Scan barcode
hayreading's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Upon reading a second time, I came to appreciate much more about this book. It's bizarre, but it's full of themes and tells a compelling story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Body horror
Moderate: War, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Dementia, Torture, Body shaming, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Death, Grief, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Blood, Child abuse, Murder, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
casspro's review against another edition
2.0
I feel like this novel got to pull the wool over my eyes. There I was, driving along in my car, listening to what I thought was a nice rustic old world European freak show carnival novel, when all of a sudden *BAM* surprise werewolf. I'm still not sure how the hell Pavla turned into a werewolf other than one second she was chomping down on the throat of her sexual assailant and then next she's romping through a snowy forest in full on wolf mode. I kept listening because the writing is actually really captivating, but it felt like two completely different halves propped together in one book. And towards the end, it turns into a historical crime thriller out of no where. Does anything ever really get explained. No. Do we have get a nice neat bow of an ending. No. I'm not even 100% sure I liked the plot. But it is stark and beautiful in a way that I haven't experienced in a while.
luvfoolish's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
katie_samsock's review against another edition
3.0
It was good. Interesting fairytale though the ending still has me confused
theangrystackrat's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
kall_em's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I liked this book and all it’s strange twist and turns. I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending…but it was still worth it to see the storyline of the characters and where the author took them throughout their development.
Does this book make sense completely? Perhaps not. But that was part of its beauty. Overall, I enjoyed it and found myself wanting to know what happened next.
Does this book make sense completely? Perhaps not. But that was part of its beauty. Overall, I enjoyed it and found myself wanting to know what happened next.
corita's review against another edition
4.0
Little Nothing by Marisa Silver is a complex, layered fairy tale. The story’s delight is that it subverts traditional and modern storytelling with unpredictable twists and turns.
At its heart, this is a tale of Pavla and Danilo’s unrequited love and their personal transformative journeys. When they have their palms read and are told, “One of you will be brave and one of you will be a coward,” the ideas is key and stuck with me as I read.
There’s much to love about this story. The writing is lovely and vivid. I savored the complexity of this open-ended story and found the exploration of personal transformation in extreme adversity gripping.
Pavla’s shapeshifting allows her to transcend the horrors of her life and find power when she has none. The love story is not a typical Hollywood tale because Danilo and Pavla are too broken to imagine the other feels the same.
Fairy tales should have an internal logic that fits the story world. Pavla’s first transformation felt strange and unbelievable. It lacked internal story consistency. In addition, most of the novel is relentlessly bleak and heartbreaking. Often, I wished for a moment of respite and hope.
This book isn’t for everyone. Little Nothing is often in your face with the grisly aspects of Pavla and Danilo’s lives. If you prefer the Brothers Grimm to Disney, if you love gritty, ambiguous tales, if you jump for joy at open-ended stories, you’ll enjoy Little Nothing.
At its heart, this is a tale of Pavla and Danilo’s unrequited love and their personal transformative journeys. When they have their palms read and are told, “One of you will be brave and one of you will be a coward,” the ideas is key and stuck with me as I read.
There’s much to love about this story. The writing is lovely and vivid. I savored the complexity of this open-ended story and found the exploration of personal transformation in extreme adversity gripping.
Pavla’s shapeshifting allows her to transcend the horrors of her life and find power when she has none. The love story is not a typical Hollywood tale because Danilo and Pavla are too broken to imagine the other feels the same.
Fairy tales should have an internal logic that fits the story world. Pavla’s first transformation felt strange and unbelievable. It lacked internal story consistency. In addition, most of the novel is relentlessly bleak and heartbreaking. Often, I wished for a moment of respite and hope.
This book isn’t for everyone. Little Nothing is often in your face with the grisly aspects of Pavla and Danilo’s lives. If you prefer the Brothers Grimm to Disney, if you love gritty, ambiguous tales, if you jump for joy at open-ended stories, you’ll enjoy Little Nothing.
bradypus's review
There was one passage about people with dwarfism being made for entertainment that was so gross I couldn’t keep reading. It made me literally grimace.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
mollyisfullybooked's review against another edition
4.0
This book was pure magic. Gorgeous writing with unforgettable characters.
charf47's review
4.0
Little Nothing is not the sort of book that I usually read, but I am so pleased that I did. The fairy-tale like theme that runs through the story with unexpected twists and turns kept me enthralled. The characters are well depicted, bringing to mind the wonderful characters evoked during childhood readings of Grimm's Fairy Tales. Little Nothing is a beautifully written story filled with the unexpected.
Thanks to Penguin Group Blue Rider Press & Plume and NetGalley for the ARC.
Thanks to Penguin Group Blue Rider Press & Plume and NetGalley for the ARC.