Date Finished: Apr 3, 2026
First Sentence: Louis Creed, who had lost his father at three and who had never known a grandfather, never expected to find a father as he entered his middle age, but that was exactly what happened... although he called this man a friend, as a grown man must do when he finds the man who should have been his father relatively late in life.
Last Sentence: 'Darling,' it said.
Companion Album:
Twenty percent creepy, eighty percent abject misery. I don't know how Stephen King does it. You know exactly what's coming, but that makes the horror of it even worse. And despite the bleakness of the story, I could not stop listening. I blazed right through it in a few days.
Cover Notes:
I painted this one! I've been taking some watercolor painting classes and tried my hand at adapting and adding my own little twist to [this illustration from Louis Wain](https://d3d00swyhr67nd.cloudfront.net/_source/artuk_stories/louiswain01-725px-1.jpg). I originally found it via [this Bluesky post](https://bsky.app/profile/thatsgoodweb.bsky.social/post/3mijcerwaak2q) of a Japanese pharmaceutical ad featuring Wain's artwork. It then led me down a rabbit hole about Wain and his struggles with schizophrenia. Anyways, I thought my version turned out OK! Still learning, of course. Lots to improve.