I read Joe Hill’s debut novel, “Heart-Shaped Box,” enjoyed it very much, and was looking forward to reading “Horns” with great anticipation. Unfortunately, “Horns” is a weaker novel.
Ig Perrish does something terrible while drunk, and when he wakes up, he has horns on his head. When he talks to people, they start saying what they really think (and trying to act on their inner thoughts).
The novel alternates between the past, where Ig and his girlfriend Merrin are happy together, and the present, where Merrin has been dead for a year and everybody believes Ig is the one who killed her. The book explores the mystery of who killed Merrin and why Ig is now Satan Jr.
The good: “Horns” is well-written, and raises interesting questions about the nature of good and evil, the (frequent) hypocrisy of the so-called “good people,” and how sometimes evil does good. Ig is a tragic hero, but there is humor, too.
The not-so-good: psychopathic bad guy; Merrin’s reasons for breaking up with Ig; and the overall feeling that the book was a little too long.
Joe Hill is definitely an author to watch, but unfortunately “Horns” was a bit of a miss for me.
Horns by Joe Hill
Publication Date: 2010 (US)
Pages: 368 (Hardcover)
Source: Public Library
Rating: 3 stars (OK)
