Book Review: Unmemory

UNMEMORY | Kristi DeMeester
2018 | Tallhat Press
Rating: 4/5 stars

UNMEMORY is a short story that truly delivers something haunting! The premise of this story focuses on a college student who was traumatized by a film that she accidentally watched when she was a young child. This film is about a Santa Claus who is anything but jolly! The journey to discover what this film is called is one that will linger with you beyond the 9,000 words contained within this chapbook.

Kristi DeMeester is one of those horror authors that I have heard a lot of buzz surrounding this year, but haven’t had the opportunity to pick up. Enter in December’s Night Worms box to fix this problem! I loved the way DeMeester starts this story with a childhood incident that could happen to anyone. We’ve all stumbled into situations where we’ve seen something that we don’t quite understand. Something that stays with us as time goes on. Now in present day our narrator is trying to track down this creepy Christmas film and she takes us on an unsettling ride.

I absolutely loved the way this story flowed. I was hooked from the first few paragraphs and could not put this little book down! Not only does DeMeester deliver a fantastic story, but she also includes illustrations from Yves Tourigny that bring her words to life. Part of the fun in reading any book is to imagine the pages coming to life, but I’ve recently fallen head over heels for books that include illustrations with them. These illustrations may not always be what I had imagined, but they a reality to the author’s vision, which is exactly what Tourigny’s did for me in UNMEMORY. I can’t wait to incorporate more of DeMeester’s work into my 2019 TBR!