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3.19 AVERAGE
3.19 AVERAGE
Did I have fun reading it? Yes.
Was it disappointing? Yes.
The book is a tale about music, addiction, aging, and mental health like a memoir. And maybe its Tremblay spilling some of his own truth out there with a vague supernatural element. Or maybe its a true supernatural book that just misses the mark with all characters and no plot. As a fan of Tremblay, I found it ok, but I think many people will be angered by it.
Was it disappointing? Yes.
The book is a tale about music, addiction, aging, and mental health like a memoir. And maybe its Tremblay spilling some of his own truth out there with a vague supernatural element. Or maybe its a true supernatural book that just misses the mark with all characters and no plot. As a fan of Tremblay, I found it ok, but I think many people will be angered by it.
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Pallbearers Club is part bildungsroman, part confession. Part indie coming of age film, part psychological horror. It’s a style exercise wrapped in two unreliable narrators. It’s about the joy of life and the grief of death—wait, maybe I’ve got those two switched. It’s about Art, who is not Art, and Mercy, who is not Mercy. It’s about the nature of friendship, memory, and the narratives we write about ourselves. Or maybe it’s just about punk rock vampires.
It works, in large part, due to Tremblay’s vulnerable, messy, damaged, and damaging characters. Art is both sympathetic and infuriating, relatable in spite of (or because of) his self-involvement-disguised-as-self-hatred. Mercy is a forcibly (mis)assigned Manic Pixie Dream Girl who would probably rather let her cracks show through.
They bond over the usual stuff. Punk music. Corpses. The loneliness of being different. The story, often more tragic character study than skin-crawling horror, spans 30+ years. It’s as slow of a burn as can be expected from a book with fewer than 300 pages, and it comes together in a finale that packs a wallop and takes full advantage of its unique format and unreliable narrator(s).
It’s hard to say more without giving too much away, but I loved this book. Welcome to The Pallbearers Club.
It works, in large part, due to Tremblay’s vulnerable, messy, damaged, and damaging characters. Art is both sympathetic and infuriating, relatable in spite of (or because of) his self-involvement-disguised-as-self-hatred. Mercy is a forcibly (mis)assigned Manic Pixie Dream Girl who would probably rather let her cracks show through.
They bond over the usual stuff. Punk music. Corpses. The loneliness of being different. The story, often more tragic character study than skin-crawling horror, spans 30+ years. It’s as slow of a burn as can be expected from a book with fewer than 300 pages, and it comes together in a finale that packs a wallop and takes full advantage of its unique format and unreliable narrator(s).
It’s hard to say more without giving too much away, but I loved this book. Welcome to The Pallbearers Club.
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes