The Book of Accidents
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- Create Date：2021-08-20 09:16:22
- Update Date：2025-09-23
- Status：finish
- Author：Chuck Wendig
- ISBN：1529101077
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Summary
'Move over King， Chuck Wendig is the new voice of modern American horror' Adam Christopher
'A rich， rewarding tale' The Guardian
____________________________________________________________________________
A family returns to their hometown - and to the dark past that haunts them still - in this masterpiece of literary horror by the New York Times bestselling author of Wanderers
When Nate's father dies， he leaves behind a final gift for his son: his childhood home。 Married now， Nate decides to move in with his wife， Maddie， and their son， Oliver， seeking peace from the chaos of the city。
But it doesn't take long before things get strange in the night and even stranger by day。
Because Nate was a child being abused by his father， and has never told his family。 Because Maddie was a little girl who saw something she shouldn't have。 Because something sinister， something hungry， walks in the tunnels and the mountains and the coal mines of this town in rural Pennsylvania。。。
And now， what happened all those years ago is happening again， and this time， it is happening to Oliver。 When he meets a strange boy with secrets of his own and a taste for dark magic， he has no idea that what comes next will put his family at the heart of a battle of good versus evil。
____________________________________________________________________________
'The dread， the scope， the pacing， the turns-I haven't felt all this so intensely since The Shining' - Stephen Graham Jones
'Universally horrifying and viscerally intimate， Wendig brilliantly uses The Book of Accidents to explore a painful truth: in the end， we all haunt ourselves' - Kiersten White
'A rich， rewarding tale' The Guardian
____________________________________________________________________________
A family returns to their hometown - and to the dark past that haunts them still - in this masterpiece of literary horror by the New York Times bestselling author of Wanderers
When Nate's father dies， he leaves behind a final gift for his son: his childhood home。 Married now， Nate decides to move in with his wife， Maddie， and their son， Oliver， seeking peace from the chaos of the city。
But it doesn't take long before things get strange in the night and even stranger by day。
Because Nate was a child being abused by his father， and has never told his family。 Because Maddie was a little girl who saw something she shouldn't have。 Because something sinister， something hungry， walks in the tunnels and the mountains and the coal mines of this town in rural Pennsylvania。。。
And now， what happened all those years ago is happening again， and this time， it is happening to Oliver。 When he meets a strange boy with secrets of his own and a taste for dark magic， he has no idea that what comes next will put his family at the heart of a battle of good versus evil。
____________________________________________________________________________
'The dread， the scope， the pacing， the turns-I haven't felt all this so intensely since The Shining' - Stephen Graham Jones
'Universally horrifying and viscerally intimate， Wendig brilliantly uses The Book of Accidents to explore a painful truth: in the end， we all haunt ourselves' - Kiersten White
Reviews
Jessica
，
3。5 rounded up！So， I’m not really sure how I feel about this one！ I’m not that much of a horror fan but the summary of this book sounded so intriguing that I decided to give it a shot。 Nate’s dying， abusive father offers him the chance to purchase his old childhood for just $1。 While Nate is hesitant to return to a place with such bad memories， he and his wife， Maddie， make the decision to take this opportunity。 They’re hoping this move will be good for them and their son Oliver。 However， strang 3。5 rounded up！So， I’m not really sure how I feel about this one！ I’m not that much of a horror fan but the summary of this book sounded so intriguing that I decided to give it a shot。 Nate’s dying， abusive father offers him the chance to purchase his old childhood for just $1。 While Nate is hesitant to return to a place with such bad memories， he and his wife， Maddie， make the decision to take this opportunity。 They’re hoping this move will be good for them and their son Oliver。 However， strange happenings start occurring after their arrival and Oliver becomes friends with a mysterious boy who seems to have a dark side。The first 80% of this story was so good！ I was getting creepy vibes， everything felt very mysterious and I was dying to see how everything connected。 Then， the interest for me started to wane and the last 20% of the book really dragged for me。 By the time it got to the big climax of the book， I was really bored and just wanted to get to what happened。 As I was losing steam with this book， the writing style started to annoy me a little。 Some of the dialogue， more so with Nate’s chapters， started to feel a little unnatural or too cliche which took me out of the story a bit。 Overall， this story started out with a bang but it really fizzled out before the ending for me！ 。。。more
Jen Johnson
，
I would round this up to 3。5 stars。 The best way I can describe it is that if a newer Blake Crouch novel and an old school Stephen King novel had a baby， and that baby wanted you to know it leaned left politically。 This had alternate realities， demons and gore。 Lots of gore - I found it more gross than scary。 The story， once it got started， was propulsive and the ending was satisfying。 My main quibble is that there are only three female characters: one is a cool geek girl who has very little tim I would round this up to 3。5 stars。 The best way I can describe it is that if a newer Blake Crouch novel and an old school Stephen King novel had a baby， and that baby wanted you to know it leaned left politically。 This had alternate realities， demons and gore。 Lots of gore - I found it more gross than scary。 The story， once it got started， was propulsive and the ending was satisfying。 My main quibble is that there are only three female characters: one is a cool geek girl who has very little time， one is a scared pregnant wife who also gets little time and the third is the cool artist who swears a lot。 Of the three， the lady is the most fleshed out and I liked her a lot。 I think Wendig wanted to write strong female characters， but just didn’t quite get it right。 。。。more
Arianna
，
YAAAASSSS！！！ Another great read from Chuck Wendig！I'll admit I'm not really one for a load of violence or horror in my books， so it does strike me as bizarre how engrossed I get in another violent or horror novel from Wendig but。。。 I'll be damned。 I'm a sucker for the Miriam Black series， and I couldn't put this latest novel down either。 I definitely wouldn't say this book was nearly as gory as the MB ones （which have at times left me nauseated and needing peaceful nature time bad）， but it w YAAAASSSS！！！ Another great read from Chuck Wendig！I'll admit I'm not really one for a load of violence or horror in my books， so it does strike me as bizarre how engrossed I get in another violent or horror novel from Wendig but。。。 I'll be damned。 I'm a sucker for the Miriam Black series， and I couldn't put this latest novel down either。 I definitely wouldn't say this book was nearly as gory as the MB ones （which have at times left me nauseated and needing peaceful nature time bad）， but it was a rough and nerve-wracking ride nonetheless。 The author has a penchant for writing some heinous bad guys， but also delves into the complexities of what drives decent folks to the dark side in a believable way。 Last， in the highest respects I can give an author -- I didn't see a single twist coming。 It's annoyingly rare for me to actually be surprised by twists in novels these days， but The Book of Accidents kept me guessing （and hoping for the main characters to have a happy ending！） all the way through。 Highly recommend this one！！！ 。。。more
AndPeggy
，
A fantastic story overall that feels like it drags towards the late middle before picking back up and racing towards the conclusion。 The direction it took towards supernatural thriller was surprising， given it’s marketed as horror， but ultimately welcome。 The sound quality of Maddie’s sections on the audiobook was considerably less than that of other characters。！
Jon
，
Another Creepshow Success！The Book of Accidents is Wendig's ode to haunted house stories， but in this case the house folds entire worlds， entire universes within。。。perfect pacing， engrossing action， 3-dimensional characters and a creepy AF antagonist make me hope he writes a sequel one day。 Great work！ Another Creepshow Success！The Book of Accidents is Wendig's ode to haunted house stories， but in this case the house folds entire worlds， entire universes within。。。perfect pacing， engrossing action， 3-dimensional characters and a creepy AF antagonist make me hope he writes a sequel one day。 Great work！ 。。。more
Jennifer
，
What a fun read。 I loved the imagery， loved the story， loved everything about it。
Ania
，
3。75 ⭐️
Cody | CodysBookshelf
，
