Watching Evil Dead

Title: Watching Evil Dead: Unearthing the Radiant Artist Within

Author: Josh Malerman

Synopsis:

"One night, bestselling author Josh Malerman—then just an aspiring writer—watched Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead with his fiancée and two friends. It was a gathering that could’ve gone unnoticed, another date night with a movie, but for Malerman, it became a landmark. It changed the course of his life, and it will inspire you to reflect on your own journey and to discover existing triumphs that are within you already.

Describing the course of the night, Malerman reflects on his life, from his career as a musician to his stack of rough drafts, written prior to ever being published—and on how meeting the love of his life, a fellow creative, opened him to new experiences and new ways of viewing the world they now quest through together.

Malerman deploys his own story to help readers not only write their unwritten stories but celebrate their uncelebrated victories: to find their voice, their vision, and their joie de vivre. By simply describing an uncommon and uncanny night, he guides aspiring writers beyond the blank page to the immortal life of the writer." Via NetGalley

Review

Incidents around the house was one of my favorite books of 2024 so when I got asked if I wanted to read Watching Evil Dead I jumped at the chance to enter Josh's brain with a non-fiction book! It certainly did not disappoint! The Evil Dead tie in was such a great bonus, since it is one of my favorite movies of all time.

This book was such a great blend of writing advice, but also a memoire. All in all, one thing is very clear, Josh Malerman lives and breathes horror and his love for this genre in many mediums (film and writing) is genuine.

Final Recommendation: Great for fans of non-fiction, The Evil Dead, and aspiring writers.

Thank you to both NetGalley and DelRey for the ARC.