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  • My Heart Is a Chainsaw

  • Written by: Stephen Graham Jones
  • Narrated by: Cara Gee
  • Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (61 ratings)

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My Heart Is a Chainsaw

Written by: Stephen Graham Jones
Narrated by: Cara Gee
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Publisher's Summary

Winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel

In her quickly gentrifying rural lake town Jade sees recent events only her encyclopedic knowledge of horror films could have prepared her for in this latest chilling novel that “will give you nightmares. The good kind, of course” (BuzzFeed) from the Jordan Peele of horror literature, Stephen Graham Jones.

“Some girls just don’t know how to die…”

Shirley Jackson meets Friday the 13th in My Heart Is a Chainsaw, written by the New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians Stephen Graham Jones, called “a literary master” by National Book Award winner Tananarive Due and “one of our most talented living writers” by Tommy Orange.

Alma Katsu calls My Heart Is a Chainsaw “a homage to slasher films that also manages to defy and transcend genre.” On the surface is a story of murder in small-town America. But beneath is its beating heart: a biting critique of American colonialism, Indigenous displacement, and gentrification, and a heartbreaking portrait of a broken young girl who uses horror movies to cope with the horror of her own life.

Jade Daniels is an angry, half-Indian outcast with an abusive father, an absent mother, and an entire town that wants nothing to do with her. She lives in her own world, a world in which protection comes from an unusual source: horror movies…especially the ones where a masked killer seeks revenge on a world that wronged them. And Jade narrates the quirky history of Proofrock as if it is one of those movies. But when blood actually starts to spill into the waters of Indian Lake, she pulls us into her dizzying, encyclopedic mind of blood and masked murderers, and predicts exactly how the plot will unfold.

Yet, even as Jade drags us into her dark fever dream, a surprising and intimate portrait emerges…a portrait of the scared and traumatized little girl beneath the Jason Voorhees mask: angry, yes, but also a girl who easily cries, fiercely loves, and desperately wants a home. A girl whose feelings are too big for her body. My Heart Is a Chainsaw is her story, her homage to horror and revenge and triumph.

©2021 Stephen Graham Jones. All rights reserved. (P)2021 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

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What listeners say about My Heart Is a Chainsaw

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Great.

This is a beautifully written book. Dealing with a number of horrors with haunting perfection. Perfect narrator.

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Love, love , love it.

Absolutely Phenomenal. Loved the narrators voice. The book itself was descriptive in the best way. I followed along with the hard copy, and I was able to really submerge myself in. Can't wait to read the second one.

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  • Lar
  • 2023-09-11

No neat little bow

If you need a neat little bow on a story, you’ll be disappointed, but if you like messy bows then you’ll love this. The story drags you along for the ride and the narration is perfect.

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How Does He Do This?

My Heart Is a Chainsaw has received some negative reviews here, and I can understand why. This is a difficult story for most reviewers to relate to, and many will find the protagonist unappealing. There is such a strong vision behind Stephen Graham Jones’s writing that he succeeds where others could not. He creates in Jade a genuinely unique character, one that I found irresistible. Perhaps she is one of those whom you will either love or hate, but you will, nevertheless, recognise in her someone who’s story deserves to be told.
Again, this is a work of horror fiction, both gory and psychologically chilling. At the same time, one can't help but laugh at Jade’s unwavering attempts to hook someone, anyone, into her obsession with the “Slasher” genre of filmmaking, of which she has encyclopedic knowledge.
Kudos once again to Jones. The ability of a male author approaching midlife to so fully inhabit the character of a quirky teenage girl indicates his skill and formidable talent.

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Another Great Horror Story

I really liked this book. I love h
Stephen's writing style. I had read some not great reviews about it but because I loved his first book, I decided to try it myself. The writing is beautiful - the women who read it could not have been more perfect for the reading. It's really good and also has the ability to make you feel things, which is rare in a horror story. I'd definitely recommend reading this and can't wait until Stephen's new book. The title is kinda goofy until you realize what it means towards the end of the book.

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What did.I just read

This book had me excited to get and read since it was slasher films. But was just not for me The ending was a disappointment, what the heck , why and where did she even come from ..was this just thrown together and written in a rush? Was lost for the most part of it . I also didn’t like the main character she was quite annoying and very obsessive which I didn’t exactly like..but this book was just a big flop for me.

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