I was actually able to finish this one， and didn’t actively hate it， so it has a leg up on Chuck Wendig’s last release， Wanderers。 Hey， Chuck， I finally finished one of your books。 Want to unblock me on Twitter yet？ No？ Okay。 The Book of Accidents had me in its grip until it didn’t。 I was totally on-board for the haunted house stuff， as tropey as it is， because the characters seemed interesting and I am always looking for a new favorite haunted house story。 It’s when the other stuff got introduc I was actually able to finish this one， and didn’t actively hate it， so it has a leg up on Chuck Wendig’s last release， Wanderers。 Hey， Chuck， I finally finished one of your books。 Want to unblock me on Twitter yet？ No？ Okay。 The Book of Accidents had me in its grip until it didn’t。 I was totally on-board for the haunted house stuff， as tropey as it is， because the characters seemed interesting and I am always looking for a new favorite haunted house story。 It’s when the other stuff got introduced that I lost my focus and interest， and I feel the plot went off the tracks。 Throw in more than a fair share of corny dialogue （seriously， I really honestly hate the way Wendig writes dialogue—it might be my very least favorite thing about his work） and the feeling that， at times， it’s a little too similar to the great big horror novels of the 1980s， and the final result is an overlong book that isn’t actively bad， but one I’m finding fairly forgettable。 I wanted to give Wendig’s stuff another shot since I was so harsh on his previous book， but I just don’t think his style is for me。 At least I was able to finish this。 。。。more
Taylor （Taylor Talks Tales）
，
Actual rating 4。5/5 starsThis book was one of my eagerly anticipated reads of 2021 and I was thrilled I was able to get a copy from my local library so soon after it was released。 Wanderers was one of my favorite books of 2019， and I’ve read a few other Chuck Wendig books that I enjoyed too。 Did I enjoy The Book of Accidents？ Did it live up to my very high expectations？ For the most part， yes it did。 I actually think this book is very reminiscent of something Stephen King would write。 It’s imagi Actual rating 4。5/5 starsThis book was one of my eagerly anticipated reads of 2021 and I was thrilled I was able to get a copy from my local library so soon after it was released。 Wanderers was one of my favorite books of 2019， and I’ve read a few other Chuck Wendig books that I enjoyed too。 Did I enjoy The Book of Accidents？ Did it live up to my very high expectations？ For the most part， yes it did。 I actually think this book is very reminiscent of something Stephen King would write。 It’s imaginative， it’s ambitious， has fantastical elements， tons of vivid description， strong themes， unique worldbuilding， and explores a lot through multiple characters。 These multiple characters are well developed too。 There are also some great quotes from this book as well， which is something I’ve always loved about Stephen King。 However， The Book of Accidents never feels like a King ripoff。 It’s definitely its own story， with its own voice for sure。 Plus it sticks true to the horror themes as well。 Sure it has some mystery and some fantasy elements mixed in， but there’s no question this book falls in the horror category。 There’s gore， there’s a chilling atmosphere， horrifying imagery， intense subject matters， serial killers， murder， cosmic horror etc。 So what is this book about？ It starts off with a man named Nate Graves accepting a deal from his dying father to buy his childhood home from him for $1。 Nate’s father was an abusive， terrible man and Nate has a lot of trauma from him。 Still， he wants to move his highly empathic son Oliver out of Philadelphia， and his artist wife Maddie supports the decision。 The three move in， but then weird things begin happening right away， especially after Oliver meets a strange， dangerous kid named Jake。 The story takes off from there。 Honestly the less you know the better， because figuring out what was happening and getting into the meat of the story really added to the reading experience。 My one criticism of this book lies in the pacing。 For the most part this is a well plotted book， but I feel like it was a bit longer than necessary。 Instead of being told in 530 odd pages， I think this story could have been told in closer to 430/450 pages。 There seemed to be some unnecessary filler thrown in at times， leading to a slight slump in the plot progression。 These slumps were made up for time and time again with other amazing chapters and scenes， but it’s what is keeping me from giving it a full 5 stars。 Honestly， I think the book just needed one more round of cutting a little material here and there and that would have completely made it a true 5 star book。 Other than that though， The Book of Accidents is a great book。 I enjoyed the ending too， because it wasn’t too neatly wrapped up but it wasn’t too open ended either。 I recommend it to horror fans， dark fantasy fans， Stephen King fans， Chuck Wendig fans， and people interested in something different。 。。。more
Sara
，
