#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 80: Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum

Today I have a FINISHED copy of one of the best books I have read this year, a novella. Details, including  my Library Journal STAR review below, but first, how to enter: 

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Click here to see giveaway #79. Our winner was Sharon from Williamson County [KY] Public Library.  Now on to today's giveaway.

I was told about Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum by his publisher, Undertow Publications, a publisher on my vetted list of independent publishers, one whose books I have greatly enjoyed. I like having at least 1 novella in my Library Journal columns so I marked it for inclusion. 

I started reading it with no preconceived notions and I am not exaggerating when I say, I was completely blown away. This books is, as I say in my three words that describe this book: grotesquely beautiful, immersive, deeply unsettling.

You can read my draft review below or click here and get a few more notes from my Goodreads as well. 

In this grotesquely beautiful, deeply unsettling, and utterly beguiling Kafkaesque novella, Ruthnum introduces readers to Louise, a nurse in 1900 New York City, caring for her husband, Edward, a doctor, dying painfully, his body literally dissolving piece by piece, as they prepare to relocate to Edward’s family’s orchard in Buffalo, where he wants to die peacefully. Edward’s numerous dalliances lead many to believe he has syphilis, but early on, it is made clear his suffering comes from something bigger than a bacterium. What exactly it is however, is for Lousie, Edward, and the reader to discover. Told with multiple narrators, including Lousie and Edward, this magnificent novella, draws readers in immediately and then holds their emotions hostage for the duration, without argument, as they watch the story transform* from a tangible tale of illness and death into one of otherworldly beauty, with just the right amount of darkness hiding in the wings. A reading experience that will linger long after the final page is turned. 

Verdict: This uncanny and disquieting story, with a perfect title,“Helpmeet,” a historical term for “a helpful companion,” a definition that Ruthnum satisfyingly twists in an unexpected way, is reminiscent of the complex feelings induced by Jones’ Mapping the Interior, any Oyoyemi tale, or We Can Never Leave This Place by LaRocca.

I read an early ARC but what I have for you today, courtesy of the publisher, is a finished copy! Enter to win it and add this copy to your library collections immediately. Read it for yourself. This is best of the year quality. Trust me.

Enter today and you are entered going forward.

Good luck!