Odd Little Library

First book of 2026 is complete! My reading goal this year is 53 books, simply for the fact that my book journal contains 52 entries and I have 1 textbook that I need to finish.

This is not the first Iain Reid book that I’ve read. I read I’m Thinking of Ending Things in 2022 and was really drawn in by how vague and unsettling the writing style was, like I had to assemble the story myself.

I went into Foe expecting something similar. Short chapters always get me because I always tell myself I can finish one more chapter real quick and next thing I know, the book is over. The atmosphere of Foe is cold and emotionally distant, and the discomfort builds slowly, leaving me never fully sure what we were moving towards. I never felt fully settled, which ended up being part of the appeal. At the end of it all I was satisfied with the bleakness, and am looking forward to reading more Iain Reid books.

———

Library Notes

Checked out: January 1, 2026
Returned: January 7, 2026
Rating: ★★★★☆

———

BE WARNED: Spoilers are ahead. Maybe read the book if it sounds like your jam and come back to read this part!

I was not super sure where this story was heading, I thought for a while that maybe Junior was the only real person because of how strange the interactions between him and others were. Maybe Terrance was there to assess him for psychosis or delusions. The disconnect between Junior and Hen was uncomfortable for me and I really felt bad for him at first, but also Hen was valid for her thoughts and feelings; girl just wanted to form her own opinions of life. Let her decide if she would like the city or not.

I was both surprised and sad for poor, poor Robo-Junior; real Junior is kind of a dick. I am on Hen’s side, I wanted the robot back; at least he was nice even though he was a little naive. But he was a robot, how can you blame him for that! It’s not explicitly said in the book, but it seems clear that this ends with Hen replacing herself with Robo-Hen so that she can live her dream and feel stuck no longer. And honestly… yes. Screw that guy, let him be happy with his wife who is programmed to care like he wants, and if he can’t recognize that it isn’t his wife that is on him. I just wish Hen could have run off with Robo-Junior into the big city. But then it would have been so bleak and unsettling so oh well.

Moral of the Story: Fuck government corporations.