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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
Wow, this is a tragic story about the effects of abuse. Our main character, Suzy, is abused physically and sexually by her mother. She then turns that violence onto her mother and flees with her brother, sparking a murder spree. Suzy doesn’t really want to exist, doesn’t want her body which she never really had control over for herself, and has become emotionless in a such a devastating way. She is alone. This is so wonderfully written; bleak and dark, exposing the trauma of violence and how the circle of violence keeps repeating itself.
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence
"The world never accepted the unwanted child. Firmer than any scripture was the belief that no matter how ugly or horrid a child could be, at least the child's mother would love it. Perhaps the worst damage to society had been the perpetuation of this myth...for it orphaned Lim and me. It orphaned all of us. The unwanted. The abused. The raped.
The Unloved."
Suzy and her brother Lim are The Unloved. Raised by a woman who raped and abused her, Suzy is about as sane as you'd expect. In other words, not at all. The description of the book says "when the abuse becomes too much to handle, the two siblings embark on a sordid cross-country murder spree beginning with their mom."
But that is far too simple an explanation. The abuse that day is no different from any other day. It is perhaps the straw that broke the camel's back, no different from the rest of the straw. That just happened to be the day Suzy became to curious about what her mother's blood would look like sprayed over the walls.
You see, over the years of learning how to shut out the emotion, to shut out the pain, Suzy has become a sociopath. A psychopath. Perhaps the title of this book should have been, "How a Killer is Made." Because Suzy has many chances to redeem a small piece of her soul. People she could have saved along the way. Choices she could have made easlily, the right choice being just as easy as the wrong one, but she just doesn't. Because she cannot care. She's too far gone.
If you like fairy tales and happily ever afters, this is not your book. If you like the episodes of Criminal Minds where they don't find the killer, where the good guys do not win...if you like waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat...if you like horror and grit and the rawness of society...if you don't have triggers...this is your book.
The writing was excellent. I was surprised not to find any other books by this author. This is her debut, and she came out swinging. Not her fists. A meat cleaver.
Ever finished a book and said, "holy shit?" You want to?
"For every one of your brother's kind and for every one of your kind if you wish it, there are Builders, and there are Creators. In the end, they will see Him. The will see the Kingdom of Heaven and you will be alone floating in the darkness. You will see a light on the horizon and no matter how long you float in your filth, you will never reach it. That will be your punishment - to see a Paradise you cannot ruin."
Suzy and Lem are the maggots of the world, the eaters, the destroyers. This is their story.
The Unloved."
Suzy and her brother Lim are The Unloved. Raised by a woman who raped and abused her, Suzy is about as sane as you'd expect. In other words, not at all. The description of the book says "when the abuse becomes too much to handle, the two siblings embark on a sordid cross-country murder spree beginning with their mom."
But that is far too simple an explanation. The abuse that day is no different from any other day. It is perhaps the straw that broke the camel's back, no different from the rest of the straw. That just happened to be the day Suzy became to curious about what her mother's blood would look like sprayed over the walls.
You see, over the years of learning how to shut out the emotion, to shut out the pain, Suzy has become a sociopath. A psychopath. Perhaps the title of this book should have been, "How a Killer is Made." Because Suzy has many chances to redeem a small piece of her soul. People she could have saved along the way. Choices she could have made easlily, the right choice being just as easy as the wrong one, but she just doesn't. Because she cannot care. She's too far gone.
If you like fairy tales and happily ever afters, this is not your book. If you like the episodes of Criminal Minds where they don't find the killer, where the good guys do not win...if you like waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat...if you like horror and grit and the rawness of society...if you don't have triggers...this is your book.
The writing was excellent. I was surprised not to find any other books by this author. This is her debut, and she came out swinging. Not her fists. A meat cleaver.
Ever finished a book and said, "holy shit?" You want to?
"For every one of your brother's kind and for every one of your kind if you wish it, there are Builders, and there are Creators. In the end, they will see Him. The will see the Kingdom of Heaven and you will be alone floating in the darkness. You will see a light on the horizon and no matter how long you float in your filth, you will never reach it. That will be your punishment - to see a Paradise you cannot ruin."
Suzy and Lem are the maggots of the world, the eaters, the destroyers. This is their story.
This book very much reminded me of [b:The Devil All the Time|10108463|The Devil All the Time|Donald Ray Pollock|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320561517l/10108463._SY75_.jpg|15005760]. Hyper violent, set in the south, with lots of characters that come and go throughout the story. It started off really strong, but the story felt quite disjointed and actually felt a bit repetitive after a while, which is unfortunate because the book is so short.
The main character kept repeating the same phraseabout wanting to cut off her own breasts and I just wanted the author to come up with some different thoughts for this girl to have.
The main character kept repeating the same phrase
Don't be fooled by the blurb on the back of the book or here on Goodreads, this book is much more than a brutal "Natural Born Killers" murder spree. The long lasting emotional and mental scars from years of abuse, and this story through the eyes of Suzy is absolutely gut wrenching. While we don't delve too deep into the details of sexual and animal abuse, we get enough to make us squirm and understand the self loathing and heart of our main character.
Biiiig trigger warning for this one. Almost every page of this is brutal. However, the violence in this story never came across as heavy handed or unnecessary. I feel like it’s because a woman wrote it? It was all realistic and showed a unique perspective. It puts the reader right in Suzy’s mind, creating sympathy for a character that could easily be demonized. It brings a lot of moral questions to mind. While I wish it was longer, I think every word of this novella packed a punch. There were so many memorable passages. The commentary on cycles of abuse was powerful, with no clear negative or positive conclusion drawn. I couldn’t put this book down and I’m so glad I gave it a chance. Highly disturbing and thought provoking.
such a nice quick read! definitely covered some dark subject matter which is my personal favourite kind of fictional story!! was very GRITTY and extremely gripping. every page i read was a page turner and made me constantly think about what was going to happen next
