We're Safe When We're Alone

by Nghiem Tran

Son is real. Son was saved from a life he cannot remember. Son is a human in a mythical world of ghosts. This is what Father tells him.  Son has lived his entire life inside the mansion. He is a good child. He reads, practices piano, studies, and watches ghosts tend the farmland through a window in the attic. When Father decides it is time for Son to venture outside, Son’s desire to please Father overpowers his fear, and he must contend with questions he never wanted to face. What are the relentlessly grinning ghosts hiding? Has a ghost taken control of Father? What answers or horrors lie in the forest? And who will stop the mysterious encroaching shadows? Nghiem Tran’s debut inverts the haunted house tale, shaping it into a moving exploration of loss, coming of age in a collapsing world, and the battle between isolation and assimilation.

Genres: Fiction, Horror, Fantasy, Thriller, Literature, Adult, Horror Thriller

168 pages, Paperback

First published September 19, 2023

Reviews

[Paola · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars but rounding up because the writing was beautiful. This book feels like a fever dream. I couldn't put it down because I longed to figure out what was really happening. The story was haunting and I was able to vividly conjure the images described on the page. I wish we would get a more palpable resolution, but the ending feels adequate for this story.

[Nate D · Rating 4 out of 5]

An inside-out ghost story that continuously re-contorts itself so you're never sure if you've reached a concrete explanation for anything, or if it's all about to be dashed in the next paragraph, to the point where it pushes the stylization of fable nearly into postmodern game. There's a scene in Robert Coover's western where the protagonist looks back at the town he's just escaped from a valley rim and sees the buildings and people being reshuffled into a completely new arrangement (and thus new story). This almost feels like that, except we're never allowed a perspective outside the system and the protagonist is himself one of the shifting game pieces. And without that outside perspective we just keep trying to isolate the truth that binds everything together, and the story actually does all it can to provide this. This sounds confusing but it's more complexly multifaceted, there's a tip-of-the-tongue sensation of order and, amidst the occasional frustration, plenty of emergent insight.

[Evan · Rating 2 out of 5]

believing in ghosts would’ve helped for sure

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well…. that hurt my heart. Sometimes my brain, too, but mostly my heart.
Compulsively readable, allegorical, and one I think I could re-read and find new meaning each time.

[Elisabeth Bialosky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful writing and I think a lot of the extended metaphors throughout the book worked really well. Outstanding debut novella and I appreciated the poetic moments of it and lack of conclusive meaning.

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a poignant and moving novella that opens with a call to Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle. The plot felt mythic, dream-like, allegorical & haunting. This is a beautiful tale about trauma, loss, memory, grief, & caregiver-child dynamics.

“Thunder crashes and lightning splits the sky. It starts to rain, and I know that is a sign. More ghosts are coming from the world of the living. The rain delivers their souls into this world, suffusing the soil with the smell and taste of iron. That is why the sky wails and wails. The rain is so heavy. Many souls are passing over tonight. Many eyes in the world above us are closing for-ever. I imagine the living asking the souls to come back. Those calls must stay alive inside the ghosts.“

CWs: death, self-harm, sanist language, confinement, miscarriage, medical content & medical trauma, child death, death of a parent, fire/fire injury

[Nicole Kezdy · Rating 5 out of 5]

thank you Aryssa this book kicked my teeth in

[Andrew Eder · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good and spooky and kept me interested. There was a lot of twists and uncertainly that made me feel very unsettled the whole time. Like maybe what I was reading wasn’t really the truth or wasn’t really happening? And maybe because I don’t think it’s really I wasn’t as focused or was reluctant to form too many attachments?

Good spooky book! Short! Definitely recommend!

[Vincent Campos · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars! This book was trippy af and was kind of giving me “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” vibes. I didn’t want to put it down and had more questions than answers in the end which did not leave me unsatisfied.

[Suzie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing was fine but unlike many reviewers here I didn’t find it exceptionally beautiful. For me, this novel was frustrating. Even though there were moments when the symbolism was somewhat decipherable, I could never really grasp what was going on or where the story was leading. And maybe that was the point. Just not for me.

[Jay Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is genius. I wish I could give it six out of five stars.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up on a whim at my local bookstore and gobbled it up in less than a day. "We're Safe When We're Alone" is a surreal and unexpectedly charming ghost story that kept me hooked page after page, with a thought-provoking ending to boot.

I wavered between rating this book a three or a four, and ultimately rated it a three. Despite my appreciation for its surreal, emotion-driven writing, I never felt truly grounded in the narrative of this book, as much as the fleeting feelings and sensory moments it conveyed. All that's to say, this was a fun and quick read, but probably not a story that will remain with me for long.

[Hannah Foote · Rating 5 out of 5]

it had every single theme and trope I love I ate this shit up

[Allyrebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a strange debut. Did I love it? No. Was it a great book club read? Yes. So confusing and interesting, leaving room for many interpretations and discussion.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the writing style and was pulled into the story enough to care about the characters and their outcomes. I was really invested in understanding the plight of Father and Son, and I longed for a better appreciation of the ghost-realm and everyone's place in it. Initially, I approached the story as a sort of mystery, expecting that crucial aspects of the "otherworld" and its inhabitants would become clear. Ultimately, however, I was disappointed by the lack of explanation to tie everything together. Not necessarily a neat, tidy, resolution, but enough explanation to actually understand the story I just spent so much time and energy to follow. Beautiful writing, but could use more clear world building and development. Would definitely give Nghiem Tran another chance.

