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3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
no idea how to rate this one…. if it ended 100 pages earlier, 10/10.
dark
reflective
slow-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
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
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
This was hard to read, and I didn't really enjoy it, unfortunately.
It was written like a fable or a myth, but went for over 300 pages, with little character development, and a vague, unexplained plot.
Some of this will be part of the charm for other readers, I'm sure. But wow, it dragged on for me.
As a short story, it might have been great... as a novel, it was bad.
It was written like a fable or a myth, but went for over 300 pages, with little character development, and a vague, unexplained plot.
Some of this will be part of the charm for other readers, I'm sure. But wow, it dragged on for me.
As a short story, it might have been great... as a novel, it was bad.
More like 3.75/5. The beginning of the book is quite good- we get a sense of urgency quite quickly which does the novel some good as in the middle and towards the end the plot begins to sag.
The voice of the narrator...I don't know how I feel about it. The language was simple, sentences clipped, but primitive, and I get why Matt chose to write it like this- it's a fairy tale, a dark, twisted, original Brothers Grimm type story and because of this the story needs this type of narration. I'm just not sure if it was for me.
The middle of the book sagged a little bit. I don't know if it was repetitive as some reviewers have said- I wasn't finding that but it just didn't excite me like the beginning, although every time I opened it up and started to read, Matt held my attention, until....
The first scene with the squid. When I started reading that my immediate thought was "what the fuck am I reading?" and that was the sentiment for most of that scene and the scenes to follow. This is not the genre I usually read and I have read some great fantasy but this seemed overwrought and full of symbols and I am not sure it pays off in the end. Half of it was lost on me because there was just so much. I am not the most critical reader, so I may be handicapped in that respect. But I get it. Matt is extremely talented. But it just seemed heavy handed to me.
I love Matt's work and this is no exception but on a different, perhaps less of an immediate level. It has reread value only because I am an English major and literary analysis is my weak point. I figure if I can work the stuff out in this novel I might have a shot at an A. :-)
The voice of the narrator...I don't know how I feel about it. The language was simple, sentences clipped, but primitive, and I get why Matt chose to write it like this- it's a fairy tale, a dark, twisted, original Brothers Grimm type story and because of this the story needs this type of narration. I'm just not sure if it was for me.
The middle of the book sagged a little bit. I don't know if it was repetitive as some reviewers have said- I wasn't finding that but it just didn't excite me like the beginning, although every time I opened it up and started to read, Matt held my attention, until....
The first scene with the squid. When I started reading that my immediate thought was "what the fuck am I reading?" and that was the sentiment for most of that scene and the scenes to follow. This is not the genre I usually read and I have read some great fantasy but this seemed overwrought and full of symbols and I am not sure it pays off in the end. Half of it was lost on me because there was just so much. I am not the most critical reader, so I may be handicapped in that respect. But I get it. Matt is extremely talented. But it just seemed heavy handed to me.
I love Matt's work and this is no exception but on a different, perhaps less of an immediate level. It has reread value only because I am an English major and literary analysis is my weak point. I figure if I can work the stuff out in this novel I might have a shot at an A. :-)
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Some really good moments, but it does drag a lot. A lot of repetition that got a bit distracting and grating at times. Good for one read, but I probably will not pick this one up again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Cannibalism, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
I've had my eye on this for years, but it might not have been the best way to reintroduce myself to fiction. My reading this year has been largely longform journalism with occasional breaks for YA fantasy, and then of course In the House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods. And it was... fine?
I did enjoy a lot of this book. I like weird allegorical stories and I always enjoy that metaphor where people are mysterious labyrinthine houses of many rooms (a much more common theme than its specificity would imply). There was also a lot of surprisingly thoughtful introspection about masculinity that I really didn't expect, but for a while, at least, I appreciated it.
There's also a mythical aspect to this book, though I could never quite track it to a familiar or cogent creation story - and I think that this would have been a stronger read if I could have. It frequently felt like there was too much going on, and I had nothing to actually ground me upon the dirt between the lake and the woods. I needed something familiar to invite me into the story, whether that was a recognizable setting, a myth that I already knew, or a familiar plot structure. As a novel of ideas, this felt flaccid and aimless without any specific path to lead from the dirt to our actual world.
