Every once in awhile I come across a book that has so many specific things that I love in it that it feels like it was written for me personally, and this is one of those finds! Grey Dog gave me everything I wanted, starting at such a gorgeous, eye-catching cover and ending at, well, an ending that had me going :^O for days every time I thought of it! This is a slow, atmospheric horror about what it means to be a woman denied agency, focusing heavily on the natural world, both in terms of Ada's love of science and in the way that nature is distorted to create horror and dread. The diary-style of the narration was executed well, giving equally beautiful and gruesome descriptions and capturing Ada's declining mental state very well while maintaining tension. The beginning of the book might be too slow for some people, and it definitely takes awhile for the horror to get started, but this really worked for me; I'm a lover of slow-burn in all things and I personally really felt like getting a strong understanding of the town, the status quo, and Ada herself before all these things begin to change was very effective.

Not to mention that the imagery in this book is just fantastic! There are descriptions and even a few key lines that I keep coming back to even weeks after finishing it, many of the horrific moments are just that vivid. I also loved Ada as a character right from the beginning, especially her passion for nature and love for her sister. The sister relationship itself is an especially strong point for me, just in the little moments from the past we see between Ada and Florrie, and Ada's mourning for her sister were all so powerful and well-done. Even when I wasn't sure if I was rooting for or against her, I was always invested in what Ada would do next and understood her actions, all the way to the very end.

While slow, the building of tension also worked so well for me in Grey Dog. Little by little, it just felt like the whole world was pressing in on Ada in this isolated, judgmental environment, where she has so few people to turn to and where she's bound by all the social expectations placed on a young woman. The story just kept gathering speed until the conclusion, and again, the final few reveals of the book and the last scene especially just... whew! I'm going to be thinking about that ending for a long time.

I really love the ambiguity of it, where I both feel glad for Ada casting off the shame and social mores that have controlled her life but am also so afraid for her and the people around her. I think more lesbians should get to be depraved and violent and covered in blood, tbh! Not to mention that the Grey Dog, the God of Outside, or whatever you want to call it was such a frightening, enigmatic force throughout the entire book! I love love love that we never really get to see it, not clearly, and while Ada is told one version of its intentions, we can't really know, either. As the book says, seeing something makes it less frightening--and Gish keeps us scared until the very end.

I really recommend this one if you're a fan of slow-burn historical horror, a science nerd, interested in historical examinations of sexism and agency, or just a fan of complex lesbians experiencing The Horrors. I've gotta reread this one for sure!