my heart is a chainsaw by stephen graham jones

(These essays are interspersed between proper chapters of the read.) Proofrock is being gentrified by wealthy outsiders who have brought yachts and fancy homes to the side of the lake (called Indian Lake, natch) directly opposite the town, a new quasi-gated community that has been dubbed “Terra Nova” (which, of course, means “New World”). Jade Daniels is a half-Indian (the book doesn’t cop to “political correctness” much, despite its authorship), 17-year-old girl who is infatuated with slasher movies, so much so that she writes essays about them for extra credit so she can pass her History class to graduate from high school.

The book - like many titles in this pandemic era - is set in the recent past of the year 2015 in the idyllic town of Proofrock, Idaho. However, slasher films are not known for their quality, and, sadly, despite some promise, My Heart Is a Chainsaw is a book that runs only on a quarter of a tank of gas. In fact, this book has so many blink-and-you’ll-miss-them references to slasher movies both well-known and obscure that spotting them all is part of the fun. The book is one big sopping love letter to all of the Michael Myers, Jason Voorheeses, Freddy Kruegers, and Ghostfaces that populate the big screen.

However, what My Heart Is a Chainsaw is concerned with is that subgenre of horror films known as the slasher flick. For one, it has an Indigenous protagonist, and, in its way, it is a book about what happens when you mess with the spirits of those among whom have lived on this land long before the First Contact (but I hope I’m not saying too much here). I couldn’t help but think of Poltergeist as I read Indigenous author Stephen Graham Jones’ new novel, My Heart Is a Chainsaw. That’s a movie that warns about the dangers of building your home on top of a Native American graveyard. When I think of Indigenous horror, my thoughts turn to the original 1982 version of Poltergeist.

My heart is a chainsaw by stephen graham jones