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year23's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I don't think the author handled the portrayal of a perimenopausal woman badly, it didn't feel off or out of touch (something that can happen a lot when cis het men write women characters, particularly ones who are older). I see the critiques but it didn't take me out of the story - in part because of the unreliable narrator of it all. I also appreciate that the author did use sensitivity readers and acknowledged the limits of their own experience - and still wrote this imaginative story. I just finished reading Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde - and it was a good reminder that the goal isn't to limit authors to write only their experience. Reading this right after that, I may have gone in with a different perspective - though will name I AM a perimenopausal woman and though that's really all I shared with the MC, I didn't feel personally that the voice or perspective was off or at worse, misogynistic.
There is misogyny in the text, but it's intentional - and thankfully there's a trigger warning by the author in the preface heading in.
This is a different kind of horror in terms of the POV - it's all through the perspective of the POV apart from a few short scenes at the beginning and end. I may be in the minority here - but I liked this choice. Yes, she is unlikeable - but there are a lot of reasons for that.
I appreciated the portryal of trauma and it's impact as you get older - apart from the horror elements of the story, there's an interesting portrayal here of what it means to manage PTSD as you age. I will be seeking out more stories with that theme due to reading this book.
On a whole - highly recommend to horror fans who are okay with gore (this isn't a cerebral type horror).
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Animal death, Body horror, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Religious bigotry
parasolcrafter's review
- 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
0.25
none of the twists feel earned since they were all so easily guessable (like noooo way, mary is the serial killer reincarnated??? oh say it isnt so...surely nobody guessed that at all) and because of that, fell entirely flat. like never once was i caught off guard by a piece of info or shocked or felt as if anything we learned put anything into place snce everything felt obvious from the beginning. like we KNOW there's something wrong with mary from the beginning. we know she killed her neighbours dog. we know that. its obvious. like...i dont even know what else to say about that. it was all just SO badly implemented.
also like it truly is a little mind-blowing how this book still managed to drive home the old 'the serial killer is just a crazy psycho on the loose' despite the fact that i dont think that was meant to be the case...? thats an entirely horrible trope in and of itself and the fact that this book has it in it, just a somewhat misdrect from the entirely obvious plot point, is BAFFLING to me. like it adds nothing the story. nothing. and like..are we supposed to care about mary? are we supposed to sympathize with her? feel pity for her? i hate her. i wish she died out in that fucking desert. i wish the furies would have clawed her eyes out and skinned her the way the members of the flock do to their sacrifices. thats what she deserves. she is a horrible woman, through and through, with no redeeming qualities. i dont believe for even a SECOND that she was ever acting not of her own volition and that its all blamed on 'being the reincarnation of damon cross', aside from the few times he Actually took her over. but before that? before she knew? no; that was all mary.
the only few good parts about this is, at least, that the book is at least self-aware. i appreciated that there was a little bit of satire against true crime culture and it did seem to have (some) insight into what women g through during their lives and how they change during menopause, but those parts were few and far between.
the book also just isnt scary; except, maybe, scary how bad it is.
and to answer the question in the authors afterword which is, directly; 'Was this a story I should have pursued? Or should I have let it scratch in vain inside the haunted trunk of ideas that sits inside every writer's brain?' yes; you absolutely should have locked it away and never looked at this idea again, for fucks sake.
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Bullying, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Child abuse, and Mental illness
innae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Torture, Blood, Misogyny, and Murder
blacksphinx's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Sexism, Misogyny, Murder, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, and Gun violence
Minor: Terminal illness, Racism, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, and Death of parent
scytheria's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Blood, Sexism, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Body shaming, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Violence, Dysphoria, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Ableism, and Vomit
crispr_breadboard's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Another impressive note— the author wrote with notable care and sensitivity about menopause- he has also written an afterword discussing the very real and complex topic of whether a man should even be *allowed* to write about the topic with such core themes around womanhood, menopause, and self identity. He did a fantastic job, which he acknowledges is also thanks to his editor and her team of sensitivity readers. Great work.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, Gore, Grief, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Murder, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Cursing, Bullying, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Fatphobia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Excrement, and Death of parent
Also has creepy scenes about insects too.shelbylanglois's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Sexism, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Child abuse, Animal death, and Violence
owlribbon's review
2.5
Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Terminal illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gore, Sexism, Violence, Torture, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Child death, Animal death, and Bullying
cjcrawfish's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Murder, Rape, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
jayishino's review
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
On the surface Mary is the story of a perimenopausal woman who leaves NY to care for her ailing aunt in AZ. A more in-depth look will tell you it's a story about misogyny. However, it's told as a horror, a very grotesque one too (and more often than not it's gratuitous). It seems to be gross for the sake of being gross. I won't post spoilers, but there are other reviews that have them if you're really interested.
This book is a lot. And I mean that literally. In fact, I mentally checked out (thank goodness for audiobooks amirite?) at about the 60% mark because I had no clue WTF was going on. There are cults and reincarnation and ghosts. Oh my! Yes, like I said it's a lot. More than that there are approximately 1700 characters (obvi an exaggeration but it really felt like that many), and I couldn't keep them straight after a while. Mary herself is not only an unreliable narrator, she's also incredibly unlikable. Being in her head for 400+ pages was excruciating. Not only because of those facts, but because the pacing of this book is incredibly slow. Also, if I never heard the words "Loved Ones" again it will be too soon.
If you like gross-out horror, and books about middle aged women written by men, then maybe pick up this book. However, it goes without saying (but I'm gonna say it anyway) that this book was not for me.
Graphic: Violence, Gore, Sexism, Murder, Mental illness, and Misogyny