Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
This is an excellent blend of fairy tale horror and the mysteries of NYC. Lavalle is obviously a NY-er who loves every inch of this amazing city and this novel is his best work yet.
This one just missed the mark for me. I don't think the infusion of Fairy Tale and modern day technology quite fused together for this one to be pulled off. The biggest problem is the writing. If you're going to write a fairy tale, your writing needs to be beautiful, but this was pretty basic. There was no real flourish to the style, only "He went here. He did this. This is a base description of what this place looks like."
The plot just took far too long to get anywhere and didn't give enough information. We went from "Apollo is having nightmares again", to Emma is getting chains, to immediately "That's not a child", and then to her poisoning Apollo, chaining him up, and hitting him with a hammer (and then seemingly killing her child). We missed most of the build of Emma's madness or what is actually the main core of the fairy tale. It was hidden far too much in the subterfuge of the mystery, and needlessly so. I spent most of the novel trying to figure out what in the world it was trying to be. I didn't actually get that it was supposed to be a fairy tale (not quite the uncanny or horror tale I was thinking it would be) and actually read a few of the reviews of this novel because it just didn't give me enough. I focused far too much on Apollo's father, which literally had nothing to add to this story. It was just distracting. I thought that his disappearance had some connection to what was happening to Apollo's son, but it had nothing. I don't quite understand how a photograph on the internet is akin to an invitation to take the child...I mean wouldn't a daguerreotype hold the same power then (logically speaking), but it sounds like it doesn't.
The bad individuals aren't introduced until far too long into the story.
The plot just took far too long to get anywhere and didn't give enough information. We went from "Apollo is having nightmares again", to Emma is getting chains, to immediately "That's not a child", and then to her poisoning Apollo, chaining him up, and hitting him with a hammer (and then seemingly killing her child). We missed most of the build of Emma's madness or what is actually the main core of the fairy tale. It was hidden far too much in the subterfuge of the mystery, and needlessly so. I spent most of the novel trying to figure out what in the world it was trying to be. I didn't actually get that it was supposed to be a fairy tale (not quite the uncanny or horror tale I was thinking it would be) and actually read a few of the reviews of this novel because it just didn't give me enough. I focused far too much on Apollo's father, which literally had nothing to add to this story. It was just distracting. I thought that his disappearance had some connection to what was happening to Apollo's son, but it had nothing. I don't quite understand how a photograph on the internet is akin to an invitation to take the child...I mean wouldn't a daguerreotype hold the same power then (logically speaking), but it sounds like it doesn't.
The bad individuals aren't introduced until far too long into the story.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Yet another reason not to have children
The book was well written but felt disjointed. A substantial amount of time was given to describe a seemingly normal family life and a courtship and towards the end it became a story of mystery and horror. There was not enough time given to fully explain the myth and backstory. I still have questions that are left unanswered.
I didn't remember what this book was about before I started reading it, just guessed it would have some magical elements based on the title. But, it is so much more. It touches on childhood trauma, racism, post-partum depression, parenting, PTSD. I appreciated the ending circling back to the fairy tale.
Super short:
Troll eats babies. Horrible people help.
Super short:
Troll eats babies. Horrible people help.
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i liked this, but it’s very difficult to take a book about fatherhood with an antagonist named Kinder Garten seriously
I’m not a fantasy fan, so fantasy lovers can ignore this. This reads like a brothers Grimm story in the second half. Which would’ve been fine and even really enjoyable for me if the first half hadn’t been a really cool psychological thriller, mom cult tease. Fairy tales also have flat characters, like Patrice, who are there to support and apparently not ask hard hitting questions. I digress. I loved the first half, and the second half just wasn’t what I was teed up to crave. Also, I’m team Emma and still think Apollo shouldn’t have just forgiven her like that? She broke his face?
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
🍼 This is only the second or third fairytale retelling that I’ve read so far, & I liked it overall
🍼 I think that it is the nature of fairy tales to sweep the reader along in the narrative, & I felt that with this book. Even as it started with a slow burn, I felt a few elements of horror & whimsy prior to being thrown directly into the meat of it.
🍼 The social commentary on multiple subjects (parenthood, abandonment, post-partum depression, misogyny, race, class, etc.) is a good addition. I also thought it was interesting that the internet & modern technology had a role in the folklore, updating the classic story.
🍼 Some parts got a bit hazy—it felt like the author threw in elements for the story but did not describe them enough for me to fully understand or to be able to picture what was taking place. I could understand concepts, but some things were rushed.
🍼 In addition, there were some loose ends/unanswered questions as well as an inconsistency relating to a character’s background that the author had spent so much time building
I think LaValle had a lot of important things to say, and I ultimately enjoyed the ride!
🍼 I think that it is the nature of fairy tales to sweep the reader along in the narrative, & I felt that with this book. Even as it started with a slow burn, I felt a few elements of horror & whimsy prior to being thrown directly into the meat of it.
🍼 The social commentary on multiple subjects (parenthood, abandonment, post-partum depression, misogyny, race, class, etc.) is a good addition. I also thought it was interesting that the internet & modern technology had a role in the folklore, updating the classic story.
🍼 Some parts got a bit hazy—it felt like the author threw in elements for the story but did not describe them enough for me to fully understand or to be able to picture what was taking place. I could understand concepts, but some things were rushed.
🍼 In addition, there were some loose ends/unanswered questions as well as an inconsistency relating to a character’s background that the author had spent so much time building
I think LaValle had a lot of important things to say, and I ultimately enjoyed the ride!
Didn’t finish. Tried. Brought it with me everywhere. Just couldn’t get myself to open it up. It would just sit next to me. It was neither bad nor good—it just didn’t hold my interest.