THE CENTURY'S BEST HORROR FICTION #68: A review of "Come" by Anna Hunger

While there are many progressive works in this anthology so far, this is the first that can truly be considered modern, meaning, something that someone today could write. It’s a shame that Hunger fumbles in the execution a bit.



Adam Stark is every woman’s fantasy. He’s a perfect specimen of masculinity, but it also happens that he’s a con man. He’s been everywhere, fucked everyone, and has had a wealth of experiences in life. The problem is, he’s starting to age. Not so badly that it’s noticeable, but he knows that very soon, he’s going to start losing his beauty, which is his main asset when it comes to separating wealthy young women from their money.


When you get right down to it, this is the story of every uncommon man. The hustling stuff is almost incidental. To anyone who has thought differently than what society has dictated, what Stark thinks about are common ideas. He doesn’t want to be tied down because he really enjoys what he does. He doesn’t want to be weighed down by a wife and kids, the house-with-a-picket-fence, and all of that stuff. Yet now that he’s growing old, he recognizes the importance of these things. As far as he’s concerned, women are good for one thing only: fucking. Well, that and taking care of you when you’re sick. But now that he’s looking old age head-on, he’s starting to think now’s the time to settle down, if only so he can get someone to care for him when his health is failing.


But as St. Augustine said about celibacy, Stark wishes for the regular life . . . BUT NOT YET! At the same time, he finds himself with his most recent victim, who he’s seriously considering turning into his wife. However, after he misspeaks during a conversation, she turns him away and never wants to see him again. This is very unusual for him, since he’s never been rejected before. He loses his shit. He doesn’t want this to be the end. But he drives away at the end of the night, feeling heartbroken and alone.


In all honesty, if Hunger had stopped there, her story would have been amazing. It wouldn’t be horror, but that’s all right. But she has to add her odd touch to this story. SPOILER ALERT: Stark does more than lose it; he loses himself. As he drives away, he finds that he’s a prisoner of his car. That kind of sums him up, though, when you think about it. He enjoys the free life of going wherever he wants, and what better way than to be trapped in a car, traveling the highways of America forever? He keeps seeing exits, and he keeps wondering, is there an exit for him?


Nope. There isn’t. Hunger follows this up with an unnecessary epilogue involving Stark’s best friend (inasmuch as a con man can have a friend) and his lost love. The way it looks here, this conclusion of a perpetually trapped, driving Stark seems pretty cool here, but in Hunger’s execution? It leaves a lot to be desired. It seems too forced. END OF SPOILERS.


Where Hunger really shines is the way she gets her point across. She uses sentence fragments for purposes of tone, which is what a lot of writers do now. Even though such a thing should be jarring, her prose flows perfectly. This kind of practice technically started with the Modern writers, like Faulkner, but to the best of memory, this is the first time it has showed up in genre fiction.


Is this story worth the read? It’s hard to say. Ultimately, it probably is. After Stark leaves his intended “love,” however, it might be best to abstain from the rest.


[This story first appeared in THE MAGAZINE OF HORROR and cannot be read online at this time.]