Not all that long ago either) I was somewhat wary.īut Penpal had me hooked straight away and didn’t let me go until the very last lip-trembling page. I did so, as word-of-mouth recommendation is never to be put aside lightly although, I will admit, not being much of a horror reader and of a somewhat sensitive disposition (this is putting it mildly – the X-Files theme tune alone used to reduce me to a gibbering wreck. He suggested I put this as the very next book on my list to read. Wesolowski after I reviewed his book The Black Land and did an interview with him. I was recommended Dathan Auerbach‘s Penpal by the writer M. I hope I can write stories like this some day. And it is when you find a book like this with such a simple, intense and captivating narrative that you remember why you do all that you do. You need to make the time.īesides, if you love fiction enough to be wanting to write your own, you will probably find you can’t keep yourself apart from it for long. Many writers bemoan not having the time to do both. Stephen King, all my creative writing tutors and probably anyone who claims to have any authority on writing will tell you you can’t write without reading.

I hoped that helped.As I have managed to get myself ahead with some of my writing projects and, for the first time in weeks, have a weekend where I don’t have anything else planned, I have enjoyed the chance to sit in the warmth of my living room and read. Why would Josh dress up as Dathan? Why would he meet with the stalker again in the forest? Did they meet by coincidence? If they exchanged words, what were they? So, unless there is something in the book that expands on things like that, I like to imagine my own version of the ending (even though rockerchu's version seems more sound). The fact that the confrontation between Josh and the stalker in the forest wasn't told/expanded upon leaves some room for interpretation. The story about meeting with Josh's sister, and having someone else pretend to be her while she was dead could be a sign of the stalker exploiting Josh's family to get more information about Dathan. Dathan moved away, and after his absence, Dathan noticed how Josh's family has gotten a bit weird. The stalker didn't know exactly where Dathan was at the time (as Dathan didn't remember the events for a while), but I believe he could try again, even though the balloon was probably what started the whole stalking thing in the first place.Īnother reason why Josh would dress up as Dathan in order to meet the stalker could be that the stalker has/could've bothered Josh in order to learn about Dathan. The stalker would just try to kidnap Dathan again and kill him, get information from Josh, or flat-out kill Josh.

Well, in my opinion, I felt that Josh being dressed as Dathan was kind of odd I can't imagine the stalker dressing Josh up as Dathan to play out a fantasy.

Penpal by Dathan Auerbach