very touching and sad as we follow Penny’s thoughts through this journey. There are three other residents as well as two staff members. Every time she becomes aware of her environment and sees that things have changed, she comes to believe that she and the others are part of a sinister experiment. This lends an air of malevolence throughout the book. It is left to the reader to decide. It is a compelling and thought-provoking journey into the mind of a person afflicted with a dementia. Recommended.

I requested a digital copy in order to sample the prose on my phone (since I don't have a eReader) before requesting a physical copy for review. My review will be based on the physical ARC I read.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of We Spread by Iain Reid!!

I loved I’m Thinking of Ending Things and I loved We Spread as well! Penny is an artist who is suffering from memory loss and ends up in a home that her partner set up for her before he passed away. She is being fed and well cared for, but is everything as it seems?

No author is able to evoke a feeling of something is wrong here even when describing a normal situation quite like Iain Reid. The book is written in three parts and I enjoyed it from the beginning. I look forward to the next book he writes.

Iain Reid has written a short novel that has an emotional and thought-provoking impact. Penny's age is not mentioned at the time she is moved from her home, where she has lived alone for many decades after the death of her partner, who was an artist. Her house was filled with a lifetime of mementos that had to be left behind. I thought she was close to my own age, so I found it especially disturbing. She describes herself as 'very old' but capable of living independently. After a fall, she is moved into an assisted living facility room. She is told her partner arranged this long ago with her consent. She remembers none of this. There are suggestions that her fall was only one of a series of unfortunate incidents which she cannot remember.

On a personal note, I was lucky as my son arranged for me to move out of my house, needing many repairs and upkeep. I had lived there for many decades alone, and he arranged a beautiful new apartment for me in another province. I took most of my souvenirs, decorations and keepsakes and realized how devastating it must be to leave anything behind. During the pandemic, my friends were elderly and afraid to go out or socialize, so I lacked human contact. I could only see family and grandchildren by video chat, and now I can see them any time in person. I fear that I may share Penny's fate in the future.

Penny's room at the facility seems pleasant at first, but she feels a loss of independence and is subject to a strict daily routine. There is a sinister aura to the house, but there is much she enjoys. She regains her appetite for food when eating and socializing with the three other residents and is sleeping much better than she has for years. Why is this facility limited to only four 'guests', and why are the owner and caretaker constantly controlling their every move? Penny lived with an artist for many years until his death, and she also painted. Due to her lack of confidence, she never showed her paintings to anyone. She imagined a lack of talent and regarded all her paintings as unfinished and never displayed. Now she is encouraged or ordered to continue her painting but is still dissatisfied with the results. The views from the windows show a beautiful forest visit. The doors to the outside are locked, and they are told that it is too dangerous for elderly residents to walk outdoors.

She develops a warm friendship with a former math professor. She talks to him about art and even begins to paint his portrait. He discusses mathematical theories. They have little in common, but their conversations relieve a mutual feeling of loneliness. They plan to look after each other's well-being.

Penny is aware her memory is failing. She has glimpses of her past life and experiences, but there are considerable gaps in her recent memory. Is Penny experiencing a normal part of the aging process, or is something malevolent going on? She thinks four days have passed since entering the facility but is told she has been there for three years. She is regarded as paranoid, suspecting that her every move is being watched, and hears strange noises. What the owner calls a spa consists of subjecting the residents to having their hair and nails cut without regard to the subject's wishes. Penny thinks she and the other residents are part of a sinister experiment. Much we read is ambiguous, and the story has an overwhelming, chilling, eerie atmosphere. How much is real, and how much is the result of Penny's imagination?

Issues about the gradual loss of mental and physical facilities and the loss of independence are addressed. It causes one to think about the screening of caregivers and surveillance of long-term care homes. It raises thoughts about what are the best living conditions for the elderly. It questions the fear of death and if there are conditions that are worse than living a very long life. Recommended.

I wish to thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this compelling and thoughtful story about issues we will face about aging and life and death.

I don’t know if I could exactly be called a fan of Iain Reid’s, but We Spread is the third novel I’ve read of his — the third novel that I ended wondering, “Is that three stars? Five stars? How does one rate something so ephemeral?” — and once again, the reading pleasure is all in the moment: the unsettled, uncanny heebie-jeebies all dissipate like a wisp of smoke as soon as the last page is turned. I was completely invested for the couple of hours this took to read, but I’m left with little. Even so, that’s not a worthless experience to me and I’ll read the author again (does that make me a fan?) This time around, Reid presents a bit of a horror story about the loneliness and helplessness of ageing, and to say any more than that would be to spoil the experience for others, and I guess I’ll settle on a qualified four stars for the in-the-moment reading experience.

On of the best examples of an unreliable narrator. Does Penny suffer from dementia/Alzheimers? Or perhaps Shelley has sinister intentions. Because they whole book is told from Penny's point of view, it could go either way. If Shelley has sinister intentions, the book is dark and twisted. Although, if Penny has dementia, can we trust a single thing she tells us? If Penny has dementia, the story becomes sad and poignant. Heartbreaking as she loses time and memories as days progress.

