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moonandmadness's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
It's been almost 3 weeks since I finished this book and yet my mind keeps drifting back to it. I'm skeptical when people claim a book is experimental/doing something new with fiction - it makes me wonder whether we're too obsessed with reading the new and forgetting how much of the old is absolutely batshit; it's hard to innovate when so much has been done. Yet I would describe this reading experience as new to me, baffling, unsettling in many ways. The beginning centres two young girls; one being abused by their parent, the other with a superficially happy life, though neglected and in a complex family situation that she is too young to truly feel the weight of. What it becomes I'm not eloquent enough to describe - but the atmosphere is insidious. The novel feels to be progressively breaking, before dissolving into something cleverer people than I are calling "meta-fiction", but that feels too simple to "explain" what Han has achieved. Read with an accepting mind, and you will be rewarded.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Child abuse
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