Despite issues that prevent the story from being the best it could be, it is a whirlwind of a book worth reading. It is gruesome, beautiful, cringeworthy, intoxicating. However, even when things get messy, Morgan’s writing is vibrant and hypnotic until the last sentence.Ī Touch of Jen is an inventive and immersive novel that plays with common horror tropes in a unique, twisted way. The buildup to the horror could have been stronger and there could have been less reliance on allegory. When we get to the climax, there are sudden cosmic events that take over and drown the story. There are atypical horror elements involving a nuanced, gruesome take on the dangers of consuming social media. Morgan does well to build tension, creating a mindset of “what’s going to happen next” throughout the book.
While the drama and comedy portions are strong, what I struggled with was the horror aspect of the novel. Several times I found myself laughing out loud in the most uncomfortable places. The events that take place, and the way Morgan illustrates them, are ridiculous. Jen invites Remy and Alicia to join her, Horus and a gaggle of other friends on a surfing trip to the Hamptons, where chaos painfully progresses, leading up to a horrific, Lovecraftian climax.Ī Touch of Jen can be classified as a horror dramedy. Much to Remy’s dismay, Jen is dating a wealthy man named Horus who has a painfully ironic lack of self-awareness. You can describe Jen as an Instagram Influencer who makes jewelry and travels so much she screams trust fund baby. Remy and Alicia are a millennial couple with bills, debt, and an unhealthy obsession of a woman named Jen. As I started reading the first page, A Touch of Jen sucked me and, two days and 300 pages later, mercilessly spat me back out. Just the beginning sentence, “Remy and Alicia, a couple of insecure service workers, are not particularly happy together” was intriguing. I briefly skimmed through the synopsis because I just wanted to see whether this was worth getting into. Of course, a great cover can only get so far until you have to read the actual book. I don’t know why – maybe some of you color theorists out there can help me out – but pink always grabs my attention.
I, like many, am drawn to unique book covers, especially when they’re pink.
Last week, I picked up Beth Morgan’s debut novel A Touch of Jen from the library last week. This year things began looking up, and my bank account stopped crying, when libraries reopened and I didn’t have to succumb to buying every book I was interested in.
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