This was maybe not the best book for me to have read. I have Long Covid, which means that I suffer with cognitive dysfunction and memory issues. I found this very well-written book to be incredibly upsetting, horrifying and horrible. Penny goes from living by herself in a little flat to living in a retirement home where she's really not sure what is going on. It's incredibly effective as a horror story, and very, very unsettling.

It took me a while to get into this book. There's something weird and festering in this story (as is its purpose). It takes a while to take root in you; I just kept starting and putting it off over and over again. But I persisted. I’m really intrigued by this story and its characters. The way Reid builds tension and unease is masterful, and his prose is both unsettling and captivating.

I just don’t know if it’s the type of story I enjoy. It was a bit of a chore, but it was actually good? I found myself compelled to keep reading despite my initial hesitation. It’s like a slow burn that sneaks up on you, making you question reality and what’s happening to the characters. In the end, I appreciate the craft and the atmosphere Reid created, even if it wasn’t entirely to my taste.

Ok, that was sitting in my Kindle for way to long and I just finished it and I'm still processing and don't know what to write or even how to feel about it.
It wasn't what I expected. It was so much more than what I expected.

"We Spread" by Iain Reid is a mesmerizing exploration of aging, memory, and existence. Reid's spare and hypnotic prose draws readers into the mind of Penny, an artist facing the unsettling effects of growing old. As she grapples with the passage of time and her place in the world, the novel raises thought-provoking questions about conformity, art, and the enigma of aging. Reid masterfully blends elements of surrealism with a compassionate examination of life's complexities. "We Spread" is a haunting and introspective read that lingers in the mind long after the final page.

This book develops on the theme of helplessness and ageing. We have a woman, alone at home, thinking back on her life. She lived with a man who seemed to have many facets, some of which we will come to know over the course of the book. After multiple days of being alone, she starts to hear things which may or may not be real.
After hurting herself, and luckily being found in time (another scary plot point), she is carted off to an old age home which has already been paid for. She is part of a small select group of people being taken care of by just two people. One is the owner of the establishment, and another seems too much under her thumb to be an ordinary nurse.
It seems very jolly, to begin with, the food is probably the best part. It is only when she starts to want independence or do something by herself she starts to face walls. She is afraid she is being gaslit, and things get significantly worse from then on.
I liked the writing. The book was not long, but as with many such books, there is a level of vagueness that surrounds the actual ending and the reasons behind it all. I am not a fan of such endings. I know it is a good discussion point to imagine how much of the events we witnessed were true and what the point of it all was, but to me, reading the book by myself, it was not as much of a bonus.
The book has an ominous atmosphere throughout, and the writing keeps us guessing as to the reality of what we are being shown. I would recommend it to fans of this genre. I think people who like this genre would better appreciate the ending.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Didn’t like this as much as I’m Thinking of Ending Things. I felt as though it was quite stop start and I don’t think I gelled well with the narrator. I was also expecting a more creepy atmospheric setting which this one didn’t have and more elements of horror. Once some of the sinister parts about death and art were happening it was really good I just wish it would have sustained that through-out. Will be reading Foe next and hope that is better than this one.

This book is so emotional, it’s so disturbing and creepy at the same time! I devoured it in less than a day.

Thank you to netgalley and publisher for my e arc!

Iain Reid is, to me, the master of mind fuck books and I love that feeling of being creeped out and suspicious but not fully knowing why until the very end. Foe and I’m Thinking of Ending Things are both amazing books for me in that respect.

We Spread is similar, in that Penny, our narrator, is aware something is going on, but doesn’t quite know who to trust or what to believe. Without saying too much, this is a story about aging and memory and being vulnerable.

Unfortunately, this didn’t hit quite the same spot as his other books. I wasn’t as hooked throughout and I found the ending a bit anticlimactic and unsatisfying. I still enjoyed the book for the most part, but it’s not my favourite of his.

I think whatever I say may spoil the story, after all, we talking about Iain Reid, what the hell just happened!!!