Wow！ This is a pretty ambitious book， with about a hundred ways in which the author could have written himself into a corner。 Well thought-out motivations and resolutions make for an entertaining and satisfying tale， a literary equivalent of peeling a sunburn off in one big piece。 I was surprised to find I enjoyed it as much as I did， as hocus-pocus to this degree is generally not my thing， but this book was fittingly magic。
G。B。 Lindsey
，
3。75 starsOk， so， if Stranger Things and Dark had an illegitimate baby and Stephen King was the midwife--Joking aside， I recommend that you read the physical book for this one， and skip the audiobook。 To me， it sounded like the two readers were kind of。。。 weary of what they were doing？ I don't know。 I just know that the Big Bad sounded like a perpetual stoner toeing sticks into a bonfire because otherwise he'd be high-fiving everyone in sight。I digress。 Well written for sure。 I haven't read anyt 3。75 starsOk， so， if Stranger Things and Dark had an illegitimate baby and Stephen King was the midwife--Joking aside， I recommend that you read the physical book for this one， and skip the audiobook。 To me， it sounded like the two readers were kind of。。。 weary of what they were doing？ I don't know。 I just know that the Big Bad sounded like a perpetual stoner toeing sticks into a bonfire because otherwise he'd be high-fiving everyone in sight。I digress。 Well written for sure。 I haven't read anything else by this author so I don't know the style specifics and quirks。 I loved the three main characters。 There were obvious homages to certain other horror stories and writers， which sometimes overshadowed the story itself。 But the plot is an intricate knot of a lot of different aspects and ideas， and it's held together well。 Just， too distracted by the readers to fully enjoy myself。 I don't think they intended the absurdity that kept popping up， especially in scenes that were supposed to be intense。 But pop up it did， and things got a little too humorous in the wrong places。 Alas。 。。。more
Zak
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The Book Of Accidents， in addition to many other elements， evokes some of the great works that define contemporary horror， but Chuck Wendig， without question， delivers his own emotionally resonant masterpiece through figurative language using uniquely creative， stunning motifs， symbolism， and imagery。
Twamos
，
Loved this book - author is a lot like Stephen King in his writing and character development。 I enjoyed this a lot and hated fig it to end！！
Alexandria
，
solid 3。5
Jeanine
，
Brilliant！ Five thumbs， way up。
Em （iforgotsalt）
，
This book was a TRIP， and honestly？ I really， really enjoyed it。 Wendig has a penchant for writing books that don't quite fit into any one genre， and I'd say that applies to The Book of Accidents as well。 While I personally did enjoy Wanderers more， I found this book thoroughly enjoyable and had a great time reading it。 The characters were all incredibly interesting， and the mystery at the center of the story was so intriguing I couldn't help but want to read more every time I closed the book。 P This book was a TRIP， and honestly？ I really， really enjoyed it。 Wendig has a penchant for writing books that don't quite fit into any one genre， and I'd say that applies to The Book of Accidents as well。 While I personally did enjoy Wanderers more， I found this book thoroughly enjoyable and had a great time reading it。 The characters were all incredibly interesting， and the mystery at the center of the story was so intriguing I couldn't help but want to read more every time I closed the book。 Personally， I do feel that the book was a little disjointed at times--and， perhaps， that some elements of the book felt like the work of a slightly different writer， not necessarily the same person that wrote the intricately action-packed and philosophical Wanderers。 However， there is an author's note at the end of the book that DOES explain that this book--or a version of it--was one of the first things that Wendig wrote， meaning that the skeleton of this story has been around longer than the things I particularly enjoy about Wendig's storytelling style。 I still genuinely did enjoy my time reading The Book of Accidents， but it didn't quite hit me the same as Wanderers， which may not necessarily be a fault of the book itself but perhaps the fact that I was comparing what was ostensibly an older work to one of Wendig's much newer novels。 。。。more
Joann
，
Chuck Wendig did NOT disappoint。I needed this book in my life at just this time。 What a literary feast！ This is a supernatural， horror-ish epic tale at a solid 450 pages Nate， Maddie and Oliver move from the city into Nate's old childhood home that was not a happy childhood home。 The move is touted as a fresh start for teenage Oliver， who is an extreme empath and literally sees the pain inside other people。 The grand colonial home is located close to a park that served as the hunting grounds of Chuck Wendig did NOT disappoint。I needed this book in my life at just this time。 What a literary feast！ This is a supernatural， horror-ish epic tale at a solid 450 pages Nate， Maddie and Oliver move from the city into Nate's old childhood home that was not a happy childhood home。 The move is touted as a fresh start for teenage Oliver， who is an extreme empath and literally sees the pain inside other people。 The grand colonial home is located close to a park that served as the hunting grounds of a serial killer。 This， combined with Nate's childhood with his abusive father， and Oliver's ability to see the pain of others lead to a mind blowing journey。 FIVE solid stars。 。。。more
Dena
，
I do not normally read nor enjoy this type of book。 So the fact that I actually stuck with it and finished it is a big kudos to the author。 Even though I only gave it three stars that’s actually pretty high considering I usually don’t even finish books in this genre。 If this is your type of book - I definitely recommend it and - if it isn’t - I suggest giving it a try。
Fran
，
At this difficult time （COVID， Afghanistan， school tensions， urban violence） this book was too dark for me。 And I usually enjoy dark！ I lost hope that there would be an end that justified the gloomy means and started skimming at about 60%。
Bruna （bruandthebooks）
，
“But as with all things， it wasn't the spooky stories that got to Nate。 It was the real-life ones， because， routinely， real-life stories were far worse than the imagined ones。 The spooky stories were an escape from the truth。”This quote defines me 100%。 What’s a spooky book compared to what 2020 was in real life？ LolThat being said… this book is not for the faint of heart。If you’re used to reading extremely strange， twisted， dark， confusing， and creepy stuff - this book is for you。 Time trav “But as with all things， it wasn't the spooky stories that got to Nate。 It was the real-life ones， because， routinely， real-life stories were far worse than the imagined ones。 The spooky stories were an escape from the truth。”This quote defines me 100%。 What’s a spooky book compared to what 2020 was in real life？ LolThat being said… this book is not for the faint of heart。If you’re used to reading extremely strange， twisted， dark， confusing， and creepy stuff - this book is for you。 Time travel mixed with demons， mixed with serial killers， mixed with the end of the world。 Yep， does not get weirder than that。 Every chapter you finish you’ll be thinking， “what the heck is going on？”Ramble Rocks is located in a park and it’s a “thin place。” WTH is a thin place？ Well， a place where the line between worlds is very thin and strange things happen。 Nate and Maddie are about to move back to their childhood town and they’re going to live right across from Ramble Rocks。 And their son， Oliver， is a very sensitive teenager。 I can’t even put together the words to describe what happens in this book。 And maybe it’s better this way。 I’d recommend going in blind and just expect it to be intense。If you liked the show Dark， you’re going to love this book！ I highly recommend it！ 。。。more
Donald
，
I had no compunction about picking this book up on day one。 The Book of Accidents is full of big heart and big ideas。 Some feel unique and fresh， others feel like we've been here before。 There are long patches in the book that feel confusing and disorienting， and though the threads do twine together in the end， it felt like there was so extra material in the runtime。The positive - Wendig builds intrigue from the very first prologue， creating a breed of mythos that he uses to develop throughout I had no compunction about picking this book up on day one。 The Book of Accidents is full of big heart and big ideas。 Some feel unique and fresh， others feel like we've been here before。 There are long patches in the book that feel confusing and disorienting， and though the threads do twine together in the end， it felt like there was so extra material in the runtime。The positive - Wendig builds intrigue from the very first prologue， creating a breed of mythos that he uses to develop throughout the rest of the story。 It very much had a small-town oddity feeling consistent with the type of local lore most readers will be familiar with。 Nate， Maddie， and Ollie make up a lovable， if imperfect， family to stick with for over 500 pages。 Each character comes with their own quirky personality and resonates with readers。 Side characters like Jed and Fig are brought to life by the author as well， and bring memorable purpose to their parts of the story。Despite my minor hang-ups， The Book of Accidents is immensely readable。 500 pages goes down the gullet more like 2 or 300。 Short chapters help this case， but Wendig's writing maintains a sense of manic rhythm that's going to keep those pages turning。 Whether you want them to or not。 。。。more
Becky Hansen
，
