_Coup de Grâce_ by Sofia Ajram is a haunting, immersive, first person narrative horror read of mental illness. Vicken plans his end while on a subway in Montreal, only to find a deserted and seemingly endless station. The reader is engrossed in Vicken’s experience with depression, and is invited to interact with his story.

In this exquisitely crafted novella, the reader is plunged into a nightmarish realm where the environment itself emerges as a formidable antagonist and the protagonist’s mind becomes his ultimate betrayer.

The story follows a man who boards a subway with the intention of ending his life. However, his plan unravels when he disembarks at a seemingly ordinary station, only to find himself ensnared in an endless labyrinth of desolate, surreal corridors and rooms that defy the bounds of reality.

The novella excels in evoking a profound sense of unease through its monstrous imagery and suffocating claustrophobia. As the protagonist becomes increasingly ensnared by this unrelenting and nightmarish space, the reader is drawn into his descent both physically and psychologically. The prose is almost poetic, marked by sparse, incisive language that paints a chillingly vivid picture of his plight. It’s a blend of beauty and horror that lingers long after the last page.

Beyond its atmospheric terror, the novella delves into themes of life and choice, offering a poignant exploration of how existence can be both vibrantly beautiful and harrowingly bleak. This is a superbly unsettling and thought-provoking read that I wholeheartedly recommend.

I received a copy through NetGalley.

Coup de Grâce by Sofia Ajram presents a compelling and eerie concept with a young man trapped in an infinite Montreal subway station. The initial atmosphere is gripping, immersing readers in a nightmarish limbo that reflects Vicken's inner turmoil. However, the novella falters due to its heavy-handed metaphors and occasionally confusing prose. While the interactive, choose-your-own-ending elements are a unique touch, they may not fully compensate for the novel’s narrative inconsistencies and the use of real-life tragedy in its plot. Despite its flaws, Ajram's exploration of depression and existential dread offers a thought-provoking and unsettling experience.

Coup de Grâce was quite the intriguing read all throughout. The first person, present tense narration engulfs the reader in the story, causing them to experience the story alongside the main character. Initially, the atmosphere was both eerie and fascinating, but noticeable issues continued to appear as you read on.

This style of narration is a great tool to create a specific perspective for readers when it is utilized correctly. However, I found that a lot of the metaphors in this book had fallen flat due to the narrator heavily handing out the themes of suicide and depression. The prose often switched from Vicken rambling about his experience living with depression to, what I'm assuming would be, a metaphorical situation that symbolizes said experience. It was almost as though the story wasn't sure what it wanted to be in that sense. I became really interested in the story when the metaphors were introduced, and I felt that those moments were the strongest points within the story.

Similarly, there was definitely some noticeable repetition among Vicken's monologues, as well as confusing sentence structures that should be cleared up by the editor(s).

A note that I feel I must make involves the death of a real life person. A bit past the midpoint, there were a few internet references that were blatantly stated word for word within the book. Not only was this a poor plot device, (that stated the obvious of what this story could've been inspired by,) but it referenced the "urban legend" of Elisa Lam. Just as the internet disrespected her death, I feel that this author did as well, making an insensitive choice to use Lam as a tool for a plot point.

Furthermore, the ending really ruined the potential for what this book could've been. The idea for it was unexpected and quite interesting, and I was somewhat excited to see how it was going to be utilized. Unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations, and went a little too far off script from the original premise. I do wish it could have been executed effectively, as I was continuously interested in what the story was going to show us next. The author has a wonderful way of writing, and I really enjoyed the voice that was given to our narrator. There were many good quotes in here that caused me to pause and ponder on them, as well as many moments that were engrossing while reading, I just wish it could've lived up to its potential.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was really weird, but it's supposed to be. What would it be like to be trapped in a public place like this? This was a novella, which was the right size for the story. It was interesting when he encountered someone else. The choose your own ending was weird but fun. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

Fantastic novella perfect for Black Mirror fans. The concept and execution by the author is outstanding. If you’re looking for a fast, creepy read that will stick with you, give this one a try!

Thanks so much for the opportunity to read!

For a novella, this really dragged for me.

Would still recommend to anyone who enjoys bleak and disorienting stories

Didn't work for me, but may work for you.

Hello. I am a story. Please call me HOUSE OF LEAVES, Junior. Please? Pretty please?

Depressed and in turmoil Vicken is ready to end it all and is planning to throw himself into the Saint Lawrence River in Montreal. He takes the subway toward the point of his departure…only when he disembarks he finds himself in an endless, looping, silent station.

So, OK, the metaphor is pretty handed (the words “transitional environment” are actually used in the text. We got it. Really. I swear.), but I actually quite liked this until it became a choose-your-own-adventure at the end, which stripped the whole thing of any gravitas. One nice line I liked, “I think there are moments in life that are so memorable to me because of their impact, only to find later that they were forgotten by others almost immediately.”

Would have had a higher rating but for the end.

An amazing intricate novella with beautiful, amazing prose. So many layers to this maze, and about the instinct for life, or the instinct to end life. Such creative ways of engaging the reader. (For reasons I shall not share, suggest to read this on digital for full effect). I enjoyed every single page.

Coup de grâce captured my attention from the start. The premise of a never ending looping metro station is right up my alley. The character takes us on an amazing journey while he explores this space and tries to understand where he is and what is going on. And we are right there with him.

Overall, I really liked this book by Sofia Ajram. The concept was fascinating to me and the character was very relatable. I literally could not put it down and read it in a day. I would say that if you like a very clear ending, this is probably not the book for you. I had to read the ending a few times to get a sense of it, but I have to say that, personally, I liked the mystery.

