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booksmellers's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Wow, okay.
This book asks a lot of questions, the main one being "What if everyone was actually bad because deep down we're all ravenous animals with instincts we have no control over?"
I just don't buy it.
This book is a work of naturalism, which means the characters' "animalistic urges" and "intrinsic nature" is a large focus of the book. To answer the question above, this book concludes that yes, everyone is really terrible. The problem with naturalism in this case is that it relies on the idea that everyone's natural instincts are inherent based on class, race, gender, etc. meaning that this book is fraught with the worst stereotypes: the Irish character turns into a drunken abuser, the Jewish character will literally only talk/think about gold, the female characters will like being abused because their feminine instincts make them submissive, there won't be any Black characters but they will find a way to bring up minstrel shows, and of course the main lesson is that every person will become the worst version of themselves when money is involved.
I'm not easily offended, it's just that every bit of commentary/lesson/idea that this book presents is not worth the terrible shit I had to read through to get there. While it might have worked in the early 1900s (I'm not sure how well these ideas would've worked even during that time), I don't think it suits the modern canon. Naturalism can present interesting ideas, but it didn't work for me in this case. There are better alternatives out there.
I do have two good things to say about this book so it didn't feel like a complete waste of time: 1.) it was not boring, and 2.) the ending was pretty decent. Also, I would be interested to see this reimagined as a horror film.
If you do decide to read this, please check content warnings because I wish I'd been given specific warnings before starting this one.
This book asks a lot of questions, the main one being "What if everyone was actually bad because deep down we're all ravenous animals with instincts we have no control over?"
I just don't buy it.
This book is a work of naturalism, which means the characters' "animalistic urges" and "intrinsic nature" is a large focus of the book. To answer the question above, this book concludes that yes, everyone is really terrible. The problem with naturalism in this case is that it relies on the idea that everyone's natural instincts are inherent based on class, race, gender, etc. meaning that this book is fraught with the worst stereotypes: the Irish character turns into a drunken abuser, the Jewish character will literally only talk/think about gold, the female characters will like being abused because their feminine instincts make them submissive, there won't be any Black characters but they will find a way to bring up minstrel shows, and of course the main lesson is that every person will become the worst version of themselves when money is involved.
I'm not easily offended, it's just that every bit of commentary/lesson/idea that this book presents is not worth the terrible shit I had to read through to get there. While it might have worked in the early 1900s (I'm not sure how well these ideas would've worked even during that time), I don't think it suits the modern canon. Naturalism can present interesting ideas, but it didn't work for me in this case. There are better alternatives out there.
I do have two good things to say about this book so it didn't feel like a complete waste of time: 1.) it was not boring, and 2.) the ending was pretty decent. Also, I would be interested to see this reimagined as a horror film.
If you do decide to read this, please check content warnings because I wish I'd been given specific warnings before starting this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Blood, Antisemitism, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
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