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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
A very well-realized main character who unveils herself in her diary entries in a voyeuristic yet well-rehearsed sort of way. Her interests and scorns, her little idiosyncrasies make her jump out of the page, and with her textured and precise prose (that is, the author's prose) the setting follows, a humble provincial town surrounded by the splendor and horror of nature. The last quarter of the book betrays its own argument a bit, as in it's attempt to argue that this woman's long-awaited connection to her "feminine rage" (about the third most detestable contemporary marketing gimmick) takes form of a rejection of society's oppressive material trappings and a radical return, or rather surrender, to nature and it's unknowns. Yet the diary entries retain the same vaguely self-conscious rehearsed quality to them even as the main character assures me that she is now running wild and doesn't care if anyone thinks her strange or disgusting. I was left with the impression that while the character does not care anymore, the author still cares quite a bit. If she had really shed everything and chewed through her friend's neck and gave herself away to the dog, she wouldn't be writing all that, like that, I'm just saying. Still, a very enjoyable read, and makes me curious about the Canadian horror scene.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loved, loved, loved this book! Gothic horror is one of my favorite genres in media and this story is a perfect example of what gothic horror is!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Death
Minor: Sexual content
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a terribly fascinating story about a woman living at the turn of the century working as a teacher in a small town who begins to crumble under the weight of her secrets, her grief, and the intense scrutiny and expectations of the era (early 1900s). Told through her journaling, we join the narrator as she recounts the happenings of her daily life, and eventually find out the details of her past and the secrets she had been keeping. On the surface it could appear that our protagonist is going mad when really it's through her madness she finds liberation. The format of the story and its perspective reminded me a lot of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper. This story had all the elements of a gothic horror in that our narrator is plagued by ghosts from her past that occupy her mind. Having been confined to small spaces throughout her life as a means of punishment and instances of trauma, it has always been the woods where she has been most at peace. Now though, in this small town, it is the woods that could hold her freedom or her demise.
Okay - look. THIS,. BOOK. HAD. EVERYTHING. A scary unknown entity that could bring our narrator freedom or death. Queerness. A weird lady living in a spooky house in the woods. A curious girl who is super weird. A woman who gives the middle finger to the expectations forced upon her by men and society. This will be an important book for Canadian, Queer, and Feminist literature and I am excited to see how it is received. 10/10 no notes.
Okay - look. THIS,. BOOK. HAD. EVERYTHING. A scary unknown entity that could bring our narrator freedom or death. Queerness. A weird lady living in a spooky house in the woods. A curious girl who is super weird. A woman who gives the middle finger to the expectations forced upon her by men and society. This will be an important book for Canadian, Queer, and Feminist literature and I am excited to see how it is received. 10/10 no notes.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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