The only downside I would give this book is the overly flowery prose, which made it more difficult to understand and took me out of the flow of it. But the mystery just kept me going for more!

The horror in this one is more subtle than in your face, it is more focused on existential horror so if this speaks to you, I would recommend this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Wow, this was a tough (but well worth it) read. To be honest, I was really confused and uncertain about what the heck was happening during the first half of the book. I was frustrated and felt like the story kept going but wasn’t actually going anywhere. And then things kind of clicked. That was entirely the point. I thought back to my own experience with anxiety and how the hardest times felt never-ending. Experiences with anxiety and depression can feel not only mentally draining but physically exhausting, which was perfectly portrayed in this book and left me questioning which is worse? Or are they both equally awful?

I’m not sure if someone without past mental health challenges would appreciate the way the story unfolded as much as I did, but I think it’s well worth the read regardless.

Bonus points for the choose your own adventure style near the end. That was a unique touch that really hammered home the impending awfulness that is depression.

4.5 ⭐️s rounded down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for an ARC of this novel.

"Coup de Grace" by Sofia Ajram is a unique horror novel where the main character, a man named Vicken is planning to kill himself, but while getting off of the subway, ends up in an unending labyrinth mostly devoid of life. The book mostly focuses on Vicken's thoughts while he explores the brutalist concrete maze of corridors and why he thinks he ended up here. The book ends with an interesting series of "choose your own ending" options. Recommended for horror collections, especially where "Piranesi" was popular.

This book is for those that love liminal space, The Back Rooms reddit, and existential horror. It is just the right amount of bleak, grotesque, and disturbing.

I thought the length of the book was perfect. It was just long enough to create the sense of dread, hopelessness, and despair without veering into too slow.

I particularly loved the “choose your own” ending. Of course I went back through each path and enjoyed every variant.

My one issue that kept this from being 5 stars was the language. Much like a Cassandra Khaw book, the language was beautiful. But, there were more than a few times a sentence would be thrown in that was so verbose, it was distracting. Rather than adding to the story, I felt those sentences were trying too hard to be poetic and ended up pulling me out of the narrative.

Over all, I very much enjoyed the read! It’s a perfect story for October.

More like a 3.5/5

This was definitely a unique read. Everything about felt a little weird, in a good way, and a little disturbing, in a good way. I don’t think i love it, just because it’s not my favourite type of horror, but i had a good time with it, i appreciate the vibe. Our main character was interesting and i liked his voice. The writing was fantastic, i’ve annotated multiple pages and the imagery was vivid and beautifully eerie.
And i really enjoyed the pick your own adventure aspect of it, that was a fun touch!
Extra points for the queer rep as always.

Overall, this was a very suspenseful, creative read. Certain scenes were very vivid, and the author was very good at creating a level of dread. However, there were sections that might be problematic for some readers, if they are struggling mentally as there was a lot of musings on existentialism and suicidal ideation. While it was part of the overall purpose, it was at times difficult to read, and made me want to skip to scenes that were more action based. The saving grace of the book was the extremely clever ending, which will be nostalgic for some readers.

All in all, a creepy story that explores how loneliness manifests itself.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for letting me have an eARC of this book.

What a wonderful, horrifying, engaging read!

The writing style is very ornate, which I honestly quite liked. It can bother some but I found that the extra difficulty really added to the unknowability of the impossible stm space and rendered it even more intimidating.

Coup de Grâce made me, through it's horror, be more aware of life's little pleasures like good company or even just colour. Things that our main character, Vick, was cruelly denied in his concrete and metal hellscape. I came out of this read seeing the leaves outside as a little greener.

This was a incredibly poignant book which wonderfully handled very serious mental health issues and I will be sure to look out for more books from this author.

This story follows the experience of Vicken, as he's traveling in a subway station, grappling with mental health struggles. He decides that he's going to end his life via a one-way trip to the bottom of the Saint Lawrence River. Having made up his mind, he goes to get exit - but instead steps into a deserted station with no exit in sight; a station that continues to unfold and defy reality the more he seeks liberation.

I loved the imagery and atmosphere depicted in this story - and was filled with a sense of looming dread throughout the reading experience.

This story was unlike anything I'd read before, and I loved it. DEFINITELY recommend.



Big thank you to NetGalley & Titan Books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for a review that is entirely my own.

I knew very early on that this one wouldn't be with me.

Poetic and meandering writing style. Some people are into it. I'm not.

I should've known when I saw the House of Leaves comparisons (most overrated book of all time)

I was intrigued by this book and enjoyed it to an extent but I will admit that they prose wasn't for me and that did lead to my disinterest in this. There were some genuinely creepy elements and I was particularly interested in the whole scene that revolved around the elevator game. But by the end I was ready for it to be over even though it was a quick little read. I think a lot of people will really enjoy this and so don't let my 3 stars discourage you from picking this up, especially if you're interested in a nightmarish little twisted world with heavy language to get lost in.

Thanks NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Finished this last night and needed to sleep on it. A bleak and haunting story, Weird with a capital W and incredibly moving. The tone shifts wildly throughout, funny and horrifying, sometimes in the same breath. I'm sure it's been comped to House of Leaves a million times over, and the comparison isn't wrong, necessarily. But this is a much tighter, much meaner story, really digging into the scabs and sores of life, pulling the protagonist apart and looking back at the reader explicitly and indifferently. Prose is great, some incredibly interesting choices being made, and I will be thinking about this book for a long time.

Many thanks to the publisher for this advance copy.