Chantel's Reviews > Helpmeet

** spoiler alert ** It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on graphic descriptions of physical decomposition & body fluid, gore, disease, sexual promiscuity, body mutilation, & others.

The house that Louise shared with her husband, Edward Wilk, will be repossessed by the bank. The life she knew in comfort from the one she worked to obtain has shifted & Louise will be leaving Manhattan for the Buffalo home that housed the Wilk family for generations. On the eve of their departure, in November of 1900, Louise ensures that all the preparations are made & she reflects upon the moment when she first saw the vacant home of her partner in a photograph depicting the shadow of a being unknown within the home.

Ruthnum’s writing is pointed, simplistic & morbid. There is no necessity in sautéing the words with thick saucy prose; the vernacular employed within this novella leaves the reader with the immediate sensation of being shadowed in a room near a closing door; the only door to the hallways & subsequently a way out of the house.

Perhaps you have known the gumption of Gothic Horror that slithers trepidation across dated, shafting floorboards within desolated abodes. Perhaps you have come upon this book seeking the satiation that is felt when coming upon an orchard of chills. You have come to the right place.

One may read this book ostentatiously for the horror alone; unflinching when the pink tips of the nail bed pinch their way through Edward’s tear ducks. One may also approach these 94 pages with the exaltation of someone who has come upon an author who seamlessly showcases their craft by describing the growing entity that slurped power from Edward’s brain, nestling itself in between vertebrae to become the new man we see him become at the end of the story.

Whichever way you choose to interpret or absorb this story you will be left with sentiments of humour, for truly, the line that distinguishes laughter from screams is quite thin. What better reaction to a tongue that falls deadly out of a gaping mouth like a slippery slug on the rotting carpet of an abandoned home, than to laugh?

Nothing is funny, certainly the opposite. However, Ruthnum’s writing is poignant to the point of being obscene. There is truly no greater way to approach a novella of horror than to teeter the line between morose decomposition & gory rebirth.

The dual interpretations of this story will leave a reader pondering the implications of the character’s actions for hours after the completion of their read. Is the irony lost on any reader that Edward, the brilliant & respected surgeon of New York State is unable to riddle himself out of a deteriorating & rotting body? I should think not. Yet, not once does the author indicate that his sojourn through extramarital affairs is a reflection of incompetence or lack of moral stability. Edward is simply drawn to the physicality of what is around him in a bid to further a desire to become utterly & completely singular by exploring the duple exchange.

Where do these encounters leave Louise? Louise works in the same field as the surgeon & is unperturbed by cleaning molten bedpans. Her sole desire remains to become a nurse so that she need not showcase gratuity for financially motivated employment. Louise person married Edward, not for the intimacy that he could offer her physically, for certainly, she received proximity to all those whom she healed with dedicated action; but for the absorption of the comfort his person brought into her life.

I cannot say that I inherently understand the reasons behind any of the choices made within this story. Why would Louise choose to delve head-first into Edward’s carcass, disappearing from her individuality in life? Was she reliant on his body in a different way than Edward was when seeking out the pulsating flesh of other people?

I suppose both chose to enter the bodies of other people to feel more themselves. The action of penetrating the entity of another individual holds a rather steep significance within this book. How much could Louise have truly felt a place within Edward when she had never visited the crevices in his shell?

What is the significance of a lack of sexual reproductive organs on this new ‘Louise Wilk’? Are Louise & Edward alive in this sarcophagus or have they meshed together to an unrecognizable height which leaves them lacking in a singular body?

Could one interpret that the metamorphosis of the two (2) individuals, living within one body, reflects the concurrent expressions of those who feel that there are no two without one; those who express coming to be in the mistake of anatomy that does not suit their soul? I suppose it should depend on the reader. Though, I am inclined to feel that this avenue is a worthy one to explore.

A blossoming tether of imagery & personification of the flower that presents itself to Louise in the darkened apple orchard is brutal. Here the neutral entity expresses simply wanting to be alive, not wanting to destroy or repulse; no inherent negative or violent desires are held within the deconstructed razor flower. One could certainly look upon this creature as a simple reflection of the human species. How often we have bent over backwards to remain steadfast whilst simultaneously halting our own progress around every corner; unable to meet at the halfway point of consensus & respect.

Edward’s brain is alive in his body though every other part of him has been absorbed by the flower. The mind is the driving force behind our presence in life. It is with appreciation & inflation that the flower leaves Edward’s brain unperturbed, surely knowing that Louise will grasp at the opportunity to revive the mental stamina of her husband though she will never be held by him again.

When the final scene cuts like the nails through Isabel’s scalp the reader is presented with the concluding opportunity to regain their stance on their feelings towards this story. Is this one of metaphors or one of demise?

The petals that warp around vertebrae slowly grow with the reimagined ‘Louise Wilk’ & tether themselves to be steady & slow, making certain to not outgrow the carapace that shelters them in this life. Friend or foe is the one who steadies themselves in the unknown; our fears, hopes & uncertainties, quantifying in the depths of places unvisited by the conscious abilities of our own entity.

Thank you to Edelweiss+, Undertow Publications, & Naben Ruthnum for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!