[rui · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes when I'm reading things it's either really obvious what point the author is trying to make, or where their inspiration is coming from, or both. Often I find these stories creatively flaccid.

Anyway, this book is the total opposite. It's the only book I've ever read that's actually dreamlike (instead of simply being described as such externally), in the sense that it has dream logic—a driving force separate from something that would be used in the conscious world that I nonetheless intuitively understand. It's incredible how Tran has managed to draw that out and spin it into a whole story.

[joeysbooked · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why are more people not reading and talking about this?? Read it in one day!

This is such a trippy little Novella that had me guessing what was going on along the while journey. The atmosphere almost had a quality like "Piranesi" by Susanna Clarke where everything is shrouded in mystery.

There was so much packed into this novella that its really hard to describe without spoiler. Just know it has some heavy themes (espeically around death) and absolutely beautiful writing.

I really hope for more from this author because this was stunning for a debut.

[Magda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the other reviews say, definitely beautiful writing. I felt like the main character was me, being very immersive. As someone who really doesn't experience the whole "couldn't put this book down" phenomenon, I'm happy to say I really couldn't put this one down. I read it in one day, and honestly, I think I will read it again soon. If you're looking for an enchanting, psychological, and coraline-esque book, this is the one.

[Lynette]

I don't know if I ever read in the headspace that this novella requires, so no rating. It was not a hard read, the imagery is easy to see but it always felt like I was missing what exactly the metaphor was about, there were the coming of age parts, there were vague references to religion and mythology. I was hoping that by the end there would be some sort of resolution that would answer the whole mystery of where and who and why but there is a vague answer instead.

[T Brown]

Probably the best book I have read so far this year. This novella was more than a haunted house story, as descriptions had led me to believe. Nevertheless, Nghiem Tran's storytelling abilities are intergalactic; grounded in humanistic characters as they follow collapsing traces of ghosts, memories, and love alike. I have an unwavering interest in crafting language as medium to bend a reader's mind, potentially freeing them in the process. Fantastic.

[Grace Lamar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this at the very end of the year, and it was the best book I read this year. Had I read it in a couple days, I think it would be the best book of next year too. Wish I had nearly as eloquent of words to describe this book as the author writes with, but I am quite speechless. The concept of the book doesn’t arrive until you almost finish reading, and I loved every twist of the narrative. Highly recommend!

[ryle !! · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 rounded up. The writing was beautiful and I’m still caught thinking about it a few weeks after finishing it. I still have no clue what I just read. Sometimes it felt like the pieces were all coming together, only to realize there were pieces from several different puzzles thrown in one box, and none of them fit together at all.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 but rounding up because I think I would have liked it more if I were in the right headspace. This novel kept me questioning everything to the very end. It’s an interesting exploration of grief, death, fear, life, and family. It felt pretty cerebral while being easy to read, but definitely super trippy

[Dani Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know I’ll be thinking about this book for days to come. 4 stars because there’s a selfish part of me that wants more context, resolution, understanding. But that’s how life/grief goes. I enjoyed the profound moments with such beautiful writing that I had to read them multiple times. This debut novella had me savoring every page until the very end.

[Leah Masson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was haunting and beautiful yet heartbreaking. It read like a dream. I felt like off the bat it spoke to otherness, fluctuating between seeing others as “different” and then the main character being the “different” one. I may have to give it another read to make more sense of it all but I love how the author writes. I was captivated, pleasantly confused, and invested.

[Skylis]

cerebral, intriguing, and writing was beautiful and succinct. but it was very difficult to make sense of the world once we got to the forest and beyond. there are themes of coming of age, the pain of loss, and otherness, yet this novella never came to a point where i felt like i understood a clear message from the whole of the story. definitely curious to see more this debut author!

[Michelle Schulte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Speculative, bit supernatural fiction about a son and his father as they live and go about life on their mansion surrounded by a town of ghosts. The unnamed protagonist battles the ghosts for his father's attention and devotion. Slow build to an intriguing albeit open-ended conclusion. Led to a good discussion for our bookclub (s/o Prologue Bookshop in Columbus!)

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very confusing, but I'm pretty sure it was intentionally so. It very much has a pervasive dream logic, where the main character knows things without context and then the rules of reality can just change.

[Ronnie Hirsch · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing is beautiful and the premise is interesting, but the narrative is meandering and full of plotlines that go nowhere and half-formed metaphors. The end is extremely disappointing - it's meant to be a clever reference to mythology, but in reality, it's just using trite cliches as a crutch.

[Eric Guitian · Rating 4 out of 5]

It feels like a constant changing nightmare. Moments of beauty, so many moments of confusion, moments of fear. The ending feels like waking up from a dream you wish you could have stayed asleep to see the ending of.