Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
We Spread
We Spread | Iain Reid
19 posts | 23 read | 15 to read
The author of the "evocative, spine-tingling, and razor-sharp" (Bustle) I'm Thinking of Ending Things that inspired the Netflix original movie returns with a mind-bending and chilling novel about the power of loneliness on a person's psyche. Penny, an artist, has lived in the same apartment for decades, surrounded by the artifacts and keepsakes of her long life. She is resigned to the mundane rituals of old age, until things start to slip. Before her longtime partner passed away years earlier, provisions were made, unbeknownst to her, for a room in a unique long-term care residence, where Penny finds herself after one too many "incidents." Initially, surrounded by peers, conversing, eating, sleeping, looking out at the beautiful woods that surround the house, all is well. She even begins to paint again. But as the days start to blur together, Penny--with a growing sense of unrest and distrust--starts to lose her grip on the passage of time and on her place in the world. Is she succumbing to the subtly destructive effects of aging, or is she an unknowing participant in something more unsettling? At once compassionate and uncanny, told in spare, hypnotic prose, Iain Reid's genre-defying third novel explores questions of conformity, art, productivity, relationships, and what, ultimately, it means to grow old.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
review
BookishTrish
We Spread | Iain Reid
post image
Pickpick

Is Penny a victim of an evil care home or simply getting older and doddery?

review
TamTracy
We Spread | Iain Reid
post image
Pickpick

This book explores aging in an unsettling but terrific way. The book reads a bit like a fever dream and it‘s unclear what to think and believe. The author does a phenomenal job making you really think and have compassion for the elderly. Highly recommend. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

review
she.hearts.horror
We Spread | Iain Reid
post image
Pickpick

I‘m still processing this one. 💀💀💀💀😝

review
Tamra
We Spread | Iain Reid
post image
Mehso-so

Engaging premise, but it went on far too long. It would have been a powerful short story or novella.

It did keep me mostly entertained while painting - one of my least favorite chores.

BarbaraBB Agree! I loved both his other books but this one was a bit less. 1y
Tamra @BarbaraBB I don‘t think I‘ve read anything else by him, I will need to check out his other work. This one was creative, just too long. 1y
BarbaraBB Foe and the tagged are great! 1y
Tamra @BarbaraBB oh yes, I read I‘m thinking of Ending things and liked it! 1y
43 likes4 comments
review
AmandaBlaze
We Spread | Iain Reid
post image
Pickpick

Penny is sent to a senior community after a fall proves to much for her to live alone. Strange things start to occur. Is it dementia or is something evil afoot? 4 stars
#20in4
@Andrew65

Andrew65 Excellent 👏👏👏 1y
30 likes1 comment
blurb
AmandaBlaze
We Spread | Iain Reid
post image

Reading We Spread while rewatching the original Leverage. I turned my fiance into a Leverage addict.
#20in4
@Andrew65

ShananigansReads That show is so good. I‘ve watched multiple times. 1y
Andrew65 Sounds good 😁 1y
28 likes2 comments
review
TheLudicReader
We Spread | Iain Reid
post image
Pickpick

Changed reading location today to finish this book. Like all Reid's books, this was pretty much unputdownable and also....what did I just read? Penny, by prearrangement, goes to live in a long term care facility, but things are super weird...or does she have dementia. Smart and also wtf? That's my son Connor in the background.

dabbe Hi, Connor! A handsome man indeed! 💙💚💙 1y
BarbaraBB Such a wonderful weird read again! And your son is 👌🏽 1y
ShelleyBooksie Beautiful cover. Hi Connor! 1y
43 likes2 stack adds3 comments
review
Robotswithpersonality
We Spread | Iain Reid
post image
Mehso-so

I think depending on how much you fear the aging process, death, this book will be more or less affecting, gripping. I've heard some glowing reviews, but it just didn't impact me the same way.
I suppose you could consider that denial, but as the decades pass I'd like to think I'm closer to quiet acceptance, than the false impression of immortality that youth holds. 1/2

Robotswithpersonality 2/2 I truly appreciate the sentiment this book seems to lead to, but for all that it was a quick read at under 300 pages, I can't help but feel the actual content/plot/themes are such that they could have been covered in a novella, even a short story. ⚠️ suicide 2y
7 likes1 comment
quote
Robotswithpersonality
We Spread | Iain Reid
post image

My new fave cat description. 🐈😸

4 likes1 stack add
review
Megabooks
We Spread | Iain Reid
post image
Pickpick

This is a wild horror book to read when you spend all day caring for your elderly parents! Seemed almost too real! 😱

