I loved I Crawl Through It. One of the best books I have read.
Some people don’t like it because it’s too bizarre and too vague, but I loved it for precisely those reasons. At its heart, it’s a story about teenagers who have gone through trauma, and they are dealing with it in strange ways – one has swallowed herself, another builds an invisible helicopter, etc.
I really enjoyed the writing style – the story is told in this detached matter-of-fact way that only children can give, and yet, these are seventeen year old almost adults. I think the author used it to show the detachment that happens after traumatic events, which is a brilliant tactic.
At first, as I read it, I thought it was magical realism and/or absurdism, but in the end, concluded it’s pure surrealism… or maybe it’s all of those (all of which I love). Hard to say, when you’re not sure what is real and what is not. Half of the time, you think maybe something is a metaphor for another thing, but you’re not sure. The other half, you’re trying to figure out what happened to these kids/teens and who is sending the bomb threats to the school (I really liked the story behind that).
Everything was wrapped up nicely, though I think this particular book could have gotten away with even more vagueness. The last little chunk of text in the book gave me goosebumps, and I did find myself crying at one point in the story. It is a very thoughtful, albeit strange story that will make you think and feel for the characters. You’ll also find themes like belonging, (different ways of) healing, grooming, intellect, sexuality, community, love, and so on.
Overall, this is an odd, bizarre, bonkers story, which is only great for a particular group of readers. I am in that group, so I’ve given this 5 stars. Absolutely phenomenal book. It kind of reminds me of Piranesi, but with more characters, not just one. The tone is similar, the otherworldly feeling is similar, and the constant questions is another thing they share. Both tremendous books.
If you like weird books with surrealistic elements that make you question everything, you’ll love this.
-Reviewed by Violeta Nedkova
