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Tear
A reclamation of female rage and a horrifyingly deformed Bildungsroman.
Frances is quiet and reclusive, so much so that her upstairs roommates sometimes forget she exists. Isolated in the basement, and on the brink of graduating from university, Frances herself starts to question the realities of her own existence. She can't remember there being a lock on the door at the top of the basement stairs--and yet, when she turns the knob, the door won't open. She can't tell the difference between her childhood memories, which bloom like flowers in the dark basement, and her dreams. Worse still, she can't ignore the very real tapping sound now coming--insistently, violently--threatening to break through her bedroom wall.
With the thematic considerations of Mary Shelley and Shirley Jackson's work, and in the style of Herta Müller and Daisy Johnson, Tear is both a horrifyingly deformed Bildungsroman and a bristling reclamation of female rage. Blurring the real and the imagined, this lyric debut novel unflinchingly engages with contemporary feminist issues and explores the detrimental effects of false narratives, gaslighting, and manipulation on young women.
Frances is quiet and reclusive, so much so that her upstairs roommates sometimes forget she exists. Isolated in the basement, and on the brink of graduating from university, Frances herself starts to question the realities of her own existence. She can't remember there being a lock on the door at the top of the basement stairs--and yet, when she turns the knob, the door won't open. She can't tell the difference between her childhood memories, which bloom like flowers in the dark basement, and her dreams. Worse still, she can't ignore the very real tapping sound now coming--insistently, violently--threatening to break through her bedroom wall.
With the thematic considerations of Mary Shelley and Shirley Jackson's work, and in the style of Herta Müller and Daisy Johnson, Tear is both a horrifyingly deformed Bildungsroman and a bristling reclamation of female rage. Blurring the real and the imagined, this lyric debut novel unflinchingly engages with contemporary feminist issues and explores the detrimental effects of false narratives, gaslighting, and manipulation on young women.
304 pages, Paperback
First published September 6, 2022
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1,871 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
September 22, 2022
I’m the author, so I highly recommend this book.
May 3, 2024
Everyone read this NOW
Vlog--
Vlog--
November 14, 2022
The first part of the novel was claustrophobic and creepy. Good by me. I thought the second part was a good setup for what the rest of the book could have been. But for me, it ultimately became too scattered in its ideas to really tie together into a cohesive theme or message. And the story itself while original and often intriguing didn't feel complete. There were many times I thought the story might be headed in a direction based on Francis' childhood experiences or the plot threads being added, but it didn't. It's not that events in the first parts of the book and the third part were unrelated, they certainly weren't. But after reading I wondered why we got so much specific and gripping detail about Francis' childhood while not much of it was applicable later. The middle section also had a few perspectives which were added and then entirely dropped out of nowhere. So in sum, this was an engaging read, but for me there were too many dropped plot threads and lack of cohesive theme for me to give it a higher rating.
November 17, 2022
will never stay in a basement ever ever ever, thanks erica mckeen!
September 25, 2022
I can definitively say the title is pronounced "Tear" and not "Tear".
This book made my skin crawl and drained the blood from my face: everything I wanted. What a stellar debut horror novel! A gurgling, curdling, wail of rage–a missile orbiting a blackhole–made that much more poignant by flashing back to a childhood that just might feel eerily familiar. The words Erica writes are so masterfully vivid it's as if I read fully illustrated sentences. Lonely, uncomfortable, and cold until a spark flies and ignites the gasoline you didn't even realize the book had been soaked in from the beginning. Fans of Shirley Jackson, Mary Shelley, and Junji Ito should immediately check this one out... IF THEY DARE!
This book made my skin crawl and drained the blood from my face: everything I wanted. What a stellar debut horror novel! A gurgling, curdling, wail of rage–a missile orbiting a blackhole–made that much more poignant by flashing back to a childhood that just might feel eerily familiar. The words Erica writes are so masterfully vivid it's as if I read fully illustrated sentences. Lonely, uncomfortable, and cold until a spark flies and ignites the gasoline you didn't even realize the book had been soaked in from the beginning. Fans of Shirley Jackson, Mary Shelley, and Junji Ito should immediately check this one out... IF THEY DARE!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 2, 2023
McKeen created a very atmospheric, soul dissolving story. Tear is dark, tear is visceral, tear is budding with discomfort and repression.
I did enjoy McKeen's writing style- so detailed and subconscious. However, at times I found Tear to drag on a bit and by the end I found myself ready to come to a close.
Overall this was an intriguing indie read that definitely didn't help my depressive state.
// 3.5 rounded up
I did enjoy McKeen's writing style- so detailed and subconscious. However, at times I found Tear to drag on a bit and by the end I found myself ready to come to a close.
Overall this was an intriguing indie read that definitely didn't help my depressive state.
// 3.5 rounded up
May 30, 2024
"How can you wake yourself from dreaming? thought the monster. It's as difficult as dying."
September 14, 2022
First off, I want to say I am honoured to have had the privilege of being taught by the author of this novel in my first year English literature courses. It brought me great joy and excitement when I found out she was writing her own story.
‘Tear� is a book I have never read before. It’s not at all like books you would expect in the modern day by modern authors such as Elin Hilderbrand (not to insult her work). This is a work of art - one that I’d expect to be studied in a class just like the one McKeen taught. It promotes intense thought and leaves the reader with many questions - questions that they have to answer themselves. ‘Tear� is definitely a novel that requires a second read to pick up on narrative clues, symbols and motifs that provide the reader enough to develop their own answers.
Horror, in this novel, is not what you expect. It is gory as it is sexual; haunting as it is beautiful. This horror is organic—breathing and living within every character. The story is broken up into three parts - each being completely different from one another. McKeen uses these parts as novellas that tell different stories that connect to eachother harmoniously. It is episodic but flashes back to old moments with callbacks to something that someone said thoughtlessly before and now holds great meaning. These moments don’t happen too often, but when they do it causes a lightbulb to go off and the threads of the narrative become complete.
This is definitely one of my top reads of the year. Congrats to Erica for crafting a stunning debut.
5/5.
‘Tear� is a book I have never read before. It’s not at all like books you would expect in the modern day by modern authors such as Elin Hilderbrand (not to insult her work). This is a work of art - one that I’d expect to be studied in a class just like the one McKeen taught. It promotes intense thought and leaves the reader with many questions - questions that they have to answer themselves. ‘Tear� is definitely a novel that requires a second read to pick up on narrative clues, symbols and motifs that provide the reader enough to develop their own answers.
Horror, in this novel, is not what you expect. It is gory as it is sexual; haunting as it is beautiful. This horror is organic—breathing and living within every character. The story is broken up into three parts - each being completely different from one another. McKeen uses these parts as novellas that tell different stories that connect to eachother harmoniously. It is episodic but flashes back to old moments with callbacks to something that someone said thoughtlessly before and now holds great meaning. These moments don’t happen too often, but when they do it causes a lightbulb to go off and the threads of the narrative become complete.
This is definitely one of my top reads of the year. Congrats to Erica for crafting a stunning debut.
5/5.
September 14, 2023
This story gripped me from the beginning. The imagery conjures up scenes from movies like Ring (or the American equivalent, The Ring). As I read this, I often found myself wondering- is this a nightmare I’ve had before? There is a lot of rage packed into each description of various creepy things. I felt like I could smell that basement.
I also found myself thinking back on a book I haven’t read in a long time, The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood. There are some comparable themes here I think.
Give it a 5/5 because it was complex, weird, and sometimes funny. An excellent read as we head into the spooky season, or for anyone who likes to be a little scared.
I also found myself thinking back on a book I haven’t read in a long time, The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood. There are some comparable themes here I think.
Give it a 5/5 because it was complex, weird, and sometimes funny. An excellent read as we head into the spooky season, or for anyone who likes to be a little scared.
September 24, 2022
I'll need to read this at least once more to pick up on everything McKeen has incorporated in this. You can tell someone who taught literature for a while wrote this, and I mean that in the best possible way. The three part structure with completely different POV characters and completely separate events was a really interesting approach to slow, creeping horror, and I really enjoyed this book.
April 30, 2023
Sadly, this just wasn’t my kind of book. It started out super intriguing. Great world-building. But as the supernatural and horror elements came in, it just start to lose me. I can acknowledge that, for its audience, all of that was probably great. And I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up McKeen’s next book.
July 18, 2024
gorgeous, stunning, disgusting
the writing was 10/10
the writing was 10/10
May 29, 2023
|| TEAR ||
#gifted/@invisibooks
✍�
A dark, gritty, macabre, I couldn't put this down!
Now horror is not a genre I reach for often but this was my kind of horror! Influenced by Frankenstein, TEAR originally caught my attention because of the fantastic cover, labeled a horrifying bildungsroman, a reclamation of female rage. Sign me up! McKeen's evocative prose immediately crept underneath my skin. This is unsettling and disturbing. Written in three parts, with flash backs to Frances's childhood it kept getting more surreal and metaphorical. The lines of real and unreal blurring. Themes of trauma, memory, mental illness, female rage, femininity, and monstrosity crawling out of the pages. If you enjoy a slow burn horror like The Haunting of Hill House or The Yellow Wallpaper definitely pick this up!
For more of my book content check out
#gifted/@invisibooks
✍�
A dark, gritty, macabre, I couldn't put this down!
Now horror is not a genre I reach for often but this was my kind of horror! Influenced by Frankenstein, TEAR originally caught my attention because of the fantastic cover, labeled a horrifying bildungsroman, a reclamation of female rage. Sign me up! McKeen's evocative prose immediately crept underneath my skin. This is unsettling and disturbing. Written in three parts, with flash backs to Frances's childhood it kept getting more surreal and metaphorical. The lines of real and unreal blurring. Themes of trauma, memory, mental illness, female rage, femininity, and monstrosity crawling out of the pages. If you enjoy a slow burn horror like The Haunting of Hill House or The Yellow Wallpaper definitely pick this up!
For more of my book content check out
July 30, 2024
In the beginning, why didn’t she just break the basement window and climb out to safety? 1 Star ⭐️!
August 20, 2023
Came for the pans labyrinth vibes and got out-pans labyrinthed!! In a very real way I absolutely never knew where this book was going next, which was sometimes a delight and sometimes a horror. Big body horror warning and I mean BIG. I think if we zoom way out this novel is a metaphor for the oft-violent process of becoming a person when you’re a girl � all the ways you shape yourself on purpose or by accident, and all the ways the world shapes you, too, whether gently or harshly. But if we zoom right in we can see this book was Not Really For Me and that’s ok!!!
December 15, 2022
You had me at feminist surrealism/horror. Knowing London and having walked in those same streets just made this 100x creepier (if even possible). I loved this and enjoyed how fleshed out Frances� backstory was. The overall descriptions were so vivid and I was racing to finish this book! Can’t recommend enough and I will definitely be looking out for more of the author’s works.
FYI: for lovers of Mona Awad’s Bunny, read this!
FYI: for lovers of Mona Awad’s Bunny, read this!
September 14, 2023
Made me feel physically unwell I loved it
July 21, 2024
I loved the writing in this book. Loved the voice. Loved the atmosphere. Absolutely great. But this was not a five star book for me because ultimately I didn't really know what was going on the whole time. I assume there is a lot of symbolism that I just missed because I am pretty much blind to symbolism so the overall story is basically nonsense to me. But I loved reading it! Fun nonsense.
April 4, 2023
This is how you write a horror novel. I’ve been in a reading slump for months, and I devoured this novel. The last section is certainly strange, but fleshes out the metaphor for lost innocence. Incredible read!
June 29, 2022
I was super fortunate to receive an ARC of Tear for a blurb. Here’s what I thought of this amazing debut:
“Is Frances James sleeping or dead? Is she trapped in one of her grandfather’s macabre stories? Did her childhood best friend imagine her into existence? McKeen’s debut is a story about stories: a scratching sound emanates from the walls, doors are suddenly and unexpectedly locked, a tree grows around a baby rabbit’s skull, and a young woman wiggles her toes to remind herself that she is real. Tear is a startling novel about monstrosity, femininity, and embodiment that leaves us with the impression that the most uncanny spaces—and the ones we should be most frightened of—are the homes we live within. With Tear, McKeen shows a unique and striking voice that will haunt readers long after they’ve turned the last page.�
“Is Frances James sleeping or dead? Is she trapped in one of her grandfather’s macabre stories? Did her childhood best friend imagine her into existence? McKeen’s debut is a story about stories: a scratching sound emanates from the walls, doors are suddenly and unexpectedly locked, a tree grows around a baby rabbit’s skull, and a young woman wiggles her toes to remind herself that she is real. Tear is a startling novel about monstrosity, femininity, and embodiment that leaves us with the impression that the most uncanny spaces—and the ones we should be most frightened of—are the homes we live within. With Tear, McKeen shows a unique and striking voice that will haunt readers long after they’ve turned the last page.�
March 31, 2023
The first two parts of the book definitely had me hooked but unfortunately I found it harder to get through part 3 (the monsters POV). The author did a great job of creating a chilling and spooky tone.
February 7, 2024
It took me so long to read this because I had such a hard time getting into it. Ultimately I would describe it as Lady Frankenstein’s feminist rage. But the Frankenstein, feminism and rage doesn’t manifest until the last 1/4 of the book. The first 3/4 is a tedious lesson in patience as someone’s psyche slowly deteriorates. Give this a pass.
2024 reading challenge- a book by an author from Canada, Australia, or New Zealand (Canada)
2024 reading challenge- a book by an author from Canada, Australia, or New Zealand (Canada)
September 27, 2023
Haunting and incredibly sad. Surprising how real it felt considering the nature of the story. The author has a talent for characterization. I wish GR had fraction ratings because it's better than a 4, great debut
November 15, 2022
Strong evocative prose. Was lucky to receive an ARC from the publisher! Definitely recommend reading.
October 26, 2022
oh my god. this book will forever live in my head. there will not be a day that passes that i don’t think about this book. holy shit.
August 6, 2024
Tear as in “to rip,� by the way.
I’m extremely on the fence about this book. How do you process your feelings after experiencing an unsatisfying death reveal? Is it about looking for hints along the way? Or analyzing those who occupied spaces they should have never entered? (This is a play on the author’s prose. If you read this, expect a TON OF EXPOSITION and LOTS OF FILLER QUESTIONS FOR THE READER.)
In a very interesting and well-thought-out reimagining of Frankenstein's monster, we see Frances as a victim in all senses. Erica brilliantly develops male caregivers who seem harmless on the surface but ultimately lead Frances to her downfall. The women in this book are unhinged and raw, taking active parts in each other's lives while being painted as villains for merely expressing feelings.
The boy best friend is the most interesting of all. Jasper deserved everything he got and none of it at all. His final encounter with what we now know is a very real monster is graphic and intense, lashing out all the stress and anger passed on from Frances to the monster. We know Frances would have never attempted anything the monster did, yet as the monster’s target, he manipulated her thoughts and beliefs and projected them as evil. As the monster fits more and more into society, we notice him taking advantage of Frances and her life, becoming more like her father and grandfather.
This book is so slow for the first 100 pages. I don’t think the writing was for me, and the exposition setup could have taken 50 pages less. This book is a classic example of trying to do more and achieving less. However, I would recommend it just for the ride and the reveals in parts 2 and 3.
I’m extremely on the fence about this book. How do you process your feelings after experiencing an unsatisfying death reveal? Is it about looking for hints along the way? Or analyzing those who occupied spaces they should have never entered? (This is a play on the author’s prose. If you read this, expect a TON OF EXPOSITION and LOTS OF FILLER QUESTIONS FOR THE READER.)
In a very interesting and well-thought-out reimagining of Frankenstein's monster, we see Frances as a victim in all senses. Erica brilliantly develops male caregivers who seem harmless on the surface but ultimately lead Frances to her downfall. The women in this book are unhinged and raw, taking active parts in each other's lives while being painted as villains for merely expressing feelings.
The boy best friend is the most interesting of all. Jasper deserved everything he got and none of it at all. His final encounter with what we now know is a very real monster is graphic and intense, lashing out all the stress and anger passed on from Frances to the monster. We know Frances would have never attempted anything the monster did, yet as the monster’s target, he manipulated her thoughts and beliefs and projected them as evil. As the monster fits more and more into society, we notice him taking advantage of Frances and her life, becoming more like her father and grandfather.
This book is so slow for the first 100 pages. I don’t think the writing was for me, and the exposition setup could have taken 50 pages less. This book is a classic example of trying to do more and achieving less. However, I would recommend it just for the ride and the reveals in parts 2 and 3.
February 24, 2024
I really felt this one.
I’ve spent most of my life in London, Ontario, where the novel takes place. When I studied at Western University, I felt stuck in a basement too. I’ve slept in that house, kicked rocks in that playground, kissed under that tree. Literally, in some cases. And Tear twists these familiar places into backdrops for the despair and frustration that bubble up in any person who lives a normal little life in a mid-sized Canadian city but still feels a bit strange.
I think a lot of people all over the world would appreciate this beautifully-written novel though. It’s described as “female rage� in the blurbs, but I think it’s more than that. It’s a deep dive into the psyche of a person who is female, and whose gender shapes their experiences, sure, but like I said, I related to most of it, and I’m a dude.
It also works as a straightforward spooky story. There are bits and pieces of Frankenstein, The Yellow Wallpaper, Pan’s Labyrinth, and Gerald’s Game, but it’s very much its own thing.
Awesome book. I look forward to Erica McKeen’s next one.
I’ve spent most of my life in London, Ontario, where the novel takes place. When I studied at Western University, I felt stuck in a basement too. I’ve slept in that house, kicked rocks in that playground, kissed under that tree. Literally, in some cases. And Tear twists these familiar places into backdrops for the despair and frustration that bubble up in any person who lives a normal little life in a mid-sized Canadian city but still feels a bit strange.
I think a lot of people all over the world would appreciate this beautifully-written novel though. It’s described as “female rage� in the blurbs, but I think it’s more than that. It’s a deep dive into the psyche of a person who is female, and whose gender shapes their experiences, sure, but like I said, I related to most of it, and I’m a dude.
It also works as a straightforward spooky story. There are bits and pieces of Frankenstein, The Yellow Wallpaper, Pan’s Labyrinth, and Gerald’s Game, but it’s very much its own thing.
Awesome book. I look forward to Erica McKeen’s next one.
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