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3.19 AVERAGE
3.19 AVERAGE
I hate to rate this book so low because I met the author and was so looking forward to it, but it did not work out for me. I think my biggest issue was that the plot felt undercooked and jumpy at times. The ending also caught me off guard and felt a tad bit rushed and out of nowhere.
I love a good southern gothic and a weird read unfortunately this fell incredibly flat for me. The pacing was off. I was confusing at some points but mostly I just felt grossed out The necrophilia and aborted fetus ghost were really the nail in the coffin for the one star. No pun intended
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Vomit
Moderate: Abortion
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Maybe I’m not analytical enough to understand the intent of the author but I didn’t like anything about this book. There were entirely too many metaphors to make sense of, the writing style left a lot to be desired, and the plot was confusing. The ending made absolutely no sense. It also bothered me that one of the deceased characters wore YSL Blsck Opium in 2012 but it wasn’t released until 2014. By that point in the story, I was fed up with everything. The acknowledgments state that the book started as a short story that was written “in a scramble” and I can definitely tell. The longer version was not well fleshed out at all, so I guess she was consistent.
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Not at all what I thought I was getting into, but in the book's defense, none of the characters did, either.
~~~ Probable spoilers ahead ~~~
Somewhat of a vague plot, and I really wish there had been a bit more of a story climax and more character development, but the story was good, and the characters themselves were interesting and had nuance to them. Finding out Eden and Cotton's secrets and fears and shames was a payoff for how confident they act throughout the rest of the book.
Magnolia constantly searches for ill- conceived Tinder flings as an emotional distraction from Mama Brown's death, her mother's behavior and drug use, and Sugarfoot, her landlord and town Pimp, who's been hounding her since her grandmother's death.
She is put off when it works less and less; and the graphic scenes honestly seemed distasteful to me at first, and over time it just seemed more and more sad to me, particularly when I realized it had become a self-destructive compulsion akin to a rabbit caught in a snare and chewing its own leg off, only to die of infection.
She does become pregnant from these excursions, father unknown, and with some herbal help from one of Eden's friends, induces a traumatic miscarriage.
There are many extremely sensitive subjects that the book approaches, particularly sexual assault, abortion, drug use, racism, fetishism, and the realities of life in a poverty-stricken area in the South, but the author approaches them in a very respectful and tactful way, despite when the characters seem to refuse to do so.
Other readers have pointed out that a mixture of things, including a lack of modern-day references, made them forget that it was set in modern day, and while I agree with them, (in that I also tended to forget for the same reasons), i think the book benefits from it. It really helps highlight how isolated and cutoff from the outside world Magnolia feels.
The book is very slowly paced, and the reading of it feels like a smooth, haunting memoir. I definitely stepped out of my usual comfort zone for this book, and I believe it was a good thing I did. I'm not sure yet if I would return to this author, but I'll be thinking about it for quite a time to come.
~~~ Probable spoilers ahead ~~~
Somewhat of a vague plot, and I really wish there had been a bit more of a story climax and more character development, but the story was good, and the characters themselves were interesting and had nuance to them. Finding out Eden and Cotton's secrets and fears and shames was a payoff for how confident they act throughout the rest of the book.
Magnolia constantly searches for ill- conceived Tinder flings as an emotional distraction from Mama Brown's death, her mother's behavior and drug use, and Sugarfoot, her landlord and town Pimp, who's been hounding her since her grandmother's death.
She is put off when it works less and less; and the graphic scenes honestly seemed distasteful to me at first, and over time it just seemed more and more sad to me, particularly when I realized it had become a self-destructive compulsion akin to a rabbit caught in a snare and chewing its own leg off, only to die of infection.
She does become pregnant from these excursions, father unknown, and with some herbal help from one of Eden's friends, induces a traumatic miscarriage.
There are many extremely sensitive subjects that the book approaches, particularly sexual assault, abortion, drug use, racism, fetishism, and the realities of life in a poverty-stricken area in the South, but the author approaches them in a very respectful and tactful way, despite when the characters seem to refuse to do so.
Other readers have pointed out that a mixture of things, including a lack of modern-day references, made them forget that it was set in modern day, and while I agree with them, (in that I also tended to forget for the same reasons), i think the book benefits from it. It really helps highlight how isolated and cutoff from the outside world Magnolia feels.
The book is very slowly paced, and the reading of it feels like a smooth, haunting memoir. I definitely stepped out of my usual comfort zone for this book, and I believe it was a good thing I did. I'm not sure yet if I would return to this author, but I'll be thinking about it for quite a time to come.