I liked that this book was a true supernatural story I hate when I want to read a ghost story and it turns into Scooby Doo！ So major points right out the gates。 I also likes the parallel universes and how some things were constant and some things were different。 I loved the characters and I was satisfied in the ending。 The writing style wasn't my top favorite of all time but I had no problem with it。 A solid 4 star read thank you I liked that this book was a true supernatural story I hate when I want to read a ghost story and it turns into Scooby Doo！ So major points right out the gates。 I also likes the parallel universes and how some things were constant and some things were different。 I loved the characters and I was satisfied in the ending。 The writing style wasn't my top favorite of all time but I had no problem with it。 A solid 4 star read thank you 。。。more
Justin
，
。。。。。I am speechless。 Incredible。
Jen
，
4。5🌟
Jill
，
I am a bit conflicted over this book。 It started as a horror， then we got post-apocalyptic scenes in the middle， and then a sort of harry potter vs voldemort kind of showdown at the end。 I'm confused。 I gues I wish it stuck to one genre？ Not that I have anything against a mix of genres。 This story just didn't work for me， maybe。 I am a bit conflicted over this book。 It started as a horror， then we got post-apocalyptic scenes in the middle， and then a sort of harry potter vs voldemort kind of showdown at the end。 I'm confused。 I gues I wish it stuck to one genre？ Not that I have anything against a mix of genres。 This story just didn't work for me， maybe。 。。。more
Peter Andersson
，
What a messy waste of potential！ I really liked how Chuck Wendig showed in ”Zeroes” that he could handle multiple protagonists perspectives， but here it doesn't work and had my next book package not been late I might not even have finished reading this one。It starts off okeyish， first I got the impression that he wanted to write something like Stephen King's ”The shining”， then as the trope-y boy with supernatural awareness started making friends at his new school there was a short hope that the What a messy waste of potential！ I really liked how Chuck Wendig showed in ”Zeroes” that he could handle multiple protagonists perspectives， but here it doesn't work and had my next book package not been late I might not even have finished reading this one。It starts off okeyish， first I got the impression that he wanted to write something like Stephen King's ”The shining”， then as the trope-y boy with supernatural awareness started making friends at his new school there was a short hope that the story could go some kind of similar route to the same authors ”It”。Unfortunatelly from there followes scene after scene that barely kept me awake and barely the story together。 There's even a scene， one that felt veeeery forced， where the husband and wife sits down together to compare supernatural experience notes so that their respective storylines won't drift totally out of sync。The final boss fight was written kinda okayish， but unfortunatelly also felt very much like one of those flat Terry Pratchett boss fights in a void， the one thing TP really weren't good at， yet seemed often resort to when he couldn't come up with anything else。 。。。more
Jennifer
，
This was soooooo good！！！ I preferred Wanderers just a *smidge* more （my heart just loves the cdc， what can I say） but this was ENTIRELY different。 It was SCARY in a softy， creepy kind of way。 The writing was very SK （so was Wanderers） but this reminded me more of Desperation （monster in a mine） but also a little Shining Girls and a little Dark Matter， but mostly it was just its own amazing story。 I loved Maddie， I loved Nate， I looooved Fig， Jed reminded me of Jud from Pet Semetary so I didn’t l This was soooooo good！！！ I preferred Wanderers just a *smidge* more （my heart just loves the cdc， what can I say） but this was ENTIRELY different。 It was SCARY in a softy， creepy kind of way。 The writing was very SK （so was Wanderers） but this reminded me more of Desperation （monster in a mine） but also a little Shining Girls and a little Dark Matter， but mostly it was just its own amazing story。 I loved Maddie， I loved Nate， I looooved Fig， Jed reminded me of Jud from Pet Semetary so I didn’t love him， the writing was top notch， the story was fabulous， it scared me in the best ways- HIGHLY RECOMMEND。 #engelbrechtreads2021 #engelbrechtreads 。。。more
Sarah Lyons
，
This has an interesting premise with some alternate universe elements。 I’m not even going to try to give a synopsis。 I did enjoy this book that is overall pretty creepy。
Anwara
，
