BOOK REVIEW: Seven Sins

- By Erik Hofstatter

“My father could smell when a woman was menstruating. No matter how clean she was or how much perfume she wore, he always knew. He said it was like their every movement was wrapped in the stench of blood.”

‘Seven Sins’ binds together seven, beautifully orchestrated stories or sins (there is no biblical connection, in case you’re wondering). Karen Runge’s type of horror immediately resonated with me because she explores realistic scenarios, daily nightmares—our mortal coil, if you like. Situations we can all relate to and must suffer through at some point in our lives. These tales of woe examine life’s obstacles in their ugliest forms. How do we cope with loss? What deviant secrets our relatives hide? Why do we succumb to immoral feelings? How do we respond to changes that are beyond our control? Obsession, temptation, murder, tragedy—you name it and Karen has it covered in her own unique, indelible style.

My personal favourite is ‘The Philosopher’. A tale of fading love with conclusion so shocking, it feels like a cigarette burn.

Another highlight is ‘The Orphanage’. Filled with quiet melancholy and savage cruelty (“You breed monsters, you create pain”). The narrator is a tormented woman, drowning in solitude and remorse. Her mind is broken by grief. Her joy of life is cremated by fate and reduced to scattered ashes. The woman’s plight and sense of loss is captured with brutal, vivid honesty. You almost see turmoil bleeding from the pages, almost. But in this tale, grief graters hope and by the end—a strange form of salvation is found.

‘Faces’ is an eldritch blend of bizarre face swapping sprinkled with elements of Nabokov’s Lolita. In modern society, young girls are desperate to appear older, to grow up faster—to play adult games and cheat themselves of childhood. They experiment with make-up at a tender age, painting their faces in obscene colours, and transforming their appearance into hybrids—women’s faces attached to bodies of children. Instruments of seduction. I found this tale truly disturbing for a number of reasons. I watched a documentary about child beauty pageants years ago and it made my skin crawl. These “children” were beyond terrifying. And so is this story.

Runge is blessed with a remarkable ability to express the inexpressible. She doesn’t feel like you or me. She feels something deeper. Her masterful prose reflects this gift and she uses it to conjure a depraved abyss of human atrocities, plunging the reader into the darkness of her imagination.

The entire collection is packed with beautiful lines (“My brain thick in my skull, dry and rancid as an oversized raisin sucked pale.”) and Runge cuts into our psyche with surgeon-like precision. I strongly encourage you to read the sins of her characters and pray that they don’t become your own.

Score: 8/10

Follow Karen on Twitter: @RungeKaren

Buy ‘Seven Sins’:

Amazon US

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- By Erik Hofstatter