With a title such as Shitshow, reading Chris Panatier‘s book was definitely on my list. But with a premise of a latrine technician at county fairs who stumbles into a gruesome mystery and supernatural carnivalesque horror, Shitshow became a must-read and I was not wrong.
After his mother is diagnosed with dementia, Sunday McWhorter needs a job with flexible hours and a company vehicle. It just so happens that the local porta-potty company is hiring. The job stinks, but it’s a solid paycheck that allows Sunday to take care of his mom. Everything goes smoothly until Autumn and the beginning of county fair season, when people start going missing and body parts start being found…inside the very tanks of the porta-potties Sunday is charged with cleaning.
Is there a serial killer? A human trafficking ring? An epidemic of haunted toilets? Sunday finds out the hard way when the simple job of vacuuming sewage becomes a tussle between worlds.
The brilliant title, setting, and tone is just the beginning of what Chris Panatier paints for us in Shitshow. The weird, vivid, and surprisingly emotional tale is just as off-the-wall as you’d expect. However, Panatier knows just how far to go with the grotesque visuals, serving to the story itself rather than overwhelm it. This odd setting and brilliant horror gave a great foundation for the more deeper meaning behind parts of the story.
Shitshow not only featured bizarre horrors of a mystical carnival, but the real-life horrors many of us have to deal with including grief, sacrifice, and even the difficulty of caregiving to a loved one. Panatier crafts a protagonist who struggles to care for his ailing mother who suffers from dementia which adds real heart and stakes, beyond the expected gore. All this is handled with respect, while entertaining at the same time. A seamless and horrific read.
The story is wonderfully paced with excellent tonal-shifts that can make you laugh, squirm, gaps, and possibly even tear up at moments. It’s a nice balance of dark humor, gruesome horror, and genuine emotion. And the ending is excellently landed with a bittersweet, yet fitting and emotionally satisfying finish.
Shitshow by Chris Panatier is definitely an off-beat horror tale, but also deeply human. The story is not just shock for shock’s sake, but something a bit deeper with a dark humor outer shell. This book will definitely be recommended to all who are in search of a horrify tale that is a bit out-of-the box.
Shitshow is available at bookstores everywhere from Sobelo Books. The audiobook, narrated by Eric Fox, is available via Libro.fm!