this book was quite the experience！ Nate， a former cop， moves his wife， Maddie， and fifteen-year-old son， Oliver back to his childhood home in a rural area of Pennsylvania。 The house holds horrible memories for Nate—his father was horribly abusive—but it promises a new beginning away from the city。 Right from the start there are a number of odd things that take place。 Probably why the first half of the book was my favorite。 I have a passion for early shivers and goosebumps and loved the creepy， this book was quite the experience！ Nate， a former cop， moves his wife， Maddie， and fifteen-year-old son， Oliver back to his childhood home in a rural area of Pennsylvania。 The house holds horrible memories for Nate—his father was horribly abusive—but it promises a new beginning away from the city。 Right from the start there are a number of odd things that take place。 Probably why the first half of the book was my favorite。 I have a passion for early shivers and goosebumps and loved the creepy， unexplained strangeness taking place。Build-up was fantastic—whispers of a serial killer executed decades before， a “felsenmeer” or field of boulders， an old tunnel that spurned urban legends， an abandoned coal mine， a deer and insects behaving strangely， and a mysterious figure in the woods。 Having lived in Pennsylvania all my life， I could relate to so many of the rural surroundings， locales， and places that were mentioned。But the heart of the book is its characters。 I was so wrapped up in the lives of Nate， Maddie， and Oliver。 Even secondary characters like Fig， Jed， and Caleb are fully fleshed out and given strong supporting roles。It’s Oliver who turns out to be the key player。 He’s gifted， but the importance of that gift only becomes apparent as the suspense rachets from simmer to boil。 The story is definitely “out there。” Be prepared to dip your toes into elements of fantasy and magical realism along with horror。 There are multiple twists and turns from start to finish but the ending melds everything together for a strong conclusion。Wending has a gift with words。 I loved his prose， at times beautiful and at other times vivid enough to make me feel squeamish。 I also enjoyed the afterword in which he described the previous incarnations of the book and how it came to be。 I’m glad he stuck with what was first a “trunk novel。” I expect this one will haunt a lot of readers。 。。。more
Fakhra
，
but this book was quite the experience！ Nate， a former cop， moves his wife， Maddie， and fifteen-year-old son， Oliver back to his childhood home in a rural area of Pennsylvania。 The house holds horrible memories for Nate—his father was horribly abusive—but it promises a new beginning away from the city。 Right from the start there are a number of odd things that take place。 Probably why the first half of the book was my favorite。 I have a passion for early shivers and goosebumps and loved the cre but this book was quite the experience！ Nate， a former cop， moves his wife， Maddie， and fifteen-year-old son， Oliver back to his childhood home in a rural area of Pennsylvania。 The house holds horrible memories for Nate—his father was horribly abusive—but it promises a new beginning away from the city。 Right from the start there are a number of odd things that take place。 Probably why the first half of the book was my favorite。 I have a passion for early shivers and goosebumps and loved the creepy， unexplained strangeness taking place。Build-up was fantastic—whispers of a serial killer executed decades before， a “felsenmeer” or field of boulders， an old tunnel that spurned urban legends， an abandoned coal mine， a deer and insects behaving strangely， and a mysterious figure in the woods。 Having lived in Pennsylvania all my life， I could relate to so many of the rural surroundings， locales， and places that were mentioned。But the heart of the book is its characters。 I was so wrapped up in the lives of Nate， Maddie， and Oliver。 Even secondary characters like Fig， Jed， and Caleb are fully fleshed out and given strong supporting roles。It’s Oliver who turns out to be the key player。 He’s gifted， but the importance of that gift only becomes apparent as the suspense rachets from simmer to boil。 The story is definitely “out there。” Be prepared to dip your toes into elements of fantasy and magical realism along with horror。 There are multiple twists and turns from start to finish but the ending melds everything together for a strong conclusion。Wending has a gift with words。 I loved his prose， at times beautiful and at other times vivid enough to make me feel squeamish。 I also enjoyed the afterword in which he described the previous incarnations of the book and how it came to be。 I’m glad he stuck with what was first a “trunk novel。” I expect this one will haunt a lot of readers。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Book of Accidents
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Book of Accidents&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Book of Accidents&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0