Reed's Recommendation Corner: Sasquatch, Baby! by Bethany Browning

 

Sasquatch, Baby! by Bethany Browning

What happens when your friends decide that you can't hang out with them anymore? For Tabitha Eggs, it's buying a house in northern California, situated in the Redwood forest, and loading up on enough alcohol to kill several college frat boys. She's changed her phone number, given up all her social media, and disappeared into the "wilderness". However, the house that she has bought comes with a history - the previous owners have gone missing, and there are weird animal sounds around the house. Tabitha wants to die - she's tired of her life, tired of her friends, tired of trying to exist. What she finds, instead, is an unexpected bond with... well: 

Photo of Sasquatch by Roger Patterson, one of the most famous in existence.

The book follows what happens during her unusual friendship with the creature - but this novel doesn't go for the monster romance you might think of in this situation. There's a lot of humor here - a woman who knows she's trash, and just wants to be left alone, and her drunken meanderings in the forest where she finds the dead bodies of the house's original owners just underscore the rest of the story. There's a lot of humor here, even if the story and its implications are horrific. I don't want to give away too much, but the concept of how these creatures procreate made me rethink any kind of solo trip into the woods.

One of my favorite parts was when Tabitha goes into "Brief Interludes" towards the middle of the novella, ending with "Welp, there's no coming back from this." I lost it. I was literally rolling on the bed giggling when I read this part, laughing so hard I snorted water out of my nose. Tabitha isn't the most reliable of narrators, but her self-deprecating humor and smart ass nature help carry the story. For such a short novella, Browning does a really good job of taking you through one woman's weird journey into cryptid country. 

I would recommend this book if you wanted a short, weird read with a touch of humor in it. 

The book is currently available on Amazon here. The author graciously sent me a review copy. You can find Bethany Browning's website here. 

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The week before I wrote this review, I got to spend time with my Ghoul Fiend, Glynis. I was honored to take her out for sushi, dressed in my best mustache and goatee.