Book Review: Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca

Book Review: Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca 

4/5 stars overall. This novel consists of three stories that deal with individuals’ need for companionship and community while also addressing aspects of faith and religion. 


4/5 🌟. The first story, Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, deals with the need of a woman to feel wanted, having been abandoned by her family when she came out to them about her sexuality. Her loss of that community leads her into a dangerous online romance with a sadistic woman who becomes her savior figure. The relationship does not end well. Written in a series of emails and Instant Messenger conversations between the two characters, LaRocca keeps you wondering what will happen next. 

5/5 🌟. The second story of this triptych, The Enchantment, tells the story of an estranged couple who reunite when their teenage son commits suicide in a very gruesome manner. The parents stay together for their lost son and encounter a young man whom the mother believes is an angel sent with a message from their son. This was a well-developed short story with an interesting twist. 

4/5 🌟. The final story, You’ll Find It’s Like That All Over, is the story of Mr. Fowler, a high school Algebra teacher, who discovers a piece of bone in his yard while shoveling snow. The bone fragment has his neighbor’s initials on it. The neighbor is a man for whom Mr. Fowler’s husband has a great deal of animosity. Mr. Fowler takes it upon himself to bring the piece of bone back to his neighbor and in the process begins a series of bets with the neighbor, who offers large sums of money if Mr. Fowler wins. Quite interesting!


This is my first time reading Eric LaRocca. He has a frightening imagination but is an extraordinarily talented writer and draws the reader in with the suspense/horror of his stories. I continued to think about each of these stories after I had reached their ends. I also enjoyed the author’s afterword that shed some light on his personal journey and why some of the stories came out the way they did. Highly recommended!


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