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Book Review: Jen Archer Wood’s Point Pleasant

41fB6Dc3e5LThere’s something in the woods…

I did not expect to become so emotionally attached to a novel whose preliminary synopsis deals with a supposed winged creature that haunts the forests of a small town in West Virginia. If you’re reading a review on a horror related website such as this, then obviously you’re well aware of the legendary Mothman. The Mothman, though he resembles a humanoid bat with glowing red eyes more than an actual moth, was first sighted in November 1966. A little over a year later the sightings recommenced in higher frequency up until the December 1967 Silver Bridge Collapse which claimed the lives of 46 motorists. Sightings are still reported to this day, even though they are far less frequent and are rarely any kind of front page news; so most people will get their knowledge from 2002’s semi-successful feature film The Mothman Prophecies.

Jen Archer Wood’s Point Pleasant takes place in the real life town in West Virginia where it all went down. Much like the town of Burkettsville, Maryland post The Blair Witch Project, the residents of Point Pleasant maintain their normal, tight knit community lives while dodging the topics of their tragic bridge collapse and their more infamous town mascot. An ever present police force, a thriving town newspaper, a bakery, a diner, a psychic’s den – Point Pleasant isn’t a place for gawking, to them it’s home. Point Pleasant is also Ben Wisehart’s home town and a city he thought he’d never see again. A heart-breaking decision sent him up north to Boston where he started a very lucrative and successful career as a horror fiction writer. Ben’s in need of subject material for his next novel and thinks the mystery of The Mothman is the perfect story for his readers… and his childhood encounter with the cryptid packs an extra emotional punch.

Upon returning home, he begins to mend relationships with his family and friends while also making enemies with a few of the more shadier residents of Point Pleasant. All Ben needs is information, the foundation for a full fledged story, but the town’s sheriff isn’t to keen on him poking around the library archives in regards to their biggest hush hush secret. Sheriff Nolan isn’t the typical shady sheriff, though, he’s actually Ben’s childhood best friend and a lover he’s pined after even over a decade since they last met. Before the pair can reconcile, The Mothman comes out to play again with a series of frightening appearances around town. Panic sets into Point Pleasant, resulting in a curfew being set to keep anyone from being prematurely carried away by the creature. This is too good a coincidence for Ben. Not only is it the perfect plot for his next book, but it eventually gives him a deeper quest: not only is he going to uncover the mystery of the Mothman… he’s going to kill it. Through a series of twists and turns, Ben learns that this is going to be a much more difficult and life threatening adventure than he thought.

Although The Mothman is the overlying antagonist in Jen Archer Wood’s Point Pleasant, I think that inner struggle is the even bigger villain. From the very beginning Ben Wisehart is being pulled in two different directions: fix his relationship with his father, or leave it alone; keep hunting for clues, or give up the idea; stay in Boston, or move back to Point Pleasant; open himself to love again, or remain alone and hollow; find his faith again, or believe only in facts. I really wanted to give Ben a big hug during my reading of Point Pleasant because his inner turmoil and inner workings are extremely well written and so eloquently put on the pages of this book. It’s almost as if I knew Ben already as a friend going into my reading and his time in Point Pleasant was a reflection in a journal of his that I found. He’s so broody and moody and charming and strong all at the same time. He keeps people at arm’s length and has a semi-different relationship and persona with almost everyone he comes in contact with. Mostly, Ben is afraid to become attached to people, to love in any form, and I think that’s an obstacle and a theme we can all relate to. How do you repair what’s been broken for so many years?

Of course, the novel wouldn’t have fallen into my lap without The Mothman being present in the story. This plot progress, however, was something I never expected in a million years but made the mythical creature so much more than a dark soul that haunts the forest. You see a lot of sinister tactics on display from The Mothman Prophecies and Jen Archer Wood came up with her own original means of scaring people through The Mothman. Previous encounters with eyes getting torn from people’s head, school bus attacks, ghostly apparitions, constant glowing red eyes, ear drum rupturing screams… The Mothman is not playing around and he poses a formidable villain against the task force of locals that Ben Wisehart bands together. Or does he? The Mothman has some tricks up his sleeves (wings?) and agenda that’s going to knock you out of your comfortable reading chair. The legend is about to get a lot deeper, a lot more meaningful and a lot scarier. Hell, it’s basically about to turn the town of Point Pleasant into… well, Hell.

I purchased my copy of Point Pleasant on May 9, 2016 and I was hooked from the very start. I loved it so much in fact that I tried to limit myself to one chapter a night in hopes of staying in the world that Jen Archer Wood wrote for as long as possible; though I must say on some nights I just had to keep reading. Luckily, Point Pleasant is 418 pages long so anyone who reads it will have that capability, to stay with the setting and characters for longer than most novels in its category. Extremely well written, heartfelt, daring and with horrific elements in all the right places, Point Pleasant is a book that’s going to break your heart, warm it and then rip it out… still beating. In what ways that occurs is truly up to how you interpret and invest in the story. I’m so sad I finished it, but it has tremendous reread-ability. I don’t think it’ll be too long before I’m walking down the streets of Point Pleasant once again… Final Score: 10 out of 10. An absolutely perfect read.

 

Michael DeFellipo

(Senior Editor)

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