Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - The Library at Mount Char

You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

113 reviews

gillianalice's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was recommended to me by a friend, and so I dived in without really knowing what it was about. I mean, it has the word "library" in the title, so it's going to be cozy, right? It occurred to me pretty quickly that I should have thought about the kind of books my friend usually reads rather than the title of this one.

That being said, once I got used to the brutal violence and got my feet under me, I was fully invested in the story. I didn't much care for the descriptions of the many ways David liked to kill people, or the various abuses inflicted on the librarians by their father, or Margaret's penchant for talking to decapitated heads, but it was worth reading that to get to the payoff at the end. Watching this insane story come together was incredible.

Content Warnings

beanjoles's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I’m finding it challenging to rate this book. I did really enjoy the story overall and was glued to the page at several points, but the execution just wasn’t there in the end. There was a lot I liked and a lot that didn’t work for me. Let’s dig in. Spoilers abound.

Technical comments:

The author did a great job of imbuing each POV character with a distinctive voice, despite writing in the third person. I was impressed with how well these came across. That said, my expectations for the story’s tone and cadence were set by the initial chapters following Carolyn. The shift to other characters was jarring. It took me out of the story so completely that I had a hard time connecting with or accepting some of the wilder plot points. (Steve’s entire escape from the dead one’s house to the vet with Naga being a notable example.) This is an area where I feel that the author’s strengths in giving the characters distinct voices actually did the story a disservice.

On a related note, I h a t e d the way that spoken non-standard English dialects were written. (Thinking mainly of Erwin’s chapters, but also Steve’s in some places.) It’s off-putting to have entire chapters dedicated to eloquently and explicitly describing ritualized child abuse in the same book as characters who say, “lissen,” “ah’ite,” “g’wan,” “daaaayum” (four As, I checked!), and “da fuck.” Like, it felt disrespectful of the gravity of the tale because it did not feel authentic in the least. If this stylistic choice had been pulled off better then, yeah, sure, do it. But the execution was not good and got worse as the book progressed.

Otherwise, the prose was fairly strong and moving. Well, Carolyn’s parts were. I understand why we couldn’t follow her the whole way through, but would that we could’ve. :’)

Some disjointed commentary on plotting and characterization:

I really enjoyed the mythological fantasy elements, like the backstory of the king of the lions and his daughter. They went a long way toward fleshing out the world in which Carolyn, Father, and the other librarians are operating.

I would have liked a bit more from the confrontation/passing of the torch with Father at the end. It felt like he was given a pass on his HORRIFIC abuses of these kids (and, honestly, for what! Carolyn killed them all in the end anyway) and just got to be like, “I’m sorry I tortured you and your friends for 15 years but it was for ~ your greater good ~ ok.” And Carolyn is just like, “Yeah ok have fun in your new universe!” ????

The pacing was a bit uneven in the middle section of the book and felt almost frenetic by the end. It still mostly worked for me, though. Steve becoming the new sun was a nice and fitting end for his character arc.

Content Warnings

aducharme4's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

mrgriffit's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A book for anyone who supports women’s wrongs and women’s rights. Also for people who enjoy stories where characters have incredibly intricate plans that have small details that pile up into big successes.

Content Warnings

teaganme's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Stunning book, beautiful prose, and interesting world building. Someone asked me what this book was about, but I couldn't answer, which adds to the fun and mystery.

Content Warnings