I often find novels written in the present tense to be a bit gimmicky (like the author is trying too hard to make it feel immediate). I also don't always like horror that relies heavily on Christian symbolism (I can appreciate The Exorcist, but I prefer it when authors create new ideas to terrify us rather than riffing on centuries' old preexisting material). Yet somehow I really loved The Cabin at the End of the World, which probably says a lot about Tremblay's skills as an author.
In fact, I think what works best about the novel is Tremblay's writing and attention to characters. I feel like I got to know each of the main characters, especially Wen, Leonard, Andrew, and Eric, mostly through their responses to this bizarre scenario and plenty of flashbacks that didn't detract from the momentum of the story. It's no surprise to me that Stephen King blurbed this one as a fellow author who excels at characterization amidst unusual events.
We meet Wen, a young girl catching grasshoppers near the cabin where she's on vacation with her dads. A large, seemingly gentle man emerges from the forest and tells her he needs to get to know here and her parents. Eventually he and three others, armed with bizarre makeshift weapons, tell the family that they must save the world through an impossible choice. I'll leave it there to avoid spoilers, but I will say that the plot is engrossing throughout and keeps the reader guessing. My only complaint is that I was hoping for a little more backstory of Leonard and friends before they made this unusual journey, but that's a minor complaint and on second thought maybe would have slowed down the novel too much.
As for the Christian symbolism, it's so obvious to the reader and to the characters that it's not even fun to point out, but I will say it comes right out of the Book of Revelations. This may seem gimmicky to some readers, but I think Tremblay's subtlety is that the awareness of this symbolism itself plays into the inherent ambiguity of what really happens. Is the strangers' story really real? Are they targeting an innocent family to save the world, or is it random or for homophobic reasons? How does this play into questions about prophecy, religious experience, and questions about critical thinking and epistemology? Do the characters know what happened? Is it possible for the characters or the reader to know?
How does the novel compare to the film version (Knock at the Cabin), directed by M. Night Shyamalan, which I saw before reading the novel? For the first 3/4ths of the book, the film follows the novel more-or-less faithfully, and both do keep you guessing and engrossed. There are a few huge changes at the end of the film that I won't spoil, but I will say that the ending of the film is far less ambiguous. Also, I really loved Dave Bautista as Leonard (even though Leonard is described as much younger and with more hair than Bautista, it was hard not to think of his performance as I read the novel).
So, while I do recommend the film, I think I recommend the novel more. But then again, the book is almost always better. In any case, I'll be sure to check out more of Tremblay's work in the future. If we have one.
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