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aetherkids's review against another edition
challenging
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault
tiffanyg's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Child abuse, Medical content, and Abortion
Moderate: Self harm
booksbeyondthebinary's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual assault
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Rape
mohawkm's review
2.75
The recommendation I read described this book as funny, but that's not what I came away with. While the author is excellent at prose, and the whole world of the book seems absurd and interesting to read about, there's an alarming "normalized deviancy" attitude about the sexual abuse among the members of the clergy that Lockwood is around. She's not excusing it, but she's not really dealing with it either, and it is disturbing when it comes up. And it generally feels like she wrote about her family because she wasn't sure what else to write about, which left me with an odd feeling - it's an unflattering portrait that didn't have an undertone of warmth nor learning like some family memoirs.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia, Child abuse, and Sexism
milliemillz's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Rape
jennagv's review
challenging
funny
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Murder
shelby1994's review
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
TW: Abuse
"All fathers believe they are God, and I took it for granted that my father especially believed it."
After a string of bad luck, Patricia and her husband have no choice but to move back in with her parents. Adjusting to life back under your parents’ roof would be a seismic shift for anyone. But for Patricia, who’s father is the “bad boy” of the Catholic priesthood, it’s time machine back to the revelations, insecurities, and peculiarities of her childhood.
Gleeful and sneakily heartbreaking, this is a book that’s so particular in its vibe and its audience that I simultaneously want everyone and no one to read it.
There’s a reason Lockwood was a finalist for last year’s Booker Prize. Originally a poet, she takes you on tangent after tangent, but in a way that feels like listening to your favorite playlist on shuffle.
I wouldn’t recommend reading this if you’ve dealt with sexual or physical abuse within the Church. It comes up alot, never graphically, but we are led to understand that Patricia’s dad is someone who probably knew more than he let on, and at the very least facilitated an environment of dismissiveness towards abuse accusations. My biggest issue with her writing is that I don’t think she gets angry enough about that, even though she was a victim of abuse as well. But then again, it’s her anger - she gets to own it and mold it into whatever she wants.
Read If:
You had a visible role within your religious community growing up
You appreciate that there’s not a lot separating the holy from the obscene
Your favorite part of family dinners is making eye contact with your significant other over the table and mouthing “what the fuck”
"All fathers believe they are God, and I took it for granted that my father especially believed it."
After a string of bad luck, Patricia and her husband have no choice but to move back in with her parents. Adjusting to life back under your parents’ roof would be a seismic shift for anyone. But for Patricia, who’s father is the “bad boy” of the Catholic priesthood, it’s time machine back to the revelations, insecurities, and peculiarities of her childhood.
Gleeful and sneakily heartbreaking, this is a book that’s so particular in its vibe and its audience that I simultaneously want everyone and no one to read it.
There’s a reason Lockwood was a finalist for last year’s Booker Prize. Originally a poet, she takes you on tangent after tangent, but in a way that feels like listening to your favorite playlist on shuffle.
I wouldn’t recommend reading this if you’ve dealt with sexual or physical abuse within the Church. It comes up alot, never graphically, but we are led to understand that Patricia’s dad is someone who probably knew more than he let on, and at the very least facilitated an environment of dismissiveness towards abuse accusations. My biggest issue with her writing is that I don’t think she gets angry enough about that, even though she was a victim of abuse as well. But then again, it’s her anger - she gets to own it and mold it into whatever she wants.
Read If:
You had a visible role within your religious community growing up
You appreciate that there’s not a lot separating the holy from the obscene
Your favorite part of family dinners is making eye contact with your significant other over the table and mouthing “what the fuck”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse
teresareads's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Child abuse
clunttoo's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse and Sexual assault
makepeace's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, and Misogyny