I wasn't as taken by the language as many other reviewers, and even think it might have been a hindrance to the book in general. While it was sometimes beautiful, it was just as often repetitive; if it wasn't typical of a novel, neither was it especially unique. I like stylistically strange novels, but for this to work - for me - it needs to feel a little bit less... well, pained. Parts of this book flowed effortlessly, but more often the writing seemed to be struggling against itself to be profound. This is likely the effect of writing an entire novel in this overwrought, poetic style. I wish the strongest descriptions had been reserved for the strongest moments; when the descriptions are always turned up to eleven, they become tiresome to read, and the language can't highlight any specific moments for our attention.
This book might have benefited from being significantly shorter than it was. Once the initial punch of the metaphor wore off there wasn't enough plot to carry me through the second half, and I finished it more out of a sense of obligation than of any real joy. And yet! I like authors who take big narrative risks, even if those risks don't quite pan out. I'm intrigued by Matt Bell, and there's a good chance I'll read more of his work.
I did enjoy a lot of this book. I like weird allegorical stories and I always enjoy that metaphor where people are mysterious labyrinthine houses of many rooms (a much more common theme than its specificity would imply). There was also a lot of surprisingly thoughtful introspection about masculinity that I really didn't expect, but for a while, at least, I appreciated it.
There's also a mythical aspect to this book, though I could never quite track it to a familiar or cogent creation story - and I think that this would have been a stronger read if I could have. It frequently felt like there was too much going on, and I had nothing to actually ground me upon the dirt between the lake and the woods. I needed something familiar to invite me into the story, whether that was a recognizable setting, a myth that I already knew, or a familiar plot structure. As a novel of ideas, this felt flaccid and aimless without any specific path to lead from the dirt to our actual world.
I wasn't as taken by the language as many other reviewers, and even think it might have been a hindrance to the book in general. While it was sometimes beautiful, it was just as often repetitive; if it wasn't typical of a novel, neither was it especially unique. I like stylistically strange novels, but for this to work - for me - it needs to feel a little bit less... well, pained. Parts of this book flowed effortlessly, but more often the writing seemed to be struggling against itself to be profound. This is likely the effect of writing an entire novel in this overwrought, poetic style. I wish the strongest descriptions had been reserved for the strongest moments; when the descriptions are always turned up to eleven, they become tiresome to read, and the language can't highlight any specific moments for our attention.
This book might have benefited from being significantly shorter than it was. Once the initial punch of the metaphor wore off there wasn't enough plot to carry me through the second half, and I finished it more out of a sense of obligation than of any real joy. And yet! I like authors who take big narrative risks, even if those risks don't quite pan out. I'm intrigued by Matt Bell, and there's a good chance I'll read more of his work.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Truly devastating and so beautiful in that. Mythical journey through a terrifying struggle.
3.5ish - Really unique. Very poetic writing. Lots of fun metaphors. But SO freakin' strange. It was nice to be completely taken off guard; nothing that I thought was going to happen did, or at least in the way I thought it would. Worth reading, but majorly weird.
This rating is not based on the quality of the book. It is solely because this book was not for me...
I received a copy of In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods by Matt Bell through NetGalley. It's the story of a marriage suffering through multiple failed miscarriages. I was expecting something different based on the description, but I wasn't expecting what I got. This book may have had great things to say about marriage and parenthood, but it was all lost on me with the personification of animals and metaphor. I felt like I was on a gruesome, nature-y acid trip and I wanted to come down pretty much the entire book. I won't say this was a bad book because I really don't know. This is just not the right book for me.
thisismybookblog.blogspot.com
I received a copy of In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods by Matt Bell through NetGalley. It's the story of a marriage suffering through multiple failed miscarriages. I was expecting something different based on the description, but I wasn't expecting what I got. This book may have had great things to say about marriage and parenthood, but it was all lost on me with the personification of animals and metaphor. I felt like I was on a gruesome, nature-y acid trip and I wanted to come down pretty much the entire book. I won't say this was a bad book because I really don't know. This is just not the right book for me.
thisismybookblog.blogspot.com