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The Novel Hermit

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REVIEW • I Was Made For Him (Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente)

September 10, 2022 Leave a Comment

Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente • November 9, 2021 • Tordotcom

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Sophia was made for him. Her perfect husband. She can feel it in her bones. He is perfect. Their home together in Arcadia Gardens is perfect. Everything is perfect.

It’s just that he’s away so much. So often. He works so hard. She misses him. And he misses her. He says he does, so it must be true. He is the perfect husband and everything is perfect.

But sometimes Sophia wonders about things. Strange things. Dark things. The look on her husband’s face when he comes back from a long business trip. The questions he will not answer. The locked basement she is never allowed to enter. And whenever she asks the neighbors, they can’t quite meet her gaze….

But everything is perfect. Isn’t it?

myreview

First sentence: “The Following Agreement is made this first day of the first month between the members of the Arcadia Gardens Homeowners Association [hereinafter known as “the Association”] and the titleholders of 1 Cedar Drive [hereinafter known as “the Residents” and “the Property,” respectively].”

Comfort Me With Apples is a novella that you absolutely need to go in blind because life in Arcadia Gardens is not what it seems to be.

To everybody, life in Arcadia Gardens is perfect. It’s a community that has strict rules, but despite that, Sophia doesn’t have much to complain about—she has a husband who she loves even though he’s been a bit distant lately, a house that’s perfect aside from certain furniture being too big for her, and neighbors to gossip with about the goings arounds in town who keep asking if she’s happy.

When she finds unexplainable items—locks of a woman’s hair that isn’t her own, a finger bone tip—and unsettling people turning up who look at her like they know her, her perfect and happy life is thrown into question.

Comfort Me With Apples gives you a bit of Stepford Wives-vibes—from the way the women, specifically Sophia, is super submissive to the whims of her husband. It makes these characters seem like they’re stuck in a simulation with the Bluebeard lore mixed into this.

The way that Catherynne M. Valente weaves her words together to create this bizarre, unsettling world that’s filled with uncertainty and symbolism is nothing short of brilliant. Her writing is consistently lush, and it always amazes me how she creates these twists and turns that leave me in awe, especially how everything is revealed. It made me go back and reread to see the hints that I missed throughout the novella.

Should you read Comfort Me With Apples? Uh, sure. Though, fair warning, this novella does have biblical references (that I know may dissuade people).

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TOO MUCH TBR • September 2022
Next:
Holy Mother Cover! • HC vs PB Cover Changes: We Are Inevitable by Gayle Forman

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About Me


I’m Cee. Lover of books + comics. Bookseller. Former teen witch.

The Novel Hermit is written by a daydreamer who loves books and want to share her love with everybody. You will find YA, comics, reviews, discussions, book cover love, and lots of adoration for books. What more can you ask for?

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All of the books I review either have been purchased by me, borrowed from the library, and sent to me by the publisher (the latter of which I will note).

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