The Book of Accidents: A Novel

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A family returns to their hometown—and to the dark past that haunts them still—in this masterpiece of literary horror by the New York Times bestselling author of Wanderers
LOCUS AWARD FINALIST • “The dread, the scope, the pacing, the turns—I haven’t felt all this so intensely since The Shining.”—Stephen Graham Jones, New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Public Library, Library Journal
Long ago, Nathan lived in a house in the country with his abusive father—and has never told his family what happened there.
Long ago, Maddie was a little girl making dolls in her bedroom when she saw something she shouldn’t have—and is trying to remember that lost trauma by making haunting sculptures.
Long ago, something sinister, something hungry, walked in the tunnels and the mountains and the coal mines of their hometown in rural Pennsylvania.
Now, Nate and Maddie Graves are married, and they have moved back to their hometown with their son, Oliver.
And now what happened long ago is happening again . . . and it is happening to Oliver. He meets a strange boy who becomes his best friend, a boy with secrets of his own and a taste for dark magic.
This dark magic puts them at the heart of a battle of good versus evil and a fight for the soul of the family—and perhaps for all of the world. But the Graves family has a secret weapon in this battle: their love for one another.
LOCUS AWARD FINALIST • “The dread, the scope, the pacing, the turns—I haven’t felt all this so intensely since The Shining.”—Stephen Graham Jones, New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Public Library, Library Journal
Long ago, Nathan lived in a house in the country with his abusive father—and has never told his family what happened there.
Long ago, Maddie was a little girl making dolls in her bedroom when she saw something she shouldn’t have—and is trying to remember that lost trauma by making haunting sculptures.
Long ago, something sinister, something hungry, walked in the tunnels and the mountains and the coal mines of their hometown in rural Pennsylvania.
Now, Nate and Maddie Graves are married, and they have moved back to their hometown with their son, Oliver.
And now what happened long ago is happening again . . . and it is happening to Oliver. He meets a strange boy who becomes his best friend, a boy with secrets of his own and a taste for dark magic.
This dark magic puts them at the heart of a battle of good versus evil and a fight for the soul of the family—and perhaps for all of the world. But the Graves family has a secret weapon in this battle: their love for one another.
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Community Reviews
What Bookclubbers are saying about this book
✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say *The Book of Accidents* offers a unique mix of supernatural horror, sci-fi, and emotional depth, exploring themes like generational trauma...
This book was incredibly interesting and compelling until the very last couple chapters. I felt there was so much good build up and detail leading up to a quick, lackluster ending... Because it was such a good read until the last 20 pages or so, I'll still give it a 6!
What the fuck did I just read?
Horror yes. Sci fi most definitely.
Is it the most dark book I’ve ever read? That’s a strong possibility.
Horror yes. Sci fi most definitely.
Is it the most dark book I’ve ever read? That’s a strong possibility.
I loved this book but I will admit it was hard to follow the each story when listening to the audiobook. To be honest some of them are pretty messed up.
Super good and super creepy!!
Wendig does a great job of weaving together literal and figurative different worlds. The characters are easy to invest in. However, I felt like the book was a little too long.
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