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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
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’d say more around 4.5 stars for me. I was quite disturbed, but what is this if not an incredibly disturbing book?
The pages flew by pretty quickly as I tried to decipher what was happening. I think this is like the tenth book I’ve read about an unreliable female narrator’s decent into madness either on their own or because of outside forces. So if that’s the kind of genre you’re into, you’ll enjoy this book! Honestly I wish there were like 50 more pages in it so I could know more about this grey dog.
Additionally: What I will say is that many reviews called this book a novel on feminist rage. There was a lot in this book that had to do with the confined spaces women of that time had to live in (and to be honest still are living in). But the heroine is NOT a representation of feminist rage. Not in my eyes at least. Unless you think that SPOILERS AHEAD beating kids, assaulting (and literally eating) another woman, never bathing ever again are representative of those things. I personally don’t think they are. I think the Main character represents what indoctrination and life long abuse and trauma and not fitting into society looks like. She was devoured by a beast that ate away at her because she was already broken and rotting. Not in a bad way!! Just. In a way.
This was a horror story. It was a tragedy. It absolutely did not have a happy ending but it was interesting to read. I was definitely rooting for Ada until… until I grew concerned just like Agatha grew concerned, then that concern turned into disgust and remained there until I grew plain horrified. If only Ada didn’t have to suffer through so much abuse and sadness throughout her own life… then maybe she wouldn’t have been given away to the grey dog like bait.
The pages flew by pretty quickly as I tried to decipher what was happening. I think this is like the tenth book I’ve read about an unreliable female narrator’s decent into madness either on their own or because of outside forces. So if that’s the kind of genre you’re into, you’ll enjoy this book! Honestly I wish there were like 50 more pages in it so I could know more about this grey dog.
Additionally: What I will say is that many reviews called this book a novel on feminist rage. There was a lot in this book that had to do with the confined spaces women of that time had to live in (and to be honest still are living in). But the heroine is NOT a representation of feminist rage. Not in my eyes at least. Unless you think that SPOILERS AHEAD beating kids, assaulting (and literally eating) another woman, never bathing ever again are representative of those things. I personally don’t think they are. I think the Main character represents what indoctrination and life long abuse and trauma and not fitting into society looks like. She was devoured by a beast that ate away at her because she was already broken and rotting. Not in a bad way!! Just. In a way.
This was a horror story. It was a tragedy. It absolutely did not have a happy ending but it was interesting to read. I was definitely rooting for Ada until… until I grew concerned just like Agatha grew concerned, then that concern turned into disgust and remained there until I grew plain horrified. If only Ada didn’t have to suffer through so much abuse and sadness throughout her own life… then maybe she wouldn’t have been given away to the grey dog like bait.
dark
mysterious
slow-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
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A veritably unsettling read; Hozier meets "The Haunting of Hill House."
Gish's narrator is unreliable, their narration muddled yet seductive. I tore through this book.
Gish's narrator is unreliable, their narration muddled yet seductive. I tore through this book.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Gotta love a feral woman story and allegories for suppressing sexuality. Some things didn’t hit, but I enjoyed nonetheless
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Grey Dog was conceptually right up my alley and I enjoyed the overall atmosphere the novel achieved. This is an entirely irrelevant comment, but I haven't read a historical fiction novel in a long time and it did remind me in some ways of all the books I read about a 12-year-old-girl-living-through-a-world-war, but probably just because it is set in the early 1900s.
While Grey Dog had many things going for it (an unseen creature in the woods, suppressed gay yearning, a constant grappling with the knowledge that you will never feel fulfilled by your career or life in general, an eventual dissent into madness) it didn't quite work for me. I could never buy that I was reading the private writings of the narrator in her journal and not just prose. There was really no reason for this story to be told in this format, instead of just as a first person POV, and ultimately the formality and structure of her "journal" entries took me out of the story. I also felt that some of the observations about the plight of women in society was teetering on the edge of heavy handed. I don’t disagree with the sentiment, obviously, but would have preferred to be trusted to understand the themes of the novel without having them spelled out for me.
Cover design ⭐️ rating: 5/5 no notes
While Grey Dog had many things going for it (an unseen creature in the woods, suppressed gay yearning, a constant grappling with the knowledge that you will never feel fulfilled by your career or life in general, an eventual dissent into madness) it didn't quite work for me. I could never buy that I was reading the private writings of the narrator in her journal and not just prose. There was really no reason for this story to be told in this format, instead of just as a first person POV, and ultimately the formality and structure of her "journal" entries took me out of the story. I also felt that some of the observations about the plight of women in society was teetering on the edge of heavy handed. I don’t disagree with the sentiment, obviously, but would have preferred to be trusted to understand the themes of the novel without having them spelled out for me.
Cover design ⭐️ rating: 5/5 no notes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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
this was delightfully dark, gothic, and full of some of my favorite themes: feminine rage, human relationship to the more-than-human world, and queer longing. the very last few pages shocked me in that i did not expect, and i was left stunned. i could see, for some, how ada byrd might not be exactly a lovable character per se, but i found her story arc and character growth to be essential to illustrating the deconstruction of the societal confines of so-called femininity and emerging into the visceral wildness that the natural world and womanhood embody.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Extremely thrilling, couldn’t put it down. Loved the whole story, which we could’ve actually seen the MC physically interact with/see “grey-dog”
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I couldn’t have picked a better book to read during my Canadian and northern New England road trip. Grey & snowing. Really added a lot to the reading experience!
It’s not often I feel every emotion toward the protagonist but I felt it all. Sheered joy, longing, anxiety, disgust, anger toward her and for her.
Anne of Green Gables meets Hereditary meets the Witch? Whatever it is, it’s great and I loved it.
It’s not often I feel every emotion toward the protagonist but I felt it all. Sheered joy, longing, anxiety, disgust, anger toward her and for her.
Anne of Green Gables meets Hereditary meets the Witch? Whatever it is, it’s great and I loved it.