Scan barcode
slimypuddle's review against another edition
dark
sad
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? It's complicated
3.0
Descriptions of decomposing were very good, unexpected and great to read. The first two chapters were so poetically written, and I really enjoyed them but the rest of the book apart from the decomposing etc felt pointless. I don't think they added much. It would have been better as a short story.
The emphasis on sex in every chapter was a bit odd too, some of it felt like it was more to do with the writer than the story.
The emphasis on sex in every chapter was a bit odd too, some of it felt like it was more to do with the writer than the story.
tamfife's review against another edition
4.0
I picked up a copy of another book of his 'Quarantine' recently (I'm a sucker for Booker prize nominated authors) but haven't read it yet.
Then I found this and thought it looked okay, at 210 pages and with pretty short chapters I thought I'd fly through it, once I started reading it though I found I kept putting it down to think about parts I'd just read.
It's not a spoiler to say it's about a couple who return to the place where they first got together as students and meet a brutal and unexpected fate (It tells you that on the back) and there's the title too
Then I found this and thought it looked okay, at 210 pages and with pretty short chapters I thought I'd fly through it, once I started reading it though I found I kept putting it down to think about parts I'd just read.
It's not a spoiler to say it's about a couple who return to the place where they first got together as students and meet a brutal and unexpected fate (It tells you that on the back) and there's the title too
smesnake's review against another edition
2.0
I enjoyed the descriptions of the stages of putrefaction, some of the biology and zoology woven in, but not much else. While the story itself may be an "unsentimental" look at the evolution of a relationship, Crace's language and descriptions seem to lean more towards the overly sentimental to me. Ultimately, I was just trying to slog through it...
sausome's review against another edition
4.0
REALLY good. Crace writes with intriguing attention to detail, and doesn't shy away from the details most would avoid. I like his audacity and his style. He brazenly approaches death in all it's glory and reality, and speaks matter-of-factly about the crabs and the worms and the creatures of the coast and sand that continue to live and feed on what's presented to them. The reality is almost too real in that I felt like my life could have really been just in this short novel -- begun and ended. But Crace presents a beauty that can be often missed when things are hidden or kept from us for our "protection" or because we can't accept realities about nature, that we are indeed mortal and everything must die.
emjayvee's review against another edition
5.0
A wonderful book. Crace uses an inventive structure to spin a rich and beautifully observed tale of the everyday truth of life, love and the human condition.
danielwestover's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
yolizzy's review against another edition
5.0
This is a beautiful read that I thoroughly enjoyed. I loved the way Crace interweaves technical, and seemingly impersonal, biological descriptions with deeply felt emotion.
vincentkonrad's review against another edition
2.0
a bit of a drag. definitely a disappointment after quarantine and the devil's larder. it never quite took off, and was much less about being dead as it was about being boring. possibly i had just heard too much about it being a big ol' description of decomposition for it to live up to. those parts took up minimal narrative time.