Victim or dememtia? You have to read the book to decide.

The latest Iain Reid doesn't disappoint. What appears to be a not unusual situation of a story of an older woman who is experiencing social isolation and the beginnings of bad health, turns ever so slightly sinister on a dime. From the author of Foe, one would hardly expect anything different.
Moving to a new 'home' in the country after a major fall, Penny is reluctant to admit that this is the place for her. However, her every need has been taken care of and she is encouraged to begin painting again. She also has the companionship of 3 other residents.
Then, time seems to blur. Each day is like the one before. She doesn't know how long she's been there and she begins to have suspicions about the intentions of the home's owner.
Iain Reid gives nothing away and leaves the reader to consider what leads to the outcome.

We spread is a book that looks pretty uneventful but somehow is still a page turner. I went into this book without reading the summary, so i was really confused at time but in the best way possible. Its the kind of book where you close it and think " what the hell did I just read?" and still want to start at page 1 again to understand it even better. It's odd, disturbing and makes you feel like you're missing half the story because the narrator is confused and moving through time in a weird way. Somehow though this makes you want to reach the end even faster, so much so that I read it in one sitting. Ian Reid has a way with words and plot twist that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I absolutely recommand this book to any lover of the weird and that wants to read a book that leaves you with more questions than answers!

Thank you so much to netgalley for an earc of this book!

Thanks to Netgalley, Simon & Schuster Canada, and Simon & Schuster for an ARC of this book!
I love Iain Reid's writing, and, as many others are saying, a new release holds big expectations when following a story like "I'm Thinking of Ending Things".
Once finishing this book, it is interesting to see the mixed reactions to it. Some are saying this book makes no sense, and others are saying its moral was far too obvious.
I'm just here like.....????????
This is a quick read, and as always, Reid's writing is enthralling and so easy to fall into. But whereas with his previous work I feel like there is some satisfaction to the confusion, with this book I feel sort of largely unimpressed.
Don't get me wrong, it's trippy and weird and in some instances horrifying and heartbreaking. And while I see what he was doing with the narrative structure, and the way things unfold, I also feel annoyed that there is not even a semblance of a clear explanation. Not even a smidge! Or a hint!
In almost every case, I love an ambiguous ending, or an open ending. This ending was pretty blatant, but feels like a knot tied at the end of a broken rope....
In any case, I will be thinking about this for a while to come, but my overwhelming feeling is that I have been held too far from the story to understand everything that was intended. Which is annoying.

Turning the last page of this mesmerizing novel I was sorely tempted to begin the book all over again. Did I get the author’s intent? With an ending deliberately (and fiendishly) ambiguous, this book was quite likely the most tantalizing read I have encountered in a very long while.

Picture this: a catapulting flurry of pure dread, building with an intensity that simply does not let up, amidst a backdrop of puzzling, poignant and affecting characters - who may or may not be unwittingly part of something truly diabolical and dreadful - or simply exist metaphorically in what can only be seen as an aging and paranoid dementia-addled mind.

Whichever experience you settle on, this book is undeniably staggeringly brilliant.

Written in a simple and emotive prose in the first-person narrative voice of Penny, an elderly artist, the author achieves an immediacy which drops the reader, literally, into Penny’s frightening, yearning, desperately barren world - a first-hand experience ravaged with solitary aging, fear of death, and loneliness so profound it’s impossible not to be rattled.

As Penny faces her final years, alone and no longer deemed capable of independent living, she finds herself sequestered in a strange and mysterious long-term care home, a “choice” made for or with her former partner (now deceased), of which Penny has no memory.

And what a choice it is. Without giving the plot away (no spoilers here), Penny’s care, as captured in her staccato narration - streams of isolated thoughts, conversational snippets, and observations, fired at the reader, in rapid succession - escalating quickly into the downright menacing.

As the author wrestles with themes including infantilization of the elderly; the mathematical quandary that is infinity; the gravity-laden burden of our physicality; boundaries, individuality and the life-preserving spreading structure of groups; and the terror (shared by each of us) of aging, losing ourselves, and ultimately, running out of time.

Can a salvation of sorts be found in living for each precious moment, in union with friends and connections - spreading, expanding, growing, binding us forever? For after all, perhaps “there is strength in becoming part of something bigger than yourself“.

And “maybe, if we had all the time in the world, life would start to feel meaningless. Or worse”.

Heady thoughts, that for this reader, jockeyed for space in a mind so deeply unsettled by the unfolding story line (and the scramble to figure out what it all meant), that they will need to be revisited.

A thoroughly excellent book, a journey (however uncomfortable) that I would not have missed for the world.

Easily five shiny stars, (more if I had them), I loved this book and will have to read more of this brilliant and somehow (I don’t know how) formerly over-looked author.

