Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - The Woods All Black

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The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo

3 reviews

smalltowncreepy's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

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

4.5

A historical queer horror gem!
As a gender queer person from Kentucky, this book sang to me in so many ways. Despite being in 1929, we unfortunately deal with the same mindset today as Les did with Preacher Holladay and his congregation. The scariest, most disturbing, and hardest parts to read for me weren't the ones dealing with a monster in the woods or the details of Les having to help the dying people around him, it was the moments Les was forced to listen to the preacher spout bible passages about a "woman's place" in the world. Horrifying, pointed, and well done.
I can't claim my favorite parts without spoiling the story completely but there is a romance in this book that is beautiful and weird and I love it.
If you have read What Moves the Dead and are looking for more trans and queer rep, especially queer veteran rep, in historical or pseudo-historical horror, this is the book for you.

I received an eARC of Woods All Black for my honest review.
You can also watch my tiktok rec for it https://www.tiktok.com/@smalltowncreepy/video/7384073467940834602?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=6993813173514176006

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kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I liked this! short without feeling rushed, it felt like watching a standalone episode of a very well-made miniseries. i like revenge and i love when oppressed characters get to kill bigots so lots to enjoy here! none of that “but we’d be as bad as them if we fight back” tom foolery; just desserts for the entire town! Oprah-level payback if you will

@ Sony consider the river scene required reading for the next Venom movie pls & thx

edit: mandelo thanking joon for Indigo in the acknowledgements is so real, apobangpo

Content Warnings

thecriticalreader's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.75

The Run-Down: The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo is an exquisitely imagined historical horror romance that delivers a gritty, feral catharsis.

Review:

Lee Mandelo has done the unimaginable with The Woods All Black. In just 150 pages, he has created an immersive, historically detailed trans romance horror story. The novella follows Leslie, a nurse from the Frontier Nursing Service assigned to provide vaccination and other health services to an isolated religious Appalachian town called Spar’s Creek. Leslie puts up with the town’s distrustful attitude toward him in order to help a young resident, Stevie, whom he recognizes as a gender- nonconforming kindred spirit. As the residents grow increasingly hostile toward Leslie and Stevie for failing to act like proper God-fearing women, Leslie finds himself embroiled in a conflict that involves forces beyond his comprehension.

It's rare to find a piece of queer historical fiction that does not simply transplant modern ideas about gender and queerness into a historical setting. While there is nothing inherently wrong about this approach from a storytelling perspective, it does promote a rather limited and inaccurate understanding of the past. By contrast, The Woods All Black makes a genuine attempt to reimagine queerness and gender nonconformity as its characters might have understood it. For example, the book’s protagonist identifies as a female “invert,” a sexual identity popularized in the late 1920s that in today’s understanding of gender and sexuality might be most akin to a he/him lesbian or transmasc nonbinary identity. Furthermore, Mandelo’s extensive historical research—combined with his sharp imagination— lends this book a remarkable sense of historical realism. At the same time, however, he manages to craft a story that is both affirming and relevant to the present, and modern queer readers will see parts of themselves represented in these characters.

Despite the book’s short length, The Woods All Black never seems rushed or underdeveloped. On the contrary, its characters come alive on the page with remarkable depth. The steady pacing contributes to the ever-increasing narrative tension, which is released in a brutal, cathartic climax. Mandelo’s writing rejoices in a gritty, animalistic version of trans masculinity—a tender ferocity borne of a lifetime of societal oppression and constraint. The graphic nature of this book won’t be for everyone, but for those who need this narrative, it will be a blessing they didn’t know they needed.

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