(4.5/5 stars)
Grey Dog, formatted as diary entries about one woman's slip into madness/revolution, is perfect for enjoyers of gruesome depictions of gore and propulsive female agency. It's sort of like a mix between A24's Midsommar and M. Night Shyamalan's The Village. Watching Ms. Byrd's slow descent-or maybe ascent-from her role as a prim and proper self-proclaimed spinster to a free and nakedly fearless version of herself was cathartic for me in many ways. Concepts of an "inside" God —lording over judgment, self-denial, and inescapable boxes— vs. an "outside" God — emphasizing autonomy and courage — exemplify this novel's genius. The story unfolds subtly-almost imperceptibly-as we are chucked out of the comforting daily minutia of Ms. Byrd's life into her inescapable horror-driven transformation, effectively utilizing the novel's epistolary form.
Gish's expert characterizations and stunning prose are exactly why I recommend this read to anyone and everyone. I can't wait to see what she releases next.
Thank you to ECW Press, Elliot Gish, and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC. Release Date: April 9, 2024.

Is historical fiction my thing? No. Is literary horror? Absolutely.

As the historical piece wasn’t my personal taste, I didn’t love this book like I was hoping. Nothing against the book or the author - 100% on me.

I will say this was light on the horror (which is my favorite) and a slower burn.

Also I was a fan of how the author chose to frame the story using journal entries. It made it a little more engaging.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC.

Ada Byrd is an amateur naturalist with a few secrets up her sleeves and a deep grief she’s carrying for the loss of her sister. She moves to the quaint town of Lowry Bridge to fill the vacant teacher position there, but when she arrives she starts seeing and hearing strange things that have her questioning her own sanity and her role as a woman in society.

This novel has gorgeous prose and spot-on atmospheric writing shifting perfectly from prim late-nineteenth century prose to the wild ramblings of a madwoman. The epistolary format, despite a few logistical drawbacks, really shined here as it really emphasized Ada in a classic unreliable narrator role and made for one of my personal favorite types of endings. There’s some fantastic foreshadowing at work which helps excuse a slightly slower pace for the first two thirds of the story while the suspense takes a while to build up. The “horror” takes a bit to kick in, but once it does it feels well-done, definitely gory but not too over the top or unnecessarily grotesque. It’s a fine line between enough grisly depiction to convey the weight of a scene correctly and so much gore that it borders on cheap shock value. Elliot Gish doesn’t baby her readers and I appreciated the space to make connections for myself without being told what clues to pick up on.

If I had a critique, it would be the flatness of some of the tertiary characters, who felt like little more than tropes at a few points. Given that we are reading through Ada’s journal that makes sense, but some extra characterization might have helped humanize the story a bit. But otherwise this was a great, creepy, sapphic read subverting the traditional trope of the Bildungsroman, where a woman goes on a journey of self discovery only to find herself beastlier than she ever imagined.

Huge thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for this Advanced Reader Copy! This review is my honest opinion and offered voluntarily!

I'm not a big horror or historical fiction person, but I'm a huge fan of beautiful writing and interesting queer characters. If a book includes those, I'll happily read a genre that I might not otherwise. The writing in Grey Dog is gorgeous and haunting, it sticks with you long after closing the book. Ada Byrd is such an intriguing character, and her decent into madness is fascinating. I devoured this book in just over 24 hours (would've easily been less if I didn't have a job), and I loved every page.

I really wanted to love this book. That is not to say I did not like it, but I had a difficult time getting through the first 50%, and the ending was just a bit too literal for me. Concept and writing were great, just fell a little short in execution.

<i>"Have you not guessed it yet? I am not a place where nature can be weeded and tamed and kept in order. I am tree roots - and dark hollows - and ancient moss - and the cry of owls. I am not a thing that you can shape, not anymore. I am not garden, but the woods, and if you ever come near me again, every bit of wildness in me will rise up to bite you. I will tear your throat out with my teeth."</i>

In 1901, Ada Byrd is a disgraced spinster, a school teacher who has been sent off by her overbearing and abusive father to the farthest school house he can find, the remote farming community of Lowry Bridge. There Ada tries to fit in to the quaint, religious society, keep a low profile, and teach her children what she loves best - natural history and the environment around her. But the study of flora and fauna is frowned upon by the locals, who see Ada as strange and unseemly and not quite ladylike.

But as the months progress, Ada starts to see things and hear voices - a bloody tale in a flower arrangement, a dead bird, a deformed faun, a grey dog - and she fears she is slowly losing her mind. At the same time, the hidden trauma of her family and childhood - and what seems to be the typical plight of every woman who is stuck in her 'place' during this time - is slowly revealed.

<spoiler>There is a lot of trauma around birthing - the deformed faun, for one, and then the deadly pregnancies of the women who surround Ada - her mother, her sister, her friend, herself. When Ada begins to recall her memories of her mother - that she thought it was only natural for her mother's illnesses to be accompanied by bloody linens - I was aghast. No wonder Ada seeks to rebel about a woman's 'place.'</spoiler>

This is a slow burn, but one that I read and relished while reading it. It is literary and subversive and feminist, and filled with love and pain and longing that slowly and ultimately transforms into something truly horrific. 5 stars from me. I really loved this!

Set on 1901-1902 our main character, Ada, tells her story through journal entries of having to move towns to keep her position as a school teacher after a not so ladylike incident. This new town however comes with it's own challenges, like trying to resist the pull of something old and ancient wanting her to join it in the strange woods surrounding the town.

A descent litfic with themes of womanhood and what it means to be a "lady.". Overall a good story, but pretty slow going. It doesn't really ramp up into the surreal until the last 20% or less. It's written well and you get a very good sense of Ada's character, but I may have had my expectations too high from the description for the amount of surrealism given and found myself waiting for it to get weird.

“No matter if I plug my ears it still calls to me”

Elliott Gish’s horror novel is set in the year 1901, Ada Byrd is a spinster who works as a teacher and takes a position at Lowry Bridge. For her this is an opportunity to re-establish herself where nobody knows about her and her past. She develops a closeness with several people within this community and sees a future for herself amongst them. However she soon picks up on stage behaviours from the natural world around her, dying crickets, self mutilated rabies and a malformed faun. She believes this is down to her secrets from the past taking shape into a beastly figure she calls Grey Dog.

This story unfolds as a slow burn where Ada’s life is laid bare. There are several mysteries you can sense as the story progresses, not just Ada’s character but of those around her that come in the form of the residents and the nature.

For the most part it feels as though not much is happening but pieces of Ada’s past life which are a cause of her grief and despair are teased. There’s this sense of something supernatural that is causing Ada to have the luck she has so far.

The imagery during those moments of delusions she experiences are quit vivid. The writer makes these parts feel quite visceral in how they suggest Ada’s state of mind.

This was a gripping slow burn horror that will appeal to fans of historical fiction.

Ada Byrd is a new school teacher coming to the town of Lowry Bridge, whether she's starting a new life or running from one is to be guessed. Ada interacts with a wide range of characters in her small country town including her pupils, hosts, and some burgeoning friendships. While hoping to make a name for herself as the teacher and a member of the community, something is out there gnawing at Ada. Is the gnawing a curse or a gift?

I enjoyed the book for the complex descriptions and feelings of women. Regardless of the time period, much of Ada's struggles and emotions are easy to relate to. the same goes for the handful of women she interacts with. Overall, I thought the pacing was a touch too slow. there were the few incidents that occurred that added to the buildup of what came but most of the story felt bogged down in the social structure of a country town in the early 1900s. I wished for as much mystery was given to Muriel, there would have been more revealed but maybe that was meant to keep us wondering. A lot of the action felt like it was up to my imagination to put into place what may have happened which is not my preferred style in a book. I think Ada was written wonderfully, she never hid away from the ugly parts of herself from the beginning. Even if this wasn't my favorite, I will be definitely be reading Elliott Gish again for sure.

