so lately ive been reading penpal by dathan auerbach. about a kid who gradually realizes hes being stalked by somebody. the game the book plays is that every now and then there's some new revelation about actions taken by the stalker that completely disquiets you🫵the reader. its incredibly effective but aside from that what im noticing is how very freewheeling it is with its chekhov-gunslingling. most events are either a clear setting up of a somewhat contrived limitation on the situation at hand or payoff from a previously set up and somewhat contrived limitation on the situation at hand. ohhh so he cant leave the crawlspace during the scary moment because his friend put the panel back in place for a completely logically worked out reason 😧 ohhh he thinks the cat food bowls he discovered down there were put there by his mom 😧and the thing is that on the surface this steady rhythm feels like a somewhat mechanical and lackluster writing style, but i think it actually is a terrific technique for this book. its an interesting duality actually. the atmosphere of the story itself is intensely anxious and gripping but then theres also the meta of it where i just imagine having him showing me his #shapes and we're both having a fun and honestly downright campy time with jt
