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cantfindmybookmark's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, and Suicide
heytherekaity's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic friendship, Torture, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Alcohol, Confinement, Body horror, and Forced institutionalization
gondorgirl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
For being an incredibly messed up dark academia this book was surprisingly cozy? Like reading a fever dream.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Alcohol
Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, Death, Medical content, and Mental illness
Minor: Animal death
ceilidhwilliams's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Death, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Confinement, and Mental illness
Minor: Medical content, Sexual content, Blood, Suicide, Grief, and Car accident
theresahasread's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
encryptedorchardpest's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Vomit, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Mental illness
Moderate: Grief, Animal death, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Kidnapping
homebodywitch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content, Suicide, Alcohol, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Confinement, Death, and Grief
seilahuh's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
*just an opinion, a very LONG opinion
"all of that for nothing?"
—glo
honestly, i don't feel much about catherine house. the book was beautifully written. and as a story it felt incredibly self-aware.
the chapters are long, the lead ines doesn't really do anything, and the days go by so quickly. characters fade in and out, some details transpared [not a word], others unknown. i liked this element, though, as i really identify with it and it really speaks to my dissociation.
maybe sticking with such an apathetic lead may have harmed the story more than it helped it, but characters surrounding ines to me were not quite interesting either. those who hated Catherine House are lost in the banality of ines and those who love it are sort of entranced by her or the world of Catherine. i just can't find myself to feel either way about it. the more i think about it, the more i wanted because elisabeth's writing demonstrates that's entirely possible.
and i don't know what happened.
there seemed like there was supposed to be a commentary on *something*, at points maybe pretty privilege, another the cultish nature of higher education, but whatever it was it got lost in ines who just wasn't interesting enough or interested herself in any of that for these points to be solidified. which is why that story fell flat and hers too. in the beginning it was a nice premise to me, because ines reminds me of myself.
i'm a very [self-aware] apathetic person, which i wonder if that affects why Catherine House didn't grip me and was personally hard to slug through. maybe we simply don't mesh. but idk, to me that also seems a bit of a cause for indictment the more i consider it. because my biggest issue was *i* as a reader don't get what's gripping about Catherine House itself. i don't see why it's attractive to students and thus i don't see the intended appeal for readers.
there wasn't much freedom in Catherine House actually, and they had to work hard, stressfully hard always. the characters were boring. the sex even felt boring. and the plasm felt unremarkable, what did it really do? i don't feel that I needed to fully understand it, i just wanted to know how it really made Catherine House worth anything. to see some real effect, to know at least why people were willing to die for it. but i don't know that, i don't know why Catherine House means anything.
which again, i thought could be the commentary on prestigious universities, but it's so weak. ambiguous. i don't know if it is commentary on that, and personally, i prefer if people are making commentary on something like that, that they say it with their chest. again, again, *if* that's what was being done. but, i don't really know. there were messages on aging and death that i appreciated. bits about chasing eternal youth and life. but i just didn't see any monopoly that Catherine had on any of it, anything monumental. i was just dragging through, in a similar way i do my regular college assignments. i don't get what separates Catherine House from the world ines and them lived in, because to me it looked the same and operated the same. ines, especially acted the same in both worlds.
there's a lot more i can say about Catherine House, but my biggest opinion is i didn't hate it. don't get me wrong. but i didn't like it either. to me it feels so promising, and an apathetic lead is such an interesting concept. however the execution to me wasn't there. the ambiguous ending itself couldn't even make me angry or inquiring or anything because the entire story post year one felt ineffectual.
i'll admit i had expectations of horrors beyond human comprehension or something really awful and yet it seemed very tame? calling it a thriller, dark, or creepy all feels incorrect. the story felt anticipatory, but there was nothing to fear for me, only a chugging question of 'what's next' and consistent thoughts of 'that's it?!'
afterward, i truly felt empty, and i'm not entirely sure that was the point. and again, this might be *just* me. but i wanted to feel more about Catherine House and i just don't.
when i imagine the book itself as an experiment, it's a lot more fun. to think about, not read, to be clear. then the story becomes effectively representative of the house, incredibly honest.
maybe this book and me are like positive magnet poles and maybe that's what didn't work.
maybe more people willing to give it the FAIR chance other reviewers didn't, like i did, will like or love it. or maybe even feel empty like me. i wouldn't recommend against reading it yourself, 'cause i think people should. i think there's something there.
but i also really think clarity in the book, whether in one word or a sentence would do a lot for this story. it just needed more.
