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bookforestsprite's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
4.0
I absolutely loved the lush and irony-filled writing style. But while I'm a huge fan of slow apocalypse narratives with little plot and not a lot of explanation – even for me the ending was entirely abrupt and open.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Gore
emory's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
A horrifyingly amazing read, with a terribly inaccurate summary on the back! I was expecting a run of the mill thriller but was beyond satisfied with the shockingly relevant horror of two families facing what might be the end of the world.
The writing, while seeming unnecessarily ornate at the beginning of the novel (before the narrative reaches its point), is gorgeously poignant and haunting. My only complaint is the writing sometimes tilted into purple, with words clearly added only to show off the vocabulary of the author ("alee" to describe the inside of a Starbucks?), and the strange fixation and return to sex and what sex could metaphorically represent for these characters. Annoying, but not damning, and worth slogging through for the story itself.
The use of dramatic irony of knowing what is really happening while the vividly human portagonists stumble through figuring out what is going on, their dynamics with and what they owe to one another, and what course of action they have to take carries the novel to it's gut wrenching relevance and takeaway. A story couldn't be more frightening in the current climate of knowing how bad it is, knowing society's place perched on the edge of disaster, that something's about to give. Alam's masterful prose wanders through the particular scenario of a family finding out you can never really look away.
The writing, while seeming unnecessarily ornate at the beginning of the novel (before the narrative reaches its point), is gorgeously poignant and haunting. My only complaint is the writing sometimes tilted into purple, with words clearly added only to show off the vocabulary of the author ("alee" to describe the inside of a Starbucks?), and the strange fixation and return to sex and what sex could metaphorically represent for these characters. Annoying, but not damning, and worth slogging through for the story itself.
The use of dramatic irony of knowing what is really happening while the vividly human portagonists stumble through figuring out what is going on, their dynamics with and what they owe to one another, and what course of action they have to take carries the novel to it's gut wrenching relevance and takeaway. A story couldn't be more frightening in the current climate of knowing how bad it is, knowing society's place perched on the edge of disaster, that something's about to give. Alam's masterful prose wanders through the particular scenario of a family finding out you can never really look away.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, and War
Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Genocide, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Blood, Excrement, Car accident, and Murder
The book is about an apocalyptic scenario that is very realistic and claustrophobic.alexisgarcia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was an insane read. I’m slightly new to reading thrillers, it was a genre I never really read (no idea why) until recently. This book was incredibly bone chilling and unpredictable. I was surprised that I was never able to guess what was happening next which I was very excited by. I don’t think the characters were incredibly well developed but the book was on the shorter side and character development didn’t seem to be a main aspect of the book so I never minded. This is one of the most captivating thrillers I’ve yet and would definitely recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
javabones's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
I thought this was going to be a thriller/mystery but it turned out to be a disaster in itself. Finished it out of stubbornness and hope that it would go somewhere. It did not. The writing style draggggged on and it was so bizzare and full of gross sex details?? It was so bad it was funny, after you got over how uncomfortable it was. It deserves a lot of trigger warnings, which makes it seem interesting, but literally nothing happens.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Gore, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol
laurenkchung's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
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
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Vomit
sarah984's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
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
2.0
There were some things here that had the potential to be interesting - the "guess who’s coming to dinner" scenario with the white people who desperately want to believe they're not racist (or that they don't SEEM racist, these characters are preoccupied with seeming) but resent the class/race divisions not going the way they would expect, the mundane weirdness of living through a disaster, some of the things with the animals. However, the prose is extremely dense, full of short sentences, weird metaphors and unpleasant sexuality, and in the end it just kind of felt like a chore to read it. It also drove me insane that they spent all that time complaining about not knowing anything but refused to listen to the radio.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Vomit
Moderate: Cancer, Confinement, Gore, Racism, Excrement, Medical content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Islamophobia, and War
There is a scene involving a person’s teeth falling out.mosscovereddreams's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Racial slurs, Blood, Vomit, and Alcohol
gtierk's review against another edition
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
a lot of sexualizing children, which I did not lovexx
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Racism, and Sexual content
vlntnmz's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Why the author put so many sex references in the senteces when there was no ponit for it?
'
'
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, and Vomit
Minor: Cancer, Suicide, Medical content, and Murder
jamieleepilk's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
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
2.5
A thrilling and addictive story that doesn't really go anywhere.
It's written in a very specific way that I found myself having to adjust to but never really flowed with. Interesting take on the world ending, it's extremely vague about what's happening in the outside world and all the characters assumptions about what's happening adds more to the mystery.
It's one of those books that isn't necessarily a horror but it has that uneasy and unsettling sense of dread underneath every page. Mainly the book focuses on the tension and the clash of the two families living in the one house. Some parts of this book are extraordinary and really well written while other parts (like long lists of groceries) just felt flat and unnecessary. A great prose with incredible potential that just felt a little underwhelming for me sadly.
It's written in a very specific way that I found myself having to adjust to but never really flowed with. Interesting take on the world ending, it's extremely vague about what's happening in the outside world and all the characters assumptions about what's happening adds more to the mystery.
It's one of those books that isn't necessarily a horror but it has that uneasy and unsettling sense of dread underneath every page. Mainly the book focuses on the tension and the clash of the two families living in the one house. Some parts of this book are extraordinary and really well written while other parts (like long lists of groceries) just felt flat and unnecessary. A great prose with incredible potential that just felt a little underwhelming for me sadly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, and Vomit