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alyssamgarcia007's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
4.0
micksland's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-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
2.0
2 stars
Unfortunately, this book did not work for me. I have a very high tolerance for darkness and violence in literature, with the caveat that the subject must be handled reasonably well. If an author is going to write a novel set in 21st century New York City, I do expect some modern sensibilities from my characters.
SPOILERS for the first 1/3 of the novel (I won't spoil the ending, though).
Emma Valentine, wife of the protagonist Apollo Kagwa, suffers from postpartum depression after the birth of her child. In a violent rage, she breaks Apollo's jaw with a hammer and disappears. He spends weeks in the hospital undergoing reconstructive surgery. Later in the novel, he seems to forget all about this incident and forgives her without ever mentioning it.
Can you imagine the critics' reactions if the genders had been reversed? What is going on here? (And that's not even getting into the novel's treatment of postpartum depression, which I also found to be pretty lacking)
Despite the fact that there IS an engaging plot and a mystery to solve here, I could never get past the fact that this horrific episode of violence was just dropped by the narrative, never to be examined critically or spoken of by the characters again. This is a massive miss by the author in what could have otherwise been a very emotionally charged story, had the material been handled in a more subtle or realistic way.
Unfortunately, this book did not work for me. I have a very high tolerance for darkness and violence in literature, with the caveat that the subject must be handled reasonably well. If an author is going to write a novel set in 21st century New York City, I do expect some modern sensibilities from my characters.
SPOILERS for the first 1/3 of the novel (I won't spoil the ending, though).
Emma Valentine, wife of the protagonist Apollo Kagwa, suffers from postpartum depression after the birth of her child. In a violent rage, she breaks Apollo's jaw with a hammer and disappears. He spends weeks in the hospital undergoing reconstructive surgery. Later in the novel, he seems to forget all about this incident and forgives her without ever mentioning it.
Can you imagine the critics' reactions if the genders had been reversed? What is going on here? (And that's not even getting into the novel's treatment of postpartum depression, which I also found to be pretty lacking)
Despite the fact that there IS an engaging plot and a mystery to solve here, I could never get past the fact that this horrific episode of violence was just dropped by the narrative, never to be examined critically or spoken of by the characters again. This is a massive miss by the author in what could have otherwise been a very emotionally charged story, had the material been handled in a more subtle or realistic way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Child abuse
Moderate: Racism
princessbilbo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I LOVE the plot, seriously loved. But it was way too slow to really enjoy.
bluecanarylite's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Pregnancy
Minor: Domestic abuse and Racism
jenhurst's review
3.0
3.5. I enjoyed this but something was just missing for me. I like Victor Lavelle’s writing and am really intrigued to read more.
lolajoan's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
5.0
If this were a movie it would be directed by Jordan Peele. It's a thoughtful examination of human motives and beliefs, with seriously creepy stuff and incredibly sad and tragic stuff and beautiful descriptions. It had me gripped from the start. There was a point about a quarter of the way through where the tension was building so much I didn't know if I could keep going but then that dam burst and the resolution was incredibly satisfying.
abaker08's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
The story was interesting but the pacing was overly slow at times. Descriptive details helped to visualize and keep the story moving forward.