"all of that for nothing?"
—glo
honestly, i don't feel much about catherine house. the book was beautifully written. and as a story it felt incredibly self-aware.
the chapters are long, the lead ines doesn't really do anything, and the days go by so quickly. characters fade in and out, some details transpared [not a word], others unknown. i liked this element, though, as i really identify with it and it really speaks to my dissociation.
maybe sticking with such an apathetic lead may have harmed the story more than it helped it, but characters surrounding ines to me were not quite interesting either. those who hated Catherine House are lost in the banality of ines and those who love it are sort of entranced by her or the world of Catherine. i just can't find myself to feel either way about it. the more i think about it, the more i wanted because elisabeth's writing demonstrates that's entirely possible.
and i don't know what happened.
there seemed like there was supposed to be a commentary on *something*, at points maybe pretty privilege, another the cultish nature of higher education, but whatever it was it got lost in ines who just wasn't interesting enough or interested herself in any of that for these points to be solidified. which is why that story fell flat and hers too. in the beginning it was a nice premise to me, because ines reminds me of myself.
i'm a very [self-aware] apathetic person, which i wonder if that affects why Catherine House didn't grip me and was personally hard to slug through. maybe we simply don't mesh. but idk, to me that also seems a bit of a cause for indictment the more i consider it. because my biggest issue was *i* as a reader don't get what's gripping about Catherine House itself. i don't see why it's attractive to students and thus i don't see the intended appeal for readers.
there wasn't much freedom in Catherine House actually, and they had to work hard, stressfully hard always. the characters were boring. the sex even felt boring. and the plasm felt unremarkable, what did it really do? i don't feel that I needed to fully understand it, i just wanted to know how it really made Catherine House worth anything. to see some real effect, to know at least why people were willing to die for it. but i don't know that, i don't know why Catherine House means anything.
which again, i thought could be the commentary on prestigious universities, but it's so weak. ambiguous. i don't know if it is commentary on that, and personally, i prefer if people are making commentary on something like that, that they say it with their chest. again, again, *if* that's what was being done. but, i don't really know. there were messages on aging and death that i appreciated. bits about chasing eternal youth and life. but i just didn't see any monopoly that Catherine had on any of it, anything monumental. i was just dragging through, in a similar way i do my regular college assignments. i don't get what separates Catherine House from the world ines and them lived in, because to me it looked the same and operated the same. ines, especially acted the same in both worlds.
there's a lot more i can say about Catherine House, but my biggest opinion is i didn't hate it. don't get me wrong. but i didn't like it either. to me it feels so promising, and an apathetic lead is such an interesting concept. however the execution to me wasn't there. the ambiguous ending itself couldn't even make me angry or inquiring or anything because the entire story post year one felt ineffectual.
i'll admit i had expectations of horrors beyond human comprehension or something really awful and yet it seemed very tame? calling it a thriller, dark, or creepy all feels incorrect. the story felt anticipatory, but there was nothing to fear for me, only a chugging question of 'what's next' and consistent thoughts of 'that's it?!'
afterward, i truly felt empty, and i'm not entirely sure that was the point. and again, this might be *just* me. but i wanted to feel more about Catherine House and i just don't.
when i imagine the book itself as an experiment, it's a lot more fun. to think about, not read, to be clear. then the story becomes effectively representative of the house, incredibly honest.
maybe this book and me are like positive magnet poles and maybe that's what didn't work.
maybe more people willing to give it the FAIR chance other reviewers didn't, like i did, will like or love it. or maybe even feel empty like me. i wouldn't recommend against reading it yourself, 'cause i think people should. i think there's something there.
but i also really think clarity in the book, whether in one word or a sentence would do a lot for this story. it just needed more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism and Death
khakipantsofsex's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Alcohol, and Confinement
Moderate: Suicide and Animal cruelty
ashley_turch's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Animal cruelty, Death, and Suicide