Surreal horror is something I don’t think I read enough of. It could be that there isn’t a whole lot of it out there to read. Of if there is, it’s just a little harder to find than most other stuff. But every time I read this surreal, dream-like horror, I find myself enjoying it. Punishment by Hope by Erik Hofstatter show us what surreal horror can be when done the right way.

This book isn’t for everyone, there is a lot of imagery that turns the gross-out dial up pretty high. But while the images Hofstatter conjures up are at times downright disgusting, his use of language is beautiful. The story takes place entirely in the ocean and as you read, you can’t help but feel the gentle up and down motion of the ocean in the in and out, and up and down way Hofstatter writes the narrative. The words draw you in and lull you into a sense of comfort as you travel through the story and the ocean with the protagonist Nim. In some ways, while this is written as straight up prose, it feels almost like a long poem, with the reader taking the journey with Nim up and down across the oceans as he experiences his punishment.

This is a quick read and, while I sometimes recommend taking your time and reading these shorter works over the period of a day or two in order to let the characters and setting sink in a little, I think the opposite should be done for this one. Find a time when you’ve got an hour or two and sit down to read this one straight through. You’ll ask yourself what is going on and you’ll want to keep reading until the journey is done. When you finish, you’ll be left with an experience that is unlike most of the books you’ve read this year and you’ll be thinking about Punishment by Hope long after you put it down. Great effort by Hofstatter here.

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Written by Joe

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