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theochick's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
Graphic: Drug use, Child death, and Addiction
lucesandin's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death and Addiction
mercerhanau'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
2.75
It’s a reflective set of stories, looking at slices of life from the narrator as a child, teenager, and mid/late 20s, looking back from later in life. Lots of drinking and suffering from drug addition, wanting to get clean. Depressing, occasionally funny, a LOT of scenes with varying degrees of nausea, dry heaving, and vomit. Unpleasant. But there are also scenes of tenderness that help flesh out the characters.
The title (and a couple references to zombies) encouraged me to look for what could be “horror” or the supernatural in stories that otherwise feel like a fictionalized memoir. Animal presences serve as metaphors that connect interpersonal struggles to the natural world in all its power, chaos, and… stenches.
More thoughts on real-life "horror": SPOILERS / Content Warnings
Feels like an important story to tell. Nuanced representation of a deeply interconnected Native community and family. The writing style and characters didn’t resonate with me, and that’s okay! I definitely see why other people love the book.
Cf. / Reminded me of themes in…
- Wellness, by Natan Hill:
- The Only Good Indians, by Stephen Graham Jones:
- Every Drop Is a Man's Nightmare, by Megan Kamalei Kakimoto:
- This Thing Between Us, by Gus Moreno:
Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Vomit
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Dementia, Miscarriage, and Car accident
Minor: Pregnancy, Medical content, Sexual assault, Animal death, Infertility, and Racial slurs
kattyenn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Child abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, and Murder
lizzie24601's review
- 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
Graphic: Child death, Death, Alcohol, Drug use, Addiction, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Dementia, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Miscarriage, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, Blood, Racial slurs, Excrement, and Injury/Injury detail
jdever's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Addiction, and Emotional abuse
nrogers_1030's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcohol, Colonisation, Cursing, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Dementia, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Violence, and Racial slurs
Minor: Child death
bjdarby's review
4.75
Graphic: Alcoholism and Addiction
Moderate: Mental illness, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Child death, Racism, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, and Rape
bkwrm1317's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Pacing medium-slow made it harder for me to get through (and short stories aren’t my fave).
Graphic: Addiction
Moderate: Sexual assault, Colonisation, and Child death
Minor: Vomit
sundayfever's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Vomit, Child death, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Addiction, and Mental illness
Moderate: Violence, Colonisation, Racism, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Animal cruelty