What would be like being old, fragile and vulnerable!
"Better? No, that's the point. I'm too old to get better. I'm too old for anything."

I love this book not only because of the twist and horror sense of Iain Reid that makes me crazy but more of that, because of the real and touching description of getting closer to the end.

Now the story:
Penny's late partner had booked her a long-term care facility in the middle of the woods, as she liked trees but Penny can't remember knowing about it though will agree to leave her long live apartment to be taken care of.
Penny is an artist who never showed her painting and now starting it over in her new home, but she begins to feel something unusual, scary and uneasy about this place.

What is going on?
What's happening here?
What are they doing to us?

Not that she understood it at first sight, she sleep better, eat more, they care about her, cleaned, cut her hair and all that she never asked for those.
It doesn't seem right for a long-term care facility with only 6 in whole residents, right?

Where am I?
What am I doing here?
How long have I been here?

Thanks to Simon and Schuster via NetGalley for DRC, I have given my honest review.

This book has been a huge hit this year and for good reason. Following an elderly Penny as she moves into an assisted living facility. Like all of Reids other works this read filled me with unease, and a constant sense of dread.
If you loved Reids other work you will love this too.

A quietly unsettling read. This one really hits home on fears of aging & forgetting. I liked the speculativeness of it but I wish it had leant a little harder into either of the possible explanations, it felt a little wishy-washy because it was left so ambiguous. As always, I loved Reid’s writing and will continue to pick up his interesting horror!

We Spread is chillingly fascinating. A narrative shadowed by terror Iain Reid opens the door to Six Cedars, a care home with its secrets and lies. Reid is an observer of society and it really shows in his new release.

We Spread, in the normal context what do these words mean in your mind? Does it mean spreading love, or spreading disease or illness? For me, whilst reading Iain Reid’s latest release, I began thinking about the spores of mushrooms, bear with me. The active part of spore ejection and the ultimate spreading reminded me of Penny and the residents thriving off one another, those with healthy aspects of their lifestyle spreading to the others and rejuvenating them.

Iain Reid as always makes you believe your getting one thing and delivers on something completely different. A title has rarely been as threatening as We Spread.

I knew going into this new release that there would be shocks along the way. After devouring “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” two years ago, I became an instant fan. He knows just how to pull his readers in by the throat, and you’ll leave gasping and scratching for every breath. An aging woman. A care home with only four residents. A manager that appears from nowhere.

Penny is struggling with old age. She lives on her own, she’s widowed, and doesn’t know whether she’s hearing or seeing things. She sees a man watching her from the street, hearing noises from her neighbour, and yet next door sits empty. She reminisces about her years developing her art, painting never came easy for her, and struggled to know when her paintings were complete. Her landlord, Mike visits often to make sure she’s managing all right, she didn’t have any children, so she has no one else. She wonders sometimes if her mind is leaving her, she forgets to eat, and her memories are becoming sketchy. She doesn’t want to become a burden, so she decides to try and change a lightbulb but falls from the chair and bangs her head on the counter.

Mike comes in to check on her and finds her on the floor conscious but hurt. It’s time he actioned Penny’s plan to go into residential care. She and her partner had it all planned out, the deposit paid, and a place secured. She’s very lucky. She goes to Six Cedars, a beautiful home out in the woods, she’s always loved nature. The only thing is she can’t remember organising any of this, why is she being forced to live in a new home, around people she doesn’t know or care about?

I really enjoyed the tight narrative. Investigating the decent of the mind in old age was both fascinating and truly horrifying. It made me question my own mortality more than once. The feeling of urgency was never far from my mind. The journey was full of secrets, lies, and misinformation. Can we trust the thoughts of an aging woman who may or may not be descending into senility?