Despite its historical context, the work effectively maintains a sense of contemporaneity and relevance while remaining firmly grounded in its setting. The elements of body horror and gore are judiciously incorporated, lending a provocative tone when introduced, and throughout, a pervasive theme of the flaws inherent in humanity and the terrors of societal expectations of femininity are ever-present.

Grey Dog is a literary horror historical debut novel following Ada Byrd, a "spinster" schoolteacher who accepts a new post in a small and eery town after suffering a scandal in her previous lodging. Ada is running away from her past sins, her abusive father, and the loss of her beloved sister. The town seems innocent enough when she first arrives, but as the days tick on she begins to see horrific violence no one else can, and hears a voice calling to her from the trees. Ada has to juggle her past trauma with pushback from conservative townspeople and the horrors only she can see, all while trying to connect with nature that reminds her of her sister and harbouring feelings of sapphic lust.

The novel's main focuses are the abuse that comes with being a woman, the horrors of the natural world, and the fight against prejudice in its many forms. This should have been a perfect novel for me. While I largely enjoyed it, I felt the author missed some opportunities regarding the novel's mystery. The reveal and ending of the novel felt anticlimactic and the choices made by the main character seemed misplaced. Overall, I do see many readers loving this novel for its complex characters and beautiful imagery.

i guess i felt that the historical setting was a bit overdone, to the point were it seemed faux-hisorical. the main character's internal monologue being the worst offender (in the language she uses, her emotional responses etc.).

Gish is clearly an excellent writer. I had zero complaints about their lovely prose and rich worldbuilding. I just could not get into the story. It was exceedingly slow, and then once it did pick up (the ending was truly a vicious and gory and perfect combo of disasters!), I felt left wanting. It didn't have anything original to say--men are boring and dull at best, beastly at worst, and all good girls must wear dresses and have babies, but what if they don't want to! They're mad, I say! This is indeed a story of womanly rage, unfortunately I've heard it too many times for it to make a impact.

That said, I would absolutely give another book by Gish a try!

This was a carefully crafted, haunting and beautiful blend of historical fiction, horror, and folklore. I absolutely adore how the themes of rage, sexuality, shame, and ultimately liberation were handled here!. The writing in "Grey Dog" is both beautiful and modern, creating a vivid and familiar setting while allowing the narrative to transport readers through time and space. Gish's debut promises a glimpse into a talented author's potential, leaving readers eager to discover more from this exciting new voice in literature.

This book is why I love horror. Gish spins such a raw and gripping tale that I struggled to put the book down. Grey Dog is arresting, powerful, and terrifying. A really atmospheric and moving read. There are still scenes from this book that haunt me weeks after finishing. I will definitely be looking to read more of this author's work. I couldn't recommend this novel enough.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free review copy of this novel.

This was a terribly fascinating story about a woman living at the turn of the century working as a teacher in a small town who begins to crumble under the weight of her secrets, her grief, and the intense scrutiny and expectations of the era (early 1900s). Told through her journaling, we join the narrator as she recounts the happenings of her daily life, and eventually find out the details of her past and the secrets she had been keeping. On the surface it could appear that our protagonist is going mad when really it's through her madness she finds liberation. The format of the story and its perspective reminded me a lot of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper. This story had all the elements of a gothic horror in that our narrator is plagued by ghosts from her past that occupy her mind. Having been confined to small spaces throughout her life as a means of punishment and instances of trauma, it has always been the woods where she has been most at peace. Now though, in this small town, it is the woods that could hold her freedom or her demise.

Okay - look. THIS,. BOOK. HAD. EVERYTHING. A scary unknown entity that could bring our narrator freedom or death. Queerness. A weird lady living in a spooky house in the woods. A curious girl who is super weird. A woman who gives the middle finger to the expectations forced upon her by men and society. This will be an important book for Canadian, Queer, and Feminist literature and I am excited to see how it is received. 10/10 no notes.

a slow burn story filled with unease that is very much giving “I support women’s wrongs” vibes. really loved watching how Ada changed throughout the novel and seeing her feral descent into madness.

I think this could have been a little shorter as it takes a loooong time to really get anywhere but I enjoyed the writing and queer leaning historical fiction aspect of it.

slow burn gothic historical fiction that unfortunately didn’t work for me. it is categorized as horror, but i was pretty underwhelmed by the horror elements. set in 1900, but i found the atmospheric elements were missing to make this feel like a true period piece! definitely not horrible, but not sure who i would recommend it to..

Thank you to NetGalley for the early copy♥

"Grey Dog" by Elliott Gish is a poignant exploration of female rage taken to its extreme and its impact on a woman's mental health. The narrative delves into the societal use of the term "madness" against women who defy conventional norms, emphasizing the extreme challenges faced by women and how innocence can transform into a force to be reckoned with. While the theme may resonate with readers familiar with gothic horror, it effectively captures the essence of dread, madness, and loneliness characteristic of such literary works.

Ada, the protagonist, is portrayed as a mundane individual—aging, not conventionally attractive, and a single teacher in an era where unmarried women are deemed "defective." Throughout the story, Ada transforms into an abuser, exhibiting temper issues, engaging in cruel spats, and resorting to physical abuse, even towards children.

Despite her efforts to promote positivity to her students and herself, Ada's inability to confront her past traumas—potentially due to societal constraints—leads her down a path of malice, convinced of her own righteousness. The narrative pushes the boundaries of emotion, showcasing the consequences when individuals deny their true nature. Ada, a closeted lesbian and a victim of multiple rapes, becomes an unsympathetic character, possibly to underscore the importance of preventing individuals from reaching such dire mental states.

As the story unfolds, Ada's mental deterioration is palpable through her carelessness about her appearance, public image, and her disdainful attitude toward those attempting to care for her. The murder of a close friend by Ada towards the end underscores the distortion of care due to her traumatic experiences.

The subplot involving children being taken to the woods and one of them gouging their eyes out adds an element of confusion. The narrative suggests that what happens in the woods varies based on individual interpretations of the Grey Dog's call. This ambiguity leaves room for speculation about the purpose of these experiences.

The character Norah, who allows Ada to self-destruct, contributes to the complexity of the narrative. Ada's transformation from horror to fascination with the events in the woods is a disturbing yet compelling aspect of the story.

Structured as journal entries, the book provides an intimate look into Ada's inner workings. Despite reservations about stories told through journals, the approach effectively immerses readers in Ada's perspective, offering intricate details that might be unexpected in personal journals but work well for the sake of storytelling.

Ada Byrd has been given a second chance. After a scandal in her last teaching post, this spinster has been assigned a post at Lowry Bridge, a sleepy country village where she begins to see a way forward. A future in this little.

As she begins to make friends and to help her students improve their schooling, strange things begin to happen. She uncovers information relating to the mysterious departure of her predecessor. Animals start behaving strangely, and little “gifts” are left for on her walks.

Is Ada slowly descending into madness, or is there something sinister happening in this quiet village?

Oh this is spooky. Like your classic Gothic Horror novel the level of suspense and curiosity that I felt reading this! Ada is an interesting character, stunted by the loss of her sister, and the trauma of growing up with her overbearing father, she gives off vibes of very low self-confidence. Something she begins to overcome in Lowry Bridge, thanks to her new friends. There is also the forbidden feelings she appears to develop towards some of the women in her life, in particular the mistress from her last post.

Watching her slowly succumb to the mysteries of the Grey Dog in gripping. It makes you wonder initially if it is due to the quietness of the village, or is one of the townsfolk behind it? And what is the Grey Dog?

The development of Adas rage as a woman in the early 1900s, and the expectations placed upon her and other women slowly develops at the same time and had me wondering if this played into the Grey Dog’s attraction to her…