{"id":17102,"date":"2022-05-23T06:00:19","date_gmt":"2022-05-23T10:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/?p=17102"},"modified":"2022-05-23T19:47:08","modified_gmt":"2022-05-23T23:47:08","slug":"review-helpmeet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-helpmeet\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"17103\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-helpmeet\/helpmeet\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/helpmeet.jpg?fit=324%2C499&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"324,499\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"helpmeet\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/helpmeet.jpg?fit=324%2C499&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-17103\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/helpmeet.jpg?resize=227%2C350&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"cover of Helpmeet\" width=\"227\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/helpmeet.jpg?resize=227%2C350&amp;ssl=1 227w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/helpmeet.jpg?w=324&amp;ssl=1 324w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 227px) 85vw, 227px\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Helpmeet-Naben-Ruthnum\/dp\/1988964385\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1OH8YOICSXN76&amp;keywords=helpmeet+naben+ruthnum&amp;qid=1653242767&amp;s=books&amp;sprefix=Helpmeet+by+Naben+Ruthnum%2Cstripbooks%2C191&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>Helpmeet <\/i>by Naben Ruthnum<\/a><br \/>\nUndertow Publications (May 24, 2022)<br \/>\n94 pages; $11.99 paperback<br \/>\nReviewed by Joshua Gage<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Naben Ruthnum is the author of <em>A Hero of Our Time<\/em>, and <em>Curry: Eating, Reading, and Race<\/em>. He lives in Toronto and also writes thrillers as Nathan Ripley. His newest horror novella is <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Helpmeet<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHelpmeet\u201d is an outdated term for a spouse. Updated to \u201chelp mate,\u201d it\u2019s defined as \u201ca helpful companion or partner, especially one&#8217;s husband or wife.\u201d In this novella, Dr. Edward Wilk is dying of a disease that\u2019s rotting him from the inside out. His wife, Louise, is there to support and help him until his dying breath, but she realizes that his ailment is not actually a disease, but merely a transformative phase leading to something far darker or insidious than readers could possibly imagine.\u00a0<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Novellas are strange creatures. They allow authors more room to develop characters, narrative arcs, world building, etc. but also require a tightness and precision of language so as not to become bloated and unyielding. They also require an exactness in plot so as not to read as expanded short stories, but also not to read as underdeveloped novels. Ruthnum has found this balance in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Helpmeet<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The plot fits the length perfectly, and the surprises for the characters, and then for the reader, come at exactly the right time. There is a lot crammed into these ninety odd pages, but there\u2019s nothing wasted.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What makes <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Helpmeet<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> particularly terrifying is the body horror and language that Ruthnum uses to invoke a body rotting apart. Language like \u201cEdward\u2019s nose had gone from gray and flaking to pink and weeping to green to gone\u201d and \u201cA flat slug with a ragged red tail, the dead leaf of a succulent. Edward\u2019s tongue,\u201d is brutal and raw. The images of Edward\u2019s body just falling apart completely are terrifying and will haunt the reader. Then, the surreal ending that occurs in the last few chapters will shock readers, taking the horror to a new and different level, one that\u2019s less gross, but more bizarre, unsettling readers in ways that will linger beyond the close of the covers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Overall, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Helpmeet<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a really surprising horror novella. What starts out as medical body horror quickly shifts into something else. It\u2019s a solid tale and one that horror readers will enjoy.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum Undertow Publications (May 24, 2022) 94 pages; $11.99 paperback Reviewed by Joshua Gage Naben Ruthnum is the author of A Hero of Our Time, and Curry: Eating, Reading, and Race. He lives in Toronto and also writes thrillers as Nathan Ripley. His newest horror novella is Helpmeet. \u201cHelpmeet\u201d is an outdated &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-helpmeet\/\" class=\"more-link button bg-gold white\">Continue Reading!<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Review: Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[80],"tags":[2677,506,2678,79],"class_list":["post-17102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-helpmeet","tag-joshua-gage","tag-naben-ruthnum","tag-reviews"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - 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