Penny‘s partner has died, and she‘s living alone. Strange noises are coming from next door, too, not to mention the sketchy repairman… When she falls while changing a lightbulb, her landlord takes her to an assisted living home. But time seems to pass strangely there, and she thinks the staff may be up to no good…

BarbaraBB This is so weird: I read this book just a few months ago but I don‘t remember a thing based on your review! 👵🏼 2y
Megabooks @BarbaraBB lol! I hope I remember this because I liked it, but sometimes it just doesn‘t happen. 2y
BarbaraBB I liked it too but it doesn‘t ring a bell 🤦🏻‍♀️ 2y
See All 7 Comments
batsy Your opening paragraph has me interested (and scared, lol). Nice review! 2y
Megabooks @batsy thanks!! 😱 2y
Cinfhen 👍🏽💜 2y
84 likes2 stack adds7 comments
blurb
BoleyBooks
We Spread | Iain Reid
post image

Tackle the TBR 🤓📚
#boleybooks #wespread #lainreid #bookbeast #bookjoy #bookbuds
What are you reading? 😊

40 likes1 stack add
review
Rachiiebookdragon
We Spread | Iain Reid
Mehso-so

An odd but intriguing book.

Borrowed from the library.

Read for reading challenges.

4/5

review
alecia3dixie
We Spread | Iain Reid
post image
Panpan

So I think I ended up not liking this one as much because I worked in a memory care unit for a very long time. Actually being in the mind of the person with dementia was okay. But the way the author portrayed the owner and workers as tho they might be evil, didn't sit with me. Most of the time workers love patients like their own family and try to make them as comfortable as possible. I hope nobody thinks nursing homes are actually evil. 💔 2.5/5

review
BarbaraBB
We Spread | Iain Reid
post image
Pickpick

Penny is an elder woman, she starts forgetting things, has an aching knee, doesn‘t take care of herself very well. When she moves to Six Cedars, a small housing facility for the elder, all seems to go better for a while. Penny is a lovely unreliable narrator, does she forget things or is time playing tricks on her? And what about Shelley, who manages the place? A disturbing read about aging, typically Iain Reid.

Picture: Kronberg, Germany

Soubhiville Great setting! 2y
TrishB Great pic 👍🏻 2y
KarenUK Lovely! 😍 2y
See All 7 Comments
Megabooks Sounds interesting! 2y
LeahBergen What a gorgeous photo! 2y
batsy Love the photo and the book sounds very interesting. 2y
Cathythoughts Lovely pic. I have this one stacked already 👍🏻♥️ 2y
72 likes1 stack add7 comments
review
rmaclean4
We Spread | Iain Reid
post image
Pickpick

Wonderful creepy tale of old age and the value of a good death. Really enjoyed this fast paced horror novel.

Cathythoughts Sounds good .. stacking. 2y
BarbaraBB I am going to read this during Christmas break! 2y
rmaclean4 @BarbaraBB It is a super fast read. 2y
16 likes3 stack adds3 comments
review
MysticFaerie
We Spread | Iain Reid
post image
Pickpick

3.5⭐️/5⭐️

review
StaceyKondla
We Spread | Iain Reid
post image
Pickpick

I‘ve been shit about posting(it‘s been 2 years since I‘ve been in Litsy-eep😱) so I am going to try to do better. My most recent listen was WE SPREAD by Iain Reid. I love his sparse and sharp prose. While this novel has speculative, gothic, and thriller elements it is also a highly literary exploration of aging and dementia. Not a feel good read and I‘m still on the fence about the ending, but definitely worth reading. #readcanadian #gothic

Leftcoastzen Glad you are back !👍👏 2y
StaceyKondla Thank you @Leftcoastzen! I am happy to be back ❤️ 2y
wanderinglynn Welcome back! 2y
See All 9 Comments
IamIamIam Welcome back!!! Life happens, we get it! 🥰 2y
Bookwormjillk Welcome back! 2y
StaceyKondla Thank you @wanderinglynn , @lamlamlam , and @Bookwormjillk - I appreciate the welcome ❤️ 2y
kspenmoll So happy to see you back! 2y
StaceyKondla @kspenmoll thank you! I‘m so glad many of my fave Litsy people are still here 😊 It‘s nice to be in touch again! ❤️ 2y
kwmg40 Nice to see you back! 2y
50 likes9 comments
review
Mpcacher
We Spread | Iain Reid
post image
Pickpick

After reading all of this author's previous works, I will always be surprised by where he takes his craft. This short novel about an elderly woman in a small long term care residence who is becoming increasingly confused touched a chord with me. My mother died of Lewy Body dementia and through Reid's work I could better imagine what her 18 months was like. This is a wonderful, albeit confusing, story but I think that is the point. 4.5/5