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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
A story about tiny fairy people who spring from the body of a dead little girl. Yes. That's what I wrote. And THEN it gets fucked up.
This was beautiful, disturbing, and grotesque. The beautiful, cotton-candy-sweet illustrations made the dark plot feel even more jarring. This is not for everyone, I can definitely say that. But it has lingered in my mind in the days since I finished it, and I keep googling reviews and analysis of it to see what other people think. I'm probably going to have to go to the bookstore where I bought it and talk to the owner about it.
This was beautiful, disturbing, and grotesque. The beautiful, cotton-candy-sweet illustrations made the dark plot feel even more jarring. This is not for everyone, I can definitely say that. But it has lingered in my mind in the days since I finished it, and I keep googling reviews and analysis of it to see what other people think. I'm probably going to have to go to the bookstore where I bought it and talk to the owner about it.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It made me feel uneasy
Chock another book up on the "did not live up to my expectations" pile. I was drawn to Beautiful Darkness due to the absolutely stunning images and promise of dark story matter. There isn't so much a plot but I'll do my best to describe it: A group of borrower esque little people were living inside what was once their home before it began to cave in on itself. They escape and discover (or more the reader discovers as the people do not realize the significance of the imagery) that their home was that of a little girl, now lying dead in a forest. From their the little people go about their lives trying to cope in the hugely vast world, one by one falling victim to the elements or one another. Our main character is Aurora, name taken from the notebook of the dead girl, who is a kind and gently person wanting only to help those around her and having to deal with disappointment after disappointment as her fellow companions betray and connive and overall be horrible.
And that's it, really. Aurora keeps trying to help everyone but everyone is horrible and eventually Aurora gives up and lets her anger and sorrow consume her. The overall tone of the story feels akin to that of a fairy tale with its simplicity, but every fairy tale has a moral lesson it's trying to teach and the only moral I could come up with for Beautiful Darkness would be "people are massive a**holes and no matter how nice you try to be, others will ruin things for you."
I tried to look for deeper meaning behind the story. Maybe Aurora is symbolic of the child Aurora's innocence and kindness? And as the child decayed (an image we kept cutting back to, watching her become less and less recognizable as human) so too does Aurora the little person (we never are given an explanation as to what they are really) as her "friends" become more and more hostile and terrible, eroding Aurora's conviction to be helpful and nice.
I feel like I am repeating myself here but there wasn't much else to the story. Other little people died throughout the book, whether by their own doings or the machinations of others (there was one scene where one person's malformity is revealed to others and they convince her to be buried alive because she's so strange and not normal. We then move on and never speak of her again). But overall there seemed to be no real point of the story.
For what it's worth, the artwork IS stunning. Each page is beautifully adorned with fantastic watercolors and some compositions were truly beautiful in their creepy and dark depictions. But the story simply did not live up to the illustrations.
And that's it, really. Aurora keeps trying to help everyone but everyone is horrible and eventually Aurora gives up and lets her anger and sorrow consume her. The overall tone of the story feels akin to that of a fairy tale with its simplicity, but every fairy tale has a moral lesson it's trying to teach and the only moral I could come up with for Beautiful Darkness would be "people are massive a**holes and no matter how nice you try to be, others will ruin things for you."
I tried to look for deeper meaning behind the story. Maybe Aurora is symbolic of the child Aurora's innocence and kindness? And as the child decayed (an image we kept cutting back to, watching her become less and less recognizable as human) so too does Aurora the little person (we never are given an explanation as to what they are really) as her "friends" become more and more hostile and terrible, eroding Aurora's conviction to be helpful and nice.
I feel like I am repeating myself here but there wasn't much else to the story. Other little people died throughout the book, whether by their own doings or the machinations of others (there was one scene where one person's malformity is revealed to others and they convince her to be buried alive because she's so strange and not normal. We then move on and never speak of her again). But overall there seemed to be no real point of the story.
For what it's worth, the artwork IS stunning. Each page is beautifully adorned with fantastic watercolors and some compositions were truly beautiful in their creepy and dark depictions. But the story simply did not live up to the illustrations.
Wow! A lot here to unpack and I love that. Beautiful and dark- all there in the title :)
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
dark
I really liked the art style, but the overall story.... I don't know, it felt kinda flat, it felt just like one disturbing think after another, it was a little rushed in my opinion.
Liked the ending tho, like yas girl, get it ig.
Liked the ending tho, like yas girl, get it ig.
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated