Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
STUNNING
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you're looking for a tradition story with tradition characters and a traditional plot line, then you absolutely should not read this book. And that's not me saying it's a bad book, but a strange one. There is no real plot, no character growth, no great conflict, and no resolution. It is a pure character study of Hal Lancaster. He drinks, does cocaine, hates himself with such a weary loathing, and is slowly destroying his life because of that.
A lot of this self hatred comes from Hal's father, Henry. Instead of living his own life, Hal spends his days pleasing his father, obeying his father, defying his father, enduring his father, and both resenting and accepting the fact that his father molested him when he was a child and that this toxic and damaging relationship continues even now. There's this terrible cycle of that you see over and over in the book of Henry "falling into sin," going to church like the good Catholic he is, confessing his sins, and having it all washed away, so he can do it again and again.
Hal was a child when the abuse began and, as the eldest of six children and a people pleaser, he had no idea how to handle it. So he didn’t. And now, twenty years later, he still accepts the blame of it on his own shoulders. Hal feels he should have done something, but he didn’t, and now he thinks it’s too late, so he drinks and does drugs and is an asshole to people. Some of that changes when he finally gives Henry Percy a chance in his life.
I like broken characters, I honestly do. Seeing someone shattered beneath a crushing weight, damaged by circumstance and trying to put themselves together, crawling their way out of the dark and learning to be who they are now, turning to face all the pain and suffering and telling it to fuck off … or accepting it, reshaping it, and welcoming it. Hal, however, as broken as he is, does none of this. Hal seems comfortable with his life. Comfortable doing nothing, comfortable feeling nothing, comfortable being nothing.
In the end, it’s a book about nothing. There is no character arc, no growth, no change. It’s just giant character study of a person who I understood, but personally found very frustrating. Maybe I would have liked this more if I had read (or really known anything about) the Henriad. While I have read some of Shakespeare's play thanks for the public education system, the Henriad was not one of them and while Wikipedia did it's best to educate me, it wasn't enough for me to fully appreciate this book like some might.
A lot of this self hatred comes from Hal's father, Henry. Instead of living his own life, Hal spends his days pleasing his father, obeying his father, defying his father, enduring his father, and both resenting and accepting the fact that his father molested him when he was a child and that this toxic and damaging relationship continues even now. There's this terrible cycle of that you see over and over in the book of Henry "falling into sin," going to church like the good Catholic he is, confessing his sins, and having it all washed away, so he can do it again and again.
Hal was a child when the abuse began and, as the eldest of six children and a people pleaser, he had no idea how to handle it. So he didn’t. And now, twenty years later, he still accepts the blame of it on his own shoulders. Hal feels he should have done something, but he didn’t, and now he thinks it’s too late, so he drinks and does drugs and is an asshole to people. Some of that changes when he finally gives Henry Percy a chance in his life.
I like broken characters, I honestly do. Seeing someone shattered beneath a crushing weight, damaged by circumstance and trying to put themselves together, crawling their way out of the dark and learning to be who they are now, turning to face all the pain and suffering and telling it to fuck off … or accepting it, reshaping it, and welcoming it. Hal, however, as broken as he is, does none of this. Hal seems comfortable with his life. Comfortable doing nothing, comfortable feeling nothing, comfortable being nothing.
In the end, it’s a book about nothing. There is no character arc, no growth, no change. It’s just giant character study of a person who I understood, but personally found very frustrating. Maybe I would have liked this more if I had read (or really known anything about) the Henriad. While I have read some of Shakespeare's play thanks for the public education system, the Henriad was not one of them and while Wikipedia did it's best to educate me, it wasn't enough for me to fully appreciate this book like some might.
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
sad
tense
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
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Why is an American author writing about modern British lives, I much prefer when people stick to what they know…
I finished this in 3 days and if you know my reading style, you know that I usually savour books I love… this stressed and grossed me out so much that I knew I had to get it over with quickly or else I’ll DNF. I do have to say that I think it was quite well written and the plot is not silly. Even though I didn’t enjoy the plot, it was at least not infuriatingly dumb. But the lack of character development or honestly any kind of development just made this whole endeavour pointless. It was not getting me invested and there was no growth or even real change: Hal’s and Harry’s relationship didn’t go anywhere, he never really opened up to anyone, he didn’t run away or even end his suffering in any way. It was just an endless loop. And maybe that was the author’s point but in that case I have no interest in reading stories like that. I suppose I liked the religious guilt plot and had he made any progress in trying to look inwards and deal with it better I might’ve liked it more.
This was so weird (non-derogatory). If you are someone easily upset by bodily fluids or other things that the trigger warnings will tell you about, skip it. That being said I still really liked it and the writing was beautiful
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes