I Was A Teenage Slasher By Stephen Graham Jones
A Different Slasher Story
Stephen Graham Jones, the author of the Indian Lake slasher trilogy, tackles the genre from a different angle in his latest novel. This time, he’s writing from the perspective of the killer.
Awkward misfit Tolly is just trying to survive his teenage years in ’80s West Texas. His dad passed away recently and he has few friends. Tolly’s humdrum existence is turned upside down after a bizarre incident at a pool party.
After getting infected by an undead maniac (a former classmates of his), he gradually transforms into a slasher villain. In the world of this novel, people become slashers in much the same way as people turn into zombies.
Tolly gains numerous supernatural powers, including incredible endurance, special vision, superhuman strength, and the ability to open locked doors without a key.
He embarks on an extremely brutal rampage against a group of classmates who played a cruel prank on him. His main weapon is a belt, which he uses to strangle his victims.
Tolly narrates the novel from 2006, 17 years after his rampage. His specific reasons for telling this story, and what his life is like in ’06 as a thirtysomething adult, are kept hidden until the final pages.
The first third of the novel felt a bit slow to me. There is lots of build up and foreshadowing before we start getting any payoff. Once Tolly gets going, though, there’s no stopping him.
Jones takes a nostalgic look at what it was like to be a teenager in the West Texas of 1989, a time and place that he plucked from his own past. I’ve never been to Texas, and wasn’t a teenager in the ’80s, but I’ve heard from others that Jones was able to recapture this era and location well.
Jones is Good at Analyzing Slasher Tropes
This novel features some truly graphic and disturbing kills. Jones is particularly interested in describing Tolly’s sadistic treatment of his female victims. This is perhaps a commentary on the misogyny charges that critics leveled at ’80s slashers.
The detailed and realistic depictions of victims struggling and suffering as Tolly chokes them to death are some of the sickest stuff I’ve ever read, right up there with Stephen King’s nastiest work. If you don’t want to be genuinely disturbed, don’t read this book.
Tolly knows that every slasher has a final girl who has the power to defeat him. He believes that one of his classmates, Mel, has taken on this role. Like him, she seems to be evolving to conform with the trope that she represents.
Tolly is best friends with Amber, who is the only Native at their school. Their relationship is the heart of the story. Amber tries to help Tolly, but can anyone or anything truly stop a slasher?
Jones does a great job depicting a genuinely platonic guy/girl friendship. This type of relationship is not depicted often in fiction. The characters almost always end up falling for each other. Tolly and Amber give the novel an emotional resonance that distinguishes it from most slashers.
The story climaxes with a fitting, albeit predictable, twist involving the true identity of Tolly’s final girl. Jones is skilled at writing bittersweet, emotionally moving conclusions. I Was a Teenage Slasher is no exception.
Jones’s Unorthodox Style May Put Some Readers Off
Jones is known for his unusual and informal writing style. He’s like a guy who’s sitting around a campfire telling tales to his buddies. His characters’ minds often go on tangents, taking the narration through unusual detours.
My first Jones novel was My Heart is a Chainsaw, which is well-known for being difficult to read. It’s filled with rambling run-on sentences and oblique references to obscure slasher movies. However, its fantastic characters, intriguing plot, unique setting, and resonant themes make it well worth the effort. I Was a Teenage Slasher is relatively easy to read by comparison.
Storytellers don’t necessarily want or need to obey conventional grammatical conventions. Jones is the type of writer who can break the rules of what’s normally considered “good” writing and get away with it. He knows what he’s doing.
I Was a Teenager Slasher is funny, sad, and disturbing, sometimes all at once! This is the best-written of the Jones books that I’ve read. It’s easier to read than the Indian Lake trilogy (which I also loved) and exceptionally innovative.
Rating
I Was a Teenage Slasher somehow manages to wring freshness from the old slasher formula, proving that there’s still life left in this well-worn subgenre.
Rating from 1 (avoid at all costs) to 10 (masterpiece): 9
