Reviews

Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett

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inthelunaseas's review against another edition

2.0

For the life of me I can't figure out why I decided to read this book. Did someone recommend it to me? Did I finally throw my hands up in the air and go 'fuck it' after seeing it in all my typical bookshops? It looks like something I'd enjoy- taxidermy! queer!- but the family drama side of it made me hesitate.

Secondly, I can't decide if I enjoy it or not. I'm erring on the side of 'badly advertised'. The reviews promise this to be funny and quirky, but it's not. It's more like the US version of Shameless in that it's a very bleak premise and it the humour is more happenstance.

I kept perusing the reviews on Goodreads while I was reading the book this week but nothing really answered the questions that kept bouncing around in my head. Namely, did anyone else think the relationship between Jessa, Brynn and Milo was completely fucked up? And what was Brynn's deal? And did anyone else expect the father to actually have AIDS and have a sordid sexual history?

The answers to the questions this book poses aren't ever answered, and I don't expect they're meant to be. That's not the point of the book. Rather, it's about the moments that tie the family together. It's about the relationships between the characters, and not their history.

But still. I'd like some questions answered.

octobermontoya's review

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dark emotional funny sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Mostly Dead Things had a lot going on: taxidermy, suicide, a pseudo-incestuous relationship, animal murder, mental illness, art, etc. What I liked about it was that the queerness was somewhat part of the backdrop. It was a crucial part of the book, of course, but the fact that the protagonist was queer was just part of the story. That is to say that Mostly Dead Things isn't tropey, or a coming out/of age novel. I didn't particularly enjoy the book, but I appreciate what it was trying to do. I appreciated that it depicted a working class queer life - no big city, no glitz or glamour or metropole. It's sad and a little weird.