We Are All Completely Fine
9781616961718 Paperback
1982–2000 2001–present
2014 horror novel by Daryl Gregory
We Are All Completely Fine is a 2014 horror novel by Daryl Gregory. It was first published by Tachyon Publications. The book won the 2015 World Fantasy Award—Novella[1] and the 2014 Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novella.[2]
Synopsis
At a support group for people who have survived supernatural horror, the members' worst fears are confirmed.
Reception
Reviews
Publishers Weekly described it as "complex" and "scathingly funny, [and] horrific yet oddly inspiring", and lauded Gregory's use of "beautiful imagery and metaphors".[3]
At Strange Horizons, Carmen Maria Machado judged the novella as "slight", saying that it "skims a little too lightly over its own plot" and gives insufficient attention to the characters' lives, in particular noting that Harrison and Martin's stories felt incomplete, and observing that Stan, "though his personal story is horrific in detail, seem[ed] to function mostly as comic relief". Machado did, however, praise Gregory's use of "the collective first person—we, us" to begin each chapter, calling it a "pleasurable stylistic gesture [that] serves a fascinating purpose—creating a group mind that throbs and thinks above all of [its members]" while also "speak[ing] to a larger point about group therapy." Ultimately, Machado concluded that the book would have benefited from being a full-length novel.[4]
Tor.com's Lee Mandelo similarly "want[ed] more than [the] novella (...) delivered", and judged that "once the plot began to thicken and the supernatural action got afoot, the interesting character dynamics and development more or less just stopped," faulting it for not sustaining the tension introduced by its "strong" premise, and finding the revelation about Jan's identity to be "pretty familiar and easy to see coming."[5]
Awards
| Year | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Nebula Award for Best Novella | Finalist | [6] |
| 2014 | Shirley Jackson Award: Best Novella | Winner | [2] |
| 2015 | Locus Award for Best Novella | Finalist | [7] |
| 2015 | Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award | Finalist | [8] |
| 2015 | World Fantasy Award—Novella | Winner | [1] |
Prequel
In 2015, Gregory released Harrison Squared, a young adult novel about the early life of one of the characters from We Are All Completely Fine.[9]
References
- ^ a b "Announcing the 2015 World Fantasy Winners!". Tor.com. 2015-11-08. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
- ^ a b "2014 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners". The Shirley Jackson Awards. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
- ^ We Are All Completely Fine, at Publishers Weekly; published June 16, 2014; retrieved October 13, 2022
- ^ We Are All Completely Fine, by Daryl Gregory; reviewed by Carmen Maria Machado; at Strange Horizons; published November 10, 2014; retrieved October 13, 2022
- ^ Short and to the Point: We Are All Completely Fine by Daryl Gregory, reviewed by Lee Mandelo; at Tor.com; published August 20, 2014; retrieved October 13, 2022
- ^ "We Are All Completely Fine". The Nebula Awards. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
- ^ O'Neill, John (May 4, 2015). "2015 Locus Award Finalists Announced". Black Gate. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
- ^ "2015 Campbell and Sturgeon Awards Finalists". Locus Online. 2015-05-11. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
- ^ Horror-Comedy Harrison Squared Proves Daryl Gregory Is A Writer To Watch, by Chris Hsiang; at Gizmodo; published March 26, 2015; retrieved October 13, 2022
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