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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am utterly confused about why this has been so highly praised as a novel depicting feminine rage and the triumph of a woman scorned.
Maybe I didn’t understand it the way others interpreted it. Maybe I’m missing something.
I will agree that it’s definitely subversive to have Ada embrace ‘madness’ as she shucks off societal expectations of what a ‘good woman’ is like, but I don’t know that it’s necessarily empowering? At least, it didn’t feel that way to me.
Ada has suffered horrible abuse in her life, and I’m not going to say that she doesn’t deserve to lash out after what she’s experienced, but the only interaction that felt satisfactory and justifiable was her confrontation with her abusive father. Her increasing desire to harm her young students, her nearly blinding one of those students, her taunting of Mrs. Greer by bringing up her deceased young son, and her assaulting of Agatha (multiple times, including Agatha’s death) made her a completely unlikable character for the wrong reasons. I don’t understand the intention behind making a character, whom you presumably want your readers to sympathize with, to be so insufferable. Listen, I’m a fan of morally grey or complex characters, but this really feels like an odd choice.
I really, really dislike ‘feminist’ literature that pits women against each other. Sure, you can have female characters that don’t get along or even are at odds with one another, but why is Ada horribly punishing the women (and young girls) of this town, when it has mostly been men that have wronged her in her life?
Her father has done terrible things to her, and yet he only gets a stern talking to? I’m confused.
By the end of the book, Ada has nearly become an animal, and it is at this point that she is her happiest and most free. But it feels like such an exclusionary form of feminism or empowerment. Rather than using her new confidence and power to encourage other women or punish her abusers, she goes feral and turns her back on everyone in the town besides the one other person who heard the call of the Grey Dog.
Is Ada becoming so animalistic and returning to nature supposed to be empowering? I can understand that she has progressed past the point of caring what other people think about her, but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Especially because of the ending.
What brought this book down to one star for me is how Ada assaults and murders Agatha at the end of the book. The language that is used when Ada pins Agatha to the floor with her weight and strength, then kisses, licks, and bites her neck is very reminiscent of language used when authors typically describe men sexually assaulting women. Why, in a book that has already condemned sexual assault, would you have your main character exhibit this behavior, especially with the language used? I don’t understand the intent, and it leaves me feeling more sick and disappointed than impressed or satisfied.
Beyond these points, the first half of the book dragged terribly. I know it’s supposed to be a slow burn, but it didn’t even feel like there was a fire going. I was just looking at cold coals for 60% of the book before the spark even lit.
Maybe I am a bad feminist, or maybe I’ve completely misinterpreted the author’s intentions, but this book totally unimpressed me :/
EDIT: I mentioned it in a below comment, but I want to clarify that I am mostly responding to reviewers that labeled this book as “feminist”, as it very much is not (in that it is not traditionally empowering in the way you would think). The “female rage” mentioned in the description is also not satisfying, as the victims of Ada’s rage (despite having made mistakes/hurt Ada) aren’t the ones who would be most deserving of her wrath. These reviews are what influenced my experience with the book, and I wouldn’t want anyone else to go into it with false expectations. I stand by my rating, but that reflects my opinions on the scenes with Agatha, as well as my dislike of the pacing and the conclusions we are left with.
Maybe I didn’t understand it the way others interpreted it. Maybe I’m missing something.
I will agree that it’s definitely subversive to have Ada embrace ‘madness’ as she shucks off societal expectations of what a ‘good woman’ is like, but I don’t know that it’s necessarily empowering? At least, it didn’t feel that way to me.
Ada has suffered horrible abuse in her life, and I’m not going to say that she doesn’t deserve to lash out after what she’s experienced, but the only interaction that felt satisfactory and justifiable was her confrontation with her abusive father. Her increasing desire to harm her young students, her nearly blinding one of those students, her taunting of Mrs. Greer by bringing up her deceased young son, and her assaulting of Agatha (multiple times, including Agatha’s death) made her a completely unlikable character for the wrong reasons. I don’t understand the intention behind making a character, whom you presumably want your readers to sympathize with, to be so insufferable. Listen, I’m a fan of morally grey or complex characters, but this really feels like an odd choice.
I really, really dislike ‘feminist’ literature that pits women against each other. Sure, you can have female characters that don’t get along or even are at odds with one another, but why is Ada horribly punishing the women (and young girls) of this town, when it has mostly been men that have wronged her in her life?
Her father has done terrible things to her, and yet he only gets a stern talking to? I’m confused.
By the end of the book, Ada has nearly become an animal, and it is at this point that she is her happiest and most free. But it feels like such an exclusionary form of feminism or empowerment. Rather than using her new confidence and power to encourage other women or punish her abusers, she goes feral and turns her back on everyone in the town besides the one other person who heard the call of the Grey Dog.
Is Ada becoming so animalistic and returning to nature supposed to be empowering? I can understand that she has progressed past the point of caring what other people think about her, but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Especially because of the ending.
What brought this book down to one star for me is how Ada assaults and murders Agatha at the end of the book. The language that is used when Ada pins Agatha to the floor with her weight and strength, then kisses, licks, and bites her neck is very reminiscent of language used when authors typically describe men sexually assaulting women. Why, in a book that has already condemned sexual assault, would you have your main character exhibit this behavior, especially with the language used? I don’t understand the intent, and it leaves me feeling more sick and disappointed than impressed or satisfied.
Beyond these points, the first half of the book dragged terribly. I know it’s supposed to be a slow burn, but it didn’t even feel like there was a fire going. I was just looking at cold coals for 60% of the book before the spark even lit.
Maybe I am a bad feminist, or maybe I’ve completely misinterpreted the author’s intentions, but this book totally unimpressed me :/
EDIT: I mentioned it in a below comment, but I want to clarify that I am mostly responding to reviewers that labeled this book as “feminist”, as it very much is not (in that it is not traditionally empowering in the way you would think). The “female rage” mentioned in the description is also not satisfying, as the victims of Ada’s rage (despite having made mistakes/hurt Ada) aren’t the ones who would be most deserving of her wrath. These reviews are what influenced my experience with the book, and I wouldn’t want anyone else to go into it with false expectations. I stand by my rating, but that reflects my opinions on the scenes with Agatha, as well as my dislike of the pacing and the conclusions we are left with.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I love female rage 👻
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes