However -- and I recognize that this is maybe a petty complaint -- I do wish that Amanda had a little more agency in this book. I think maybe I'm just tired of horror stories where women get the short end of the stick.
Like, on the one hand I recognize that part of the horror element of a book like this is that the narrator isn't powerful enough to resist the entity that's trying to take them over, and to that end, as I said, I think Gran does a really good job of letting the actual language and narration reflect the way that Amanda's mind is fracturing. You really do get a sense, while reading, that the words themselves are being used to reflect the way the demon is taking her over, and that's a gorgeously unsettling experience to read through!
On the other hand -- you're telling me that she didn't even once notice that this demon was taking over her life until she was too far gone to do anything about it? It was like Amanda was just a passive observer in her own life, allowing things to happen to her, noting these weird happenings and doing very little to stop them. She goes to an occult shop once to get... an anti-demon potion of some kind and then pretty much does nothing with it. She starts missing huge chunks of time and doesn't seem to be all that concerned about it.
I don't know! I think that maybe if there had been a little bit more of a struggle for control, even if it ended in Amanda being consumed by the demon, I probably would have felt a little more satisfied with this book.
Nonetheless, it is absolutely gorgeously written and I did really enjoy reading it, so if you're into horror (especially demon possession horror) then I would certainly recommend it!
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