Review: Make Sure You Die Screaming by Matt Killeen
When I first stumbled upon Make Sure You Die Screaming by Matt Killeen, the title alone hooked me. As someone who revels in the strange intersections of queer culture and dark humor, I was intrigued by the prospect of a wild, frenetic journey led by an unnamed narrator whose chaotic road trip promises an exploration of identity, grief, and personal rebellion. Little did I know, this short, breathless read would take me by surprise, throwing me into a blend of dark comedy and visceral honesty.
From the outset, the protagonist—a newly out, genderfluid, pansexual character—hurdles through the pages, escaping an abusive relationship in a stolen car with a younger friend seeking a missing estranged father. The blend of substance abuse and mental health struggles casts a shadow over the narrative, certainly reflective of the “be gay, do crimes” ethos that resonates in our culture. However, as a reader deeply invested in nuanced storytelling, I found that while these themes were compelling, they occasionally fell flat in terms of engagement.
The pacing is relentless, often reminiscent of a sitcom—where absurdity reigns, yet stakes are amusingly low. Killeen’s prose fuses this with a literary depth that oscillates between entertaining and tedious at times. As I turned the pages, I found myself both charmed and occasionally bored, grappling with the feeling that the lifestyle choices of glitterpunk addicts, filled with revelry and chaos, were perhaps glorified beyond what I could fully appreciate.
Yet, the narrator stands as a morally gray anti-hero on a quest for radical honesty. Their journey through grief—stemming from the loss of a best friend and a corporate job lost to emotional tumult—paints a portrait of someone flawed yet relatable. I appreciated Killeen’s depiction of an AMAB nonbinary character navigating their gender journey, challenging the misconception that nonbinary identity is merely a smaller version of womanhood. It felt refreshing and necessary.
Stylistically, Killeen’s writing evoked shades of authors like Chuck Palahniuk and Melissa Broder, especially with the increasingly bizarre scenarios unfolding as our narrator spirals deeper into rural Arkansas’s quirks. However, while Killeen captures the absurdity of radical transformations, I found the exploration of societal shifts and ideological absurdities somewhat shallow. The narrative treated these themes more as tangents than deep dives, yet perhaps that was Killeen’s intention—to keep us on this wild ride without pausing for introspection.
In the end, Make Sure You Die Screaming lands on a hopeful note, yet leaves the reader hanging, wondering about the future of a character who, despite their misdeeds, seems genuinely good at heart. Life often offers no neat resolutions, and Killeen embraces this reality, leaving us with a snapshot of the unnamed narrator amid their zany breakdown.
This book might resonate with anyone craving a mix of dark humor and LGBTQ+ representation, particularly those who appreciate chaotic narratives exploring identity and grief. If you’re looking for a frantic journey through the absurdities of life and self-discovery, give this one a try.
As for me, it offered a blend of frustration and fascination—a reminder of the layered complexities in navigating personal truths, even when the road gets wobbly. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy; my thoughts are entirely my own, as always.
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