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emjay2021's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Bernstein’s writing is really good, but her sentences are long, elliptical, and sometimes hard to parse. The narrator is weird and difficult to like—but I’m convinced this is intentional on the part of the author. Numerous times I found myself very irritated by the narrator and thinking, “Stop being so naive! Stand up for yourself!” Which is all a bit unfair, because we do know why she is the way she is (or at least have a pretty good idea). It casts the reader into the role of the townspeople, which is a discomfiting place to be.
This book is all about dominance and submission, ostracism, prejudice and oppression. It’s about weird, small-town mindset and fear of the other. It’s a claustrophobic, peculiar book. There’s a sense of creeping dread that contrasts with the bucolic setting in a way that reminds me of Shirley Jackson’s “Summer People,” or movies like The Wicker Man or Midsommar.
I’m not going to give it a rating because I don’t tend to rate experimental books. I’m not sorry I read it, but I can’t say it was pleasant, either. Still, I kept noting turns of phrase while reading and thinking about the book even after I finished reading. I was glad it was short, though.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Antisemitism, Bullying, Animal death, Gaslighting, and Religious bigotry
peregrinwho's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Antisemitism and Animal death
alexreads22's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Drug use, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Incest, Misogyny, Gore, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Antisemitism, and Death
blacksallyrooney's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Existence is futile, Sarah Bernstein’s Giller Prize-winning second novel offers flat-out, from its first to its last page. The possibility of a peaceful, or peaceable, life is outright denied, and this conclusion is decisive in the novel’s respective study (or, even, a fable) of Jewish life and diaspora, of power among intimacy, of land, and of the shroud of the Holocaust that Europe willfully wound around itself yet writhes against.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, and Gore
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Emotional abuse and Antisemitism
jlye's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Moderate: Antisemitism
ogik's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, and Antisemitism
annagerman's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
An interesting portrayal of xenophobia, particularly antisemitism. There were some interesting observations about how cultural and familial roles are ingrained into our personally, as well as our history and community.
The book did manage to create a very charged atmosphere, reminiscent of witch trials.
And there were some though-provoking observations strewed in between the meandering, occasionally unintelligible, constant internal dialogue.
However, the writing was way too dense, bogged down by 10$ and 100$ words. I don't particularly enjoy train-of-thought writing, and though I did see the purpose it served in this instance, it was tiresome. It felt almost a chore to read at times, especially when the MC went on the more abstract tangents.
The character (since there is essentially only one in this book, on a prolonged internal self-psychoanalytical journey) was almost an allegory and not an actual human. Since there was no dialogue at all, and all interactions were limited in both duration and description, the story felt very isolated and impersonal.
Overall this book is tolerable only because of it's short length. There's no way I could have survived more than 200 pages of this.
verdict - 2/5 dead pigs
Great vibes and some interesting observation, but they get lost in the relentless over-written bombardment of text.
Edit - I originally have it 2 stars, then 2.5, now I give it 3.5 - this book just grows inside my mind like a fungus and come back to me at unexpected moments
Graphic: Antisemitism and Xenophobia
nanc_282's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Antisemitism and Toxic relationship
rebeccafarren's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Hate crime, Bullying, Animal death, and Abandonment