Is there something sinister going on at Six Cedars? It all appears beautiful on the outside but inside there are strict regimes, enforced naps, and encouraged to eat, eat, eat. Shelley, the manager seems obsessed with her vision of elderly care. She’s creepy and appears out of nowhere. Penny is wandering through the halls of old age, it’s a maze and as she gets one thing in her head straight, she turns a corner and is lost again. Can Penny work out the evil at the centre of this residential home before it consumes her?

It is indicative of the skill of an author that a novel about loneliness, old age and paranoia can be so absorbing and, yes, exciting. This is what We Spread is: a story about an elderly widow from her perspective as she sees her life and home, and those who may wish to control her.

The time arrives when the former artist has to move to a care home for her own safety. She is told that the home was chosen by her and her partner, although she cannot remember. When she arrives she is very pleased to see that there are large windows showing a beautiful forest outside, nice regular meals provided as well as housekeepers. There are three other people around her own age to mix with. It all seems too perfect. Then she becomes suspicious when things don't seem to add up. She wonders where and what the house really is.

A powerful and deep story about the meaning of life, death, art, memory and identity. As we age, do people lose their individuality to merge into one being, like lichens, forests and mushrooms, or fade away until we become invisible.

A fascinating read that manages to hold the attention without ever waning or waffling. It is as if we slip into the mind of someone else, not sure where the art and dreams start or finish, reality could be the cruelty of dementia, the invention of the artist's eye or something completely different. A cleverly constructed novel that will stay with me for a long time.

3.5 stars
I love the concept, it felt very original especially from the perspective of an older person, and the character felt very developed and likeable. It was a good mixture of weird with an open ending allowing for different interpretations, and whether you believed it was more fantastical or internal the atmosphere was unsettling. What prevented it from being a higher rating for me was the slow start. The build-up to quick pace worked but for a short book the first half really dragged and then the last half was a lot quicker so the pacing felt a bit odd.

"We Spread" just wasn't for me. I liked the writing and the uncanny atmosphere, but I was left rather disappointed when the novel ended.

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

It's the first book I read by this author didn't know what to expect. I got more than I bargained because the book is brilliant and riveting.
It's weird, disturbing, and you fell disoriented and one the edge but you cannot stop reading.
I love the minimalist style of writing and hwo there's just the right number of words, not one more.
It was a discovery and a very interesting reading experience.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Now, that's my kind of horror!

I'll keep this short because the less you know about Iain Reid's books going in, the better the reading experience will be. In his latest novel, he delivers yet another gripping and unsettling page-turner.

Reid once again leaves the reader with such a sense of dread, foreboding and eeriness, this time in a seemingly idyllic setting where you know all is not right and yet can't figure out what that is. The commentary is subtle, nuanced, razor-sharp and raises so many thought-provoking points that will linger on your mind for a long time.

This is my third book by the author after I'm Thinking of Ending Things and Foe. I love all 3 equally but what impresses me even more is the brilliant mind behind them!

I was worried We Spread was going to be a bit depressing, featuring the themes of growing old and memory loss, but not a bit of it.

Penny is an engaging and brave protagonist and the story clips along at a rapid pace. I became really invested in her life and was engaged in trying to find out what was happening to her. The story was thought provoking and propulsive for me, not slow and miserable as I had feared.

An excellent read, five stars,

We Spread
By Iain Reid

Deeply disturbing, yet I just couldn't look away. This novel taps into all our fears of aging; loneliness, vulnerability, pain, dying, but there are worse things than dying.

What Reid, through hauntingly spare and repetitive prose, captures perfectly, is that creeping feeling of confusion and paranoia, that mounting sense of dread when you question your perceptions of reality, when your memory draws blanks and time bends and wakefulness more resembles dreams. What do we fear most about growing old? Is it pain and dying? Is it running out of time? Is it loss of autonomy? Is it loss of talent and intellect?

I read this in one big gulp. I held my breathe throughout, good thing it is such a short book. This story is thought provoking, horrifying, challenging, compelling and creepy as all hell.

Publication date: 5th October 2022
Thanks to #netgalley and #simonschusterUK for the egalley