Hello, beautiful people! Welcome to a new review! For this review, I get into my second Paul Tremblay book, The Cabin at the End of the World. I read Horror Movie, another of his books, previously and found that some of my criticisms of the book also hold up in this one. I do think that I enjoyed The Cabin at the End of the World more than Horror Movie, but I can’t say that I enjoyed it that much more. I know that Cabin at the End of the World was also adapted into a movie, and I would be curious to see if having it play out in a movie would tell the story better than in book form.
Main Characters:
Wen: Seven-year-old daughter of Eric and Andrew, is the first to speak to the apocalyptic group when they approach the family on their vacation, and becomes the break of innocence in what ends up being a horrifying story
Andrew: Husband to Eric and father to Wen, when a group of four people approach his family’s secluded cabin is forced to protect his family in ways he never could have guessed he would have to, and is the more skeptical and assertive one in his relationship
Eric: Husband to Andrew and father to Wen, when the chaos ensues in his family is the more reasonable and understanding one in his family, attempts to use reason and logic to save his family
Leonard: Is the leader of the apocalyptic group who is tasked with attempting to save the world from its end, to save the world they must convince Eric and Andrew to sacrifice someone in their family, wants to minimize the harm on the family while also completing their goal, and makes a connection with Wen
Sabrina: The nurse of the apocalyptic group, who brings some compassion and understanding into the high-tension situation, attempts to use these skills to convince someone in the family to make the sacrifice
Adriane: one of the more intense members of the group who wants to take some different methods to force the family to make the sacrifice, and feels she needs to do what she can to save the world, no matter what
Redmond: Like Adriane, is one of the more intense members of the group and takes some very volatile measures to get what he wants, which becomes an issue in the story when Andrew becomes convinced that he is specifically targeting them due to hate crime reasons
My Review
I really wanted to enjoy The Cabin at the End of the Woods by Paul Tremblay more than I did. This was very much how I felt reading Horror Movie by him as well. Both books have a really interesting and unique plot, and carry characters that bring a lot of interest into the story. However, for myself, it just fell flat, and the pace and dialogue needed to display the story in the best way possible just weren’t there. I thought Cabin at the End of the World brought a really interesting plot, a family forced to choose to kill one of their members to save the rest of the world, without having much proof that the world is actually ending, or that this would actually fix it. Four unique and possibly crazy apocalypse-fixing characters who are convinced that they were specially chosen to save the world and deliver this message. I mean it should be good, right? And I mean in some ways, it was, but around the middle or closer to the end of the story, interest just really dropped off for me, and I found that I wasn’t super interested anymore whether or not this apocalypse is happening. I gave the book a 6.5/10 rating overall, and I think given how quick of a read this is it’s not a bad read to pick up if you’re looking for something that will make you think a lot about the plot and maybe even question yourself what you would do in such an unimaginable situation.
Cabin at the End of the World follows Eric and Andrew and their young daughter Wen as they go out for a relaxing vacation at a secluded cabin. Their family time becomes life and death; however, when a group of four people show up at the home, and while their intentions seem good in nature, they essentially take the family hostage for their cause. The cause is to save the end of the world. Leonard, Redmon, Sabrina, and Adriene all received a call requesting that they meet up as a group and deliver a message to save the world from total destruction. Who called them to this job? No one really knows, but they have been supplied with visions and inclinations as to how the world will end, pulling them into their role even further. The message they must deliver is that Eric and Andrew must sacrifice someone in their family. When they do, the world will set itself right. The complicated piece becomes that they must convince this family that the end is true, and they aren’t crazy. However, we as the reader don’t truly know if this group is true in their word, they say they are, but generally have no proof other than they found each other, that this thing is real. Eric and Andrew, of course, do not trust these people, and when issues arise like violence, mental health, and hate crimes, they struggle to believe that these people could be telling the truth. I mean, why them? Why is their family chosen for the sacrifice? And can willingly ending the life of one person really save the world? It’s hard to believe, and as time runs out and tensions arise, things go from bad to worse, and we follow along to see what this family will do with one of the worst questions imaginable: Would you sacrifice someone you love to save everyone else?
As mentioned above, Cabin at the End of the World for me just fell flat. The pacing felt uneven, and the dialogue didn’t carry the urgency or depth I needed to fully stay invested. I did think it was interesting that the main characters were a gay couple, Andrew and Eric, and their adopted daughter, Wen. That dynamic added a layer of complexity, especially early on, where, like the characters themselves, I assumed the home invasion was hate-motivated. That initial suspicion really divides the reader, and I thought it was a clever way to make us question the intentions of the intruders. Is this some twisted act of bigotry, or is there truly a bigger, apocalyptic message here?
I’ll be honest, I didn’t love Andrew as a main character. He was abrasive, reactive, and often escalated things unnecessarily. I get that no one’s going to be calm in a hostage situation, but his refusal to even attempt to de-escalate or strategize put his family at even greater risk. I think there was a point to making Andrew and Eric such opposites. Eric is the more emotional and empathetic one, while Andrew is skeptical and defensive, but it did get frustrating to watch Andrew blow up chances for survival or even understanding because he thought Eric was too weak to handle the situation. Wen, on the other hand, was the emotional heartbeat of the story. She offered these moments of innocence and humanity that cut through the darkness. Her presence reminded us that this isn’t just a theoretical moral dilemma; this is a family, and a child’s life is in the balance.
As for the intruders, Leonard, Sabrina, Adriane, and Redmond, I didn’t like any of them. And not in a “love to hate them” kind of way, I struggled to connect or feel sympathy for any of them and what they are trying to do. They felt self-righteous and unstable, like they were more obsessed with the idea of being chosen than actually trying to help or communicate. I kept thinking, if the world were really ending, wouldn’t you want to send people who are, I don’t know, empathetic? Calm? Maybe even a little likeable? Instead, we get these ego-fueled weirdos who barge in with homemade weapons and cryptic threats. Their approach almost guaranteed resistance. I couldn’t wrap my head around why these particular people were chosen. If they were telling the truth, they weren’t exactly good messengers.
And that kind of sums up my issue with the whole book; it had all the ingredients to be impactful, but the execution just didn’t deliver. The direction the story went in left me feeling disappointed. I’m not against ambiguity in an ending, but here it felt more like a shrug than a meaningful “what would you do?” It didn’t make me think as much as it made me tune out. I didn’t feel shaken or unsettled like I did at the start, just kind of over it. There were also some directions the book went in that I just couldn’t agree with, and just kind of deflated the story for me, I mean, once they were exposed, what is the point of the rest of the story? Although this review is inherently negative, there were some strong parts, like the plot’s basis, but I just wish it had been executed differently.
*** Don’t go any further if you don’t want to read any spoilers***
The most disappointing part of the book for me was a twist that came about end of the middle of the book.
Wen is accidentally killed in a scuffle between the adults. Her death in all connection to the plot is meaningless because she was not picked to be sacrificed but was accidentally killed. I am not sure why this bothered me so much. Just having her death be so stupid and meaningless broke my heart. She was arguably the best part of the book, and her loss essentially cemented that Eric and Andrew would not kill each other, and the apocalypse, if it’s real, would happen.
All the apocalypse people end up dying in different ways throughout the book, but Eric and Andrew essentially never really believe that they are telling the truth. Some weird things in the world start happening as time runs out in the book, but it can’t really be cemented as a sign that the apocalypse is happening, because it can all just be natural disasters happening.
The book ends with Eric and Andrew walking off together down the road to the cabin, and we never really know if the world ends or not, but I guess the assumption is left to the reader. Personally, I think it never happens, but that’s just me.
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