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couldbestephen's review
5.0
This modern fairy horror novel explores fatherhood, blackness, racism, and more. I rated this book 5/5 stars and would definitely recommend.
Apollo is a rare book collector living in New York. When he and his wife, Emma, have their son, life feels perfect. Then Emma commits a horrific crime and runs away, leaving Apollo wounded and confused. As he hunts his wife down, he finds out the world isn't as straightforward as he thought it was.
I personally can't think of any criticism big enough that would make me remove any stars. LaValle's writing style is sharp and engaging; the prose perfectly moves the fantasy realism aspect of the story along, keeping things grounded while also showcasing magic. Apollo is a complicated character, in no a way perfect man, but through his failures we explore where race, masculinity, and fatherhood intersect. The fantasy elements were elusive and strange, exactly what I love in a fantasy realist work.
I read through some other reviews, I get the criticisms. So little is actually, properly explained, there are "plot holes" LaValle clearly never intended to address, and the ending is just an insane explosion of action. But I love the ambiguity! Magic kinda exists but it's not definable! Fairy tales help defeat Trolls! Trolls are cave dwellers and creeps on the computer! As a major fan of Vita Nostra by the Dyachenkos, I'm rarely bothered by books that have an incredibly soft magic system as long as the story still holds up around it.
This was fantastic and I'm looking forward to reading more of LaValle's works.
Apollo is a rare book collector living in New York. When he and his wife, Emma, have their son, life feels perfect. Then Emma commits a horrific crime and runs away, leaving Apollo wounded and confused. As he hunts his wife down, he finds out the world isn't as straightforward as he thought it was.
I personally can't think of any criticism big enough that would make me remove any stars. LaValle's writing style is sharp and engaging; the prose perfectly moves the fantasy realism aspect of the story along, keeping things grounded while also showcasing magic. Apollo is a complicated character, in no a way perfect man, but through his failures we explore where race, masculinity, and fatherhood intersect. The fantasy elements were elusive and strange, exactly what I love in a fantasy realist work.
I read through some other reviews, I get the criticisms. So little is actually, properly explained, there are "plot holes" LaValle clearly never intended to address, and the ending is just an insane explosion of action. But I love the ambiguity! Magic kinda exists but it's not definable! Fairy tales help defeat Trolls! Trolls are cave dwellers and creeps on the computer! As a major fan of Vita Nostra by the Dyachenkos, I'm rarely bothered by books that have an incredibly soft magic system as long as the story still holds up around it.
This was fantastic and I'm looking forward to reading more of LaValle's works.
starabo's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.5
nikread84's review
3.0
Pretty good, quick read. Good for Halloween season. The ending got a bit unbelievable/fantastical for me, as the rest of the book could’ve lived in the magical realism realm… but all in all seemed like a fable touting the dangers of social media.
dars's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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
3.0
spano150's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
daja57's review
4.0
"A fairy tale moment, the old kind, when such stories were meant for adults, not kids." Set in New York, in which the magical buts up against the mundane. Apollo, seller of rare books, meets librarian Emma; they marry and have a baby called Brian. Then Emma starts to believe that they have a changeling, a creature from myth, not their own baby. Her dreadful reaction, followed by her disappearance, leads means Apollo must travel into mythic and magical realms (within New York) on a quest whose purpose shifts as we understand more of what is happening.
I thought the first half of the book was brilliant.
But it was rather like those horror movies in which the tension builds up until you see the monster, at which point it becomes too hard to suspend disbelief. The first half of the book crackled with mystery. The second half was a straightforward adventure story.
The highlight, apart from the episode in which Emma gives birth on a subway train with the help of four break-dancers, was the relationship between Apollo and Patrice "Usually they were the only two black book men at local estate sales. They might as well be two unicorns that happened into the same field. Of course they’d become close." There is a lot of insult trading as in the best buddy movies and Patrice has a fantastic way of anchoring their adventures in reality, such as when the two young men are seeking to break into a cemetery and Patrice points out that in this (white) neighbourhood the police often shoot first, ask questions later. "We can be heroes,’” Patrice said. “But heroes like us don’t get to make mistakes.”; "Some 'concerned citizen’s' anonymous phone call had killed many a black man before him."
But there were lots of fantastic authorial asides, reflecting on parenting, and the American way of life as seen by a black protagonist in New York City.
But in the end I was terrifically disappointed that a book which promised so much, for so long, dissipated its impact in a fantasy story.
I thought the first half of the book was brilliant.
But it was rather like those horror movies in which the tension builds up until you see the monster, at which point it becomes too hard to suspend disbelief. The first half of the book crackled with mystery. The second half was a straightforward adventure story.
The highlight, apart from the episode in which Emma gives birth on a subway train with the help of four break-dancers, was the relationship between Apollo and Patrice "Usually they were the only two black book men at local estate sales. They might as well be two unicorns that happened into the same field. Of course they’d become close." There is a lot of insult trading as in the best buddy movies and Patrice has a fantastic way of anchoring their adventures in reality, such as when the two young men are seeking to break into a cemetery and Patrice points out that in this (white) neighbourhood the police often shoot first, ask questions later. "We can be heroes,’” Patrice said. “But heroes like us don’t get to make mistakes.”; "Some 'concerned citizen’s' anonymous phone call had killed many a black man before him."
But there were lots of fantastic authorial asides, reflecting on parenting, and the American way of life as seen by a black protagonist in New York City.
But in the end I was terrifically disappointed that a book which promised so much, for so long, dissipated its impact in a fantasy story.
magicole's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Violence
Moderate: Murder and Suicidal thoughts
pathofpages's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
hirvimaki's review
4.0
This was....weird. As another reviewer noted - although he did not like the book - it starts as Love Actually then kind of melts into Rosemary's Baby and then all of a sudden it is Jurassic Park. And despite being so very adamant about those kind of endings, well...it has one of those kind of endings. All of which made for a fun - think funhouse mirror fun - read.