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emc13's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Gore
Minor: Vomit
zw_books's review
- 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? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Mental illness, and Physical abuse
cviii's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Gore, Child death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Vomit, Blood, Murder, Body horror, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Homophobia
julianship's review against another edition
The first section is interesting, and Gage Chandler's ominous omniscience is an engaging way to tell a story that is partly about storytelling itself, and the ways that stories change based on who tells them. Not groundbreaking, but something I always enjoy.
But once we get to the segments on the White Witch and Derek, the characters move through the book too smoothly, slipping past each other without real emotional impact beyond violence. There's no relationship meat here, just description after description of location and brutality. Those descriptions are evocative, but they're not enough for me to stick around and see it through.
Also, this book needed to not have, inexplicably, sections in 1st, 2nd, AND 3rd person, which in the right hands could be interesting but here felt heavy-handed. Based on what I've read about the book, it seems the prose gets even more experimental later. Going off the beginning, I'm not sure that's going to be successful.
I really like Darnielle as a lyricist, and I'd like to see what he does in short story formats. But I don't think he has the stamina for longer fiction at this point - and that's fine! He's spent 30 years developing a masterful ability to bring a story to life in about 3-4 minutes. It's the 300 pages that create the issue.
Graphic: Violence, Gore, Murder, and Vomit
dustghosts's review against another edition
- 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
As many reviewers have said, this is not a horror book and marketing it as such is a misstep! What it is, though, is a pretty impressive work of craft that digs its heels in as Darnielle plays with timelines, and interlocking stories, and points of view, and— and, and. Absolutely, some of these experiments are less successful than others, but thinking about the story as a work in fragments thrown into a cardboard box… Form and function are pretty beautifully combined here.
My primary critique is that there were sections in the middle that really did feel like they dragged, and the pacing was a bit meandering at times. In the end, it felt juuust a little too long, and I could see why others had trouble finishing. Still, really worth the engagement if you are a critic or an enjoyer of true crime, and maybe especially if you’re a nonfiction reader looking to sink your teeth into some fiction.
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Violence, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse
mangofandango's review
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.75
Graphic: Gore, Vomit, and Murder
thesupermassive's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Murder, Gore, and Body horror
Moderate: Physical abuse and Domestic abuse
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Alcohol, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Murder, Vomit, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, and Violence
vixenreader's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Grief, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Classism, Child death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Toxic friendship, Blood, and Mental illness
Minor: Bullying and Physical abuse
This novel delves into the subjects of poverty and there is a murder that involves chopping up an entire body into small pieces after committing murder in self defence.felofhe's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cursing, Gore, and Mental illness
Moderate: Drug use