Coup de Grace

People read for all sorts of reasons. I read to escape and have fun, my preference is for high action and laughs, but I understand that some people like to be challenged by their reading. This could be a complex Space Opera, or a piece of literature that tackles the life of a downtrodden mother in 1920s London. Coup de Grace by Sofia Ajram is a novelette that uses the Urban Fantasy genre to explore the concept of attempted suicide. 

Vicken is on his last train journey. The destination is a river that he can throw himself into and end his life. The depression has gotten the best of him in recent times and even a dalliance with a handsome stranger is not enough for him to change his mind. On stepping off the train, Vicken does not find himself at the river, but instead at an ‘other’ place. A place of twisting corridors and bizarre locations. And more importantly, no way out. 

To suggest that Coup has a story is a little much. Instead, this is a mood piece. An internal examination of what it takes for someone to consider suicide. Rather than writing a pure work of literacy, Ajram has chosen to explore it via Urban Fantasy. Where is Vicken? Is it a Limbo between life and death? It has that ethereal feel to it, Vicken never understands where they are and when they meet other characters, they seem just as confused. 

For me, this makes for a complex book. I am a simple reader and like a nice hook and there is none to find here. There is somewhat of a story around the 100-page mark, but as the book is only 136 pages long, it is a lot of preamble and not much tale. When you get to where Vicken is doing something, it turns into a novelty, choose your own adventure story. It is as if Ajram is being deliberately provocative.  

The subject matter will chime with some readers more than others. There is a meaty trigger warning at the start of the book, and this should be noted. Themes of depression and suicide will have a significant impact on some readers, they should be warned before reading this book. Will the book help them? I am unsure of even this as I could not gather what was happening. I was unable to comprehend if the ending was hopeful or not. The choose your own element certainly did not help here. 

What is Coup de Grace? An experimental novel, an introspective tale about one person. If you are a reader who enjoys a character that internalises their thoughts, there is a lot here. There is little story, it is more character study of one person. There will be readers who enjoy exploring their inner monologues through the prism of others, but I am not that reader, and this was not the book to change that in me. I found it a short story that did not make the most sense.