A great big thank you to @Simon & Schuster for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.

*This book will be published on Sept 27, 2022

If I’m being entirely honest, I haven’t read any of Reid’s other work, even though it comes highly recommended.
After this though, I will 100% be reading it.

We Spread is quite possibly one of the most beautifully written books I have read.

TW: Loss of loved one, dementia, cancer, suicide

This was a really quick read for me, I read it within 2 sittings essentially. The general theme of this book is that everyone grows old and everyone dies. So, not the most uplifting of books. Honestly, it was quite depressing once I thought about it when I finished.
Reid has the impeccable ability to make us feel as though we are the elderly MC going through this ourselves.
Our MC Penny just broke my heart. Her wanting so thoroughly to hold onto her independence rang true to my heart with my own grandparents. Part of the time I wasn’t even quite sure if she was losing her mind or not.
And the ending…I’m still not even sure if it was real or not.

Once I finished my first thought was, this would make an AMAZING movie.

Thank you again to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC eBook in exchange for my honest review.

Another book by Iain Reid, bringing in the same level of mystery and suspense as his previous works.

Penny is brought to a long-term care facility, which only houses four residents and two staff. At first, all seems well, but then Penny grows suspicious of things happening. She’s losing time and everything is a blur. She leaves markers of time and as she explores the residence, she uncovers such strange mysteries.


Loc 124 sleep= asleep
loc 155 I'll forgot = forget
loc 203 my box of my= remove 2nd 'my'
loc 639 Left it "in" the apartment
loc 700 Art I used to "do"
loc 1414 my way = me

If this is what it’s like to get old I want no part of it. So well written it leaves you wondering if this is how society really treats the elderly and i believe it is. So very sad, Penny’s world is a world of confusion , mistreatment and loneliness muddled together in an addled mind. Like I said, that’s not a world I want for myself. Loved the writing and flew through the book in one sitting.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc

“Frame’s of mind aren’t built to last. They aren’t dependable. Even the sturdiest eventually dissolve and disappear.”

Ian Reid has done it again. I devoured this book in one sitting. Golly was it weird. No one does philosophical suspense quite like Reid. Does anyone else even do philosophical suspense?! They shouldn’t. It wouldn’t compare.

Penny has lived alone for several years since the death of her husband, but after one too many incidents including hearing conversations coming from the vacant apartment next door, Penny’s steward decides it’s time for additional support, so he moves her to woo woo old age residence Six Cedars Residence, citing it as her long ago and since forgotten choice.

When Penny first enters Six Oaks, she succumbs to the peaceful and bucolic vibes. But as time passes, Penny is losing track of both her days and reality. Can she trust her own mind? Is everything not as it seems? Is something sinister afoot? Or is Penny just succumbing to the unkind ravages of old age?

In this poignant commentary on societies treatment of the elderly, Reid knocks it out of the park. You’ll leave with more questions than answers. You may even need to reread it, and you should, cause it’s real good.

Finally, a book where I had no idea what was happening, with an ending that answered nothing but it somehow satisfied my reader's heart. It made no sense but I want to read it again and dissect every little piece.

I would say this is art in writing form where many people will have their own ideas about the story. So not for everyone because everything in this book felt like it was left wide open for your own thoughts and interpretation. I can see this being an amazing book club pick though, there are many discussion opportunities for this book.

The story: Penny is an old lady who had an accident in her apartment when she was trying to change her light bulb. The result, she was sent to live in an old person home where she's either losing her memory from dementia or the 2 staff members are gaslighting her AND ME. I can not tell.

It was this subtle creepy book that left an eerie feeling when reading it. It explored the concept of aging and growing old. How we always want more time to do more.

I loved reading it from Penny's point of view and found it amazing that I can't tell if Penny's memory is reliable or if she's simply forgetting from old age. This was a fast paced story with some interesting themes to explore and I would recommend this to anyone who's into having their minds a little scrambled.

A gut-wrenching story about ageing, memory and isolation. "We Spread" follows elderly artist Penny as she navigates the transition to an assisted living facility after a fall in her home. Ian Reid artfully blurs all lines between reality and dreaming, and Penny's descent into confusion and fear is completely engrossing. Penny is an unreliable narrator, but her revelations about art, work, death and the meaning of time are poignant no matter how you interpret her situation. Brilliant novella and an easy 5-stars.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada for the ARC and the opportunity to review this title.

With We Spread, Iain Reid is back at it again with another novel that knows exactly how to crawl into the deepest parts of your mind and settle there like a heavy blanket of dread.
I had been anxiously awaiting getting to read this book and I wasn't disappointed.
We Spread is the story of Penny, an aging woman who is forced to give up the apartment she has lived in for the past 50 years and move into a sort of end of life care centre. What happens from there is an absolute spiral of a journey as we try to put our finger on just what is going on with this place and both its other inhabitants and the employees that work there.
I couldn't put it down.
For my full review, please check out the YouTube link attached.