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ann_0142's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.25
This book was a pain to read through. There were many info dumps and metaphors that could only be described as strange. The writing is so bizarre, like on page 256: "The war was a meat grinder, and also a roller. It ground all life into meat and loam." I honestly didn't know what to think when I came across, "Ian's skin glistened like a fish." on page 189.
The descriptions of certain things were very uncomfortable to read. There was an array of useless descriptions of things not relevant to the story ("He [the dog] flicked out half his tongue, licking gently..." pg 110) and of imagery involving insects ("A needle slipped and poked her finger. A purple bead crawled out from her fingertip and turned into a black worm. She quickly sucked the little purple bug..." pg 190).
I was also highly uncomfortable with how the main female character, Ah Yan, was described by Pastor Billy. In the book, Pastor Billy meets her when she is about 12 and he is 35. Here's a quote from page 75: "The lower portion of her blouse had begun to show the faint contours of her body." On page 95, he says: "'Stella...You're menstruating.' In that moment, I felt as if every pore in my body wanted to sing."
The way this book was written (the three main male characters narrating the story to each other) was confusing. Each person would refer to one of the other two as "you" and I would get confused as to who was speaking. It didn't help that there was one random chapter that was told from the dogs' points of view.
All in all, I think that this book was simply not for me. I would have given this one star, but added 0.25 because of the ending.
The descriptions of certain things were very uncomfortable to read. There was an array of useless descriptions of things not relevant to the story ("He [the dog] flicked out half his tongue, licking gently..." pg 110) and of imagery involving insects ("A needle slipped and poked her finger. A purple bead crawled out from her fingertip and turned into a black worm. She quickly sucked the little purple bug..." pg 190).
I was also highly uncomfortable with how the main female character, Ah Yan, was described by Pastor Billy. In the book, Pastor Billy meets her when she is about 12 and he is 35. Here's a quote from page 75: "The lower portion of her blouse had begun to show the faint contours of her body." On page 95, he says: "'Stella...You're menstruating.' In that moment, I felt as if every pore in my body wanted to sing."
The way this book was written (the three main male characters narrating the story to each other) was confusing. Each person would refer to one of the other two as "you" and I would get confused as to who was speaking. It didn't help that there was one random chapter that was told from the dogs' points of view.
All in all, I think that this book was simply not for me. I would have given this one star, but added 0.25 because of the ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, and Rape