Andrew Sammut's Reviews > Riding the Bullet

Very quick read that posed several questions with regard to morals. Didn't blow my mind but I still found it to be thought-provoking and enjoyed it overall. I of course felt bad for Alan throughout but at the same time understood his perspective too. Although his love for his mother is massive, I feel as though it would have been a waste for him to give his life away in exchange for hers when she smokes and doesn't care much about her health. She would have felt the same way and given her life away for that of her son. I've almost no doubt.

I wouldn't say that this short story particularly freaked me out but the ghost story segment was pretty cool and I love how the whole thing is shrouded in irony. Riding the bullet, I suppose, is a metaphor for passing away. Alan wanted to but didn't because he changed his mind towards the very end. His mother was willing to go with her son but didn't either. Alan ended up riding it in a different way whilst hitchhiking and gave over his mom's life to death itself.

This reminded me slightly of A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness for the reason that it has a lot to do with regret, acceptance, and difficult decisions to be made by people not mature enough to make them. This didn't blow my mind but it did get me thinking about what I would have done in a similar situation. I will not be sharing my thoughts here.