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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
5/10 + 3 stars.
Very interesting premise, and great start/mystery set up. Very disappointing payoff and resolution. Everything after William Wheeler shows up takes a steep dive in quality, along with a big dose of annoying "technology is bad, kids!" It totally ignores the very basic implications of their actions (ex. Apollo and Emma literally murder two people), which could maybe be excused as this being a "fairy tale," except that it also keeps reminding you that racism, sexism, etc are a problem. So it fails both at being a fantastical fairy tale, and an interesting story that says something more about the "real world."
Very interesting premise, and great start/mystery set up. Very disappointing payoff and resolution. Everything after William Wheeler shows up takes a steep dive in quality, along with a big dose of annoying "technology is bad, kids!" It totally ignores the very basic implications of their actions (ex. Apollo and Emma literally murder two people), which could maybe be excused as this being a "fairy tale," except that it also keeps reminding you that racism, sexism, etc are a problem. So it fails both at being a fantastical fairy tale, and an interesting story that says something more about the "real world."
I really enjoyed this book, especially the juxtaposition of familiar landmarks with fantastic things. I have a feeling that it'll stick with me for a while. These are some random thoughts I jotted down as I read this book:
Books are a source of magic. Modern technology is a gateway to magic. There are no differences between old gods and new, old myths and new, archetypes bind us as they always have.
There are transactions that you make without being aware of their deeper significance.
You create your own magic and wonder, but you also create your own monsters.
Books are a source of magic. Modern technology is a gateway to magic. There are no differences between old gods and new, old myths and new, archetypes bind us as they always have.
There are transactions that you make without being aware of their deeper significance.
You create your own magic and wonder, but you also create your own monsters.
It started off kind of slow, but in a good and creepy way. Then, about 3/4 of the way through the storyline just went sideways. Not sure what I read. No idea what fairytale it was retelling. And I have a lot of questions about the end, but all in all. It was fun
Takes its time, but I was impressed with the quality of the characters and the overall atmosphere.
Victor LaValle's "The Changeling" was a surprise package.
The story starts off in the realm of contemporary realism, casually strolling into fantasy, and then suddenly lunges into horror, only to gracefully twirl back again. It's a rollercoaster where the lines between real and fantasy horror blur, creating a narrative that's both subtly unsettling and sharply gory.
Woven through the tale is an inescapable social commentary. LaValle deftly dissects issues of race, society, the impact of social media, the complexities of family dynamics, and the challenges of parenting. It's a messy, tangled web, and the book doesn't shy away from unraveling it all.
While I didn't love all of the magical realism at times, I did enjoy this one immensely, and the story itself - melding the mundane with the extraordinary - was worth the ride.
The story starts off in the realm of contemporary realism, casually strolling into fantasy, and then suddenly lunges into horror, only to gracefully twirl back again. It's a rollercoaster where the lines between real and fantasy horror blur, creating a narrative that's both subtly unsettling and sharply gory.
Woven through the tale is an inescapable social commentary. LaValle deftly dissects issues of race, society, the impact of social media, the complexities of family dynamics, and the challenges of parenting. It's a messy, tangled web, and the book doesn't shy away from unraveling it all.
While I didn't love all of the magical realism at times, I did enjoy this one immensely, and the story itself - melding the mundane with the extraordinary - was worth the ride.
This was quite a trip of a book. It starts out with a typical family, seemingly happy with everything going to plan, with the only things going wrong are the normal day-to-day things you would expect. But that begins to change, and everything that Apollo thinks he knows gets turned on its head, including who he is.
There are layers to the story, Apollo's current family that he is creating, the family he grew up in, the reality and fantasy of postpartum depression vs knowing your child, and the layers of the NYC where Apollo grew up and lives. It's a question of how well you know something or someone, even if you don't have all the knowledge of it.
There are layers to the story, Apollo's current family that he is creating, the family he grew up in, the reality and fantasy of postpartum depression vs knowing your child, and the layers of the NYC where Apollo grew up and lives. It's a question of how well you know something or someone, even if you don't have all the knowledge of it.
Three and a half, just because this isn't really my genre, but I'm glad I read it. It's well written and deserves the "literary horror" label. I wouldn't know how to go about clearly reviewing this book in terms of outlining plot points enough without over-sharing - so I will just say the novel starts off as a slightly creepy tale of growing up in the shadow of a nightmare; moves into Young Man Does Well, Falls in Love, Has Child, Falls in Love with Fatherhood; crashes into horror; meets feminist fantasy; pivots to modern-day scary tale about Internet trolls crossed with Norwegian folk tale horror about actual trolls - all dropped against a compelling landscape of present/past/future New York City, and interlaced with acid drops of overt and casual racism. I was charmed, confused, and horrified, and I'm sure that's exactly how I was supposed to feel. It rattles along at a good clip, and I wasn't always sure what was going on or why - but I think that may be part of the knife edge unease of the book - after all, who among us knows what's going on, or why? And how do we know the modern horrors we all face every day aren't ourselves? On the other hand, how do we know the modern horrors we face every day aren't anchored in Grimm's Fairy Tales?!
So, warnings for this for violence against children, and this tends more horror than fairy tale, but it's dark and well-written and will stay with you
Unexpected, deep, haunting, lyrical, mythical... I loved everything about this book.