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mattlefevers's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
On paper, "the author of YA sensation Perks of Being A Wallflower attempts a riff on the classic Stephen King format of 'small town gradually destroys itself'" sounds like exactly my jam. And that's definitely the pattern Chbosky is following here — think Needful Things, Under the Dome, and the like. Many characters, lots of hopping between viewpoints, and this idyllic small town slowly coming unraveled. It seems like it'd be amazing.
But somehow this book felt long in a way that those comparable King books don't, to me. The prose is readable, I wasn't usually having too bad of a time while I had it open, but every time I closed it I'd look to see how much progress I'd made and the Kindle readout would be 1% further along. It's so long and I'm not sure the book makes the best use of all that space.
Part of what makes a The Stand or something work is diving deep into the psyches of that sprawling cast of characters, really making each one a fully fleshed out human being. Chbosky apes that format here but each of the characters in the town has precisely one (1) character trait, and repeats it indefinitely. This woman is a drunk, and one hundred percent of her viewpoint chapters are about wanting alcohol. This other character was abused, and every line of her inner monologue is her thinking about that. All of the characters are sketched so thinly that there wound up only being about two or three that I cared about in the whole town. It's telling that two of the primary protagonists of the entire novel are referred to as "Christopher's mom" and "the sheriff", even in their own viewpoint chapters.
Similarly, it's hard to tell what (if any) agency any of these characters are supposed to have. Without divulging too much about the plot (there are some terrific twists I'd rather leave unspoiled) the back half of the novel has things descending into chaos, but it's never even remotely clear whether characters are possessed (and have no free will at all), or whether they're being tempted by their own secret desires and fears (but are giving in to that temptation as conscious agents?) or if they're essentially just zombies from a low rent horror film. I don't know what the point is of introducing dozens of friends and bullies and classmates and neighbors and lovers and coworkers only to have all of them end up in basically the same position regardless of their interior life.
Really in all respects the stakes here are baffling. For a story that starts out as a pretty grounded slow burn, the latter half of the book is surreal and hard to track. People are escaping from places, then going back into those places, then escaping again; people unlock amazing powers and then six sentences later they're powerless to defend themselves; the villain's plan is thwarted two thirds of the way through but nothing changes and eventually they have to be thwarted again; sometimes things are happening in a dream and sometimes they aren't but seem like they are. I never have any idea what anybody is trying to accomplish or how. It's truly a story of people running back and forth across town while things happen to them.
The language is repetitious to a fault — I did a Kindle search for the words "baby teeth" (21), "cool side of the pillow" (13), and "floods" (55), which are only a handful of the mantras the author keeps returning to in a Groundhog Day style loop. (He also gets a lot of mileage out of the word 'son' sounding like the word 'sun'.)
So why did I read all seven hundred something pages of a book that annoyed me this much? Partly because I've only ever not finished about five books in my life and I owe Chbosky enough loyalty to not add his sophomore novel to that pile. But there are also things here that do work. I felt a lot of love for Kate (sorry, 'Christopher's mother') as a character, and for the journey of faith that Mary Katherine undergoes in the novel. There were moments that startled me, or moved me, or spread a savage grin across my face. And some of the twists... there's a reason I'm talking around the actual plot of this book. There are surprises and reveals and reversals in here that legitimately delighted me. Every time I was this close to putting it down and never coming back, I'd hit a chapter that turned everything upside down and made me excited about it again.
So... I don't know. It's very hard for me to recommend a book that feels this long and has this many flaws, but. If you were already planning to read it, I hope you enjoy it. There are things here to like.
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Alcoholism, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Blood, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Body horror, Gun violence, Mental illness, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, and Pedophilia
audalia's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Physical abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, Confinement, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Blood, Religious bigotry, Grief, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Pedophilia, Addiction, Death, and Incest
buecher_und_huehner's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Dementia, Murder, Addiction, Animal death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Blood, Bullying, Medical content, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Suicide, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Pedophilia
hellokatya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
a slow burn that truly throws you wholly into the universe of christopher and kate.
it was a mesmerizing and well thought out world, and i'm so happy to have been able to participate.
highly recommend for anyone who enjoys a lot of character development throughout all characters (main and side), a fully developed plot, and has the time to delve into this beast.
Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse
Moderate: Violence, Car accident, Grief, Gun violence, War, Slavery, and Suicide
etzar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Blood, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
eternalbutt's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Grief, Incest, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Death, Gaslighting, War, Addiction, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Dementia, Rape, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical content, Suicide, Torture, Abandonment, Classism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Alcoholism, Confinement, Blood, Drug use, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Gun violence and Alcohol
anna_18's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Car accident, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Incest and Addiction
madinhoa's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Violence, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Rape, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Murder, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Gun violence, Gore, Grief, Emotional abuse, Dementia, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Confinement, Child death, Child abuse, Car accident, Cannibalism, and Animal death
raw_huerta's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment and Alcoholism