Reviews with content warning for Child death - The Country Will Bring Us No Peace

The author did an amazing job of making this feel really eerie and it was a quick read but it’s not at all the book I was expecting from the blurb. It was marketed as a horror with strange town vibes where the folks are weird and disappearing but it ended up being about a couple who are having marital problems after losing a baby - it was really a depressing read to be honest!

It felt like a lot of plot points weren’t really tied together. The townspeople started being rude and there was lots of talk about the antenna but it was never linked so I’m not sure

Content Warnings

honeywolf's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This was a beautifully written book that just leaves me feeling tender. Highlighting themes around grief and loss, I find that I relate to the characters as much as I don't. Despite being a short book, this took me several days to finish. It felt like chewing an extra tough steak; wrong texture but beautiful taste.

Content Warnings

wimzie's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Content Warnings

sineadw9's review

Go to review page

dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Melancholic, haunting, gently heartbreaking. Truly sad. The story feels well-sized for its length and manages to fit a ton of emotion into just over 100 pages. The sense of inevitability through the whole thing makes it feel surreal. I especially admire how the author intertwines both characters voices throughout.

It’s a strong, compelling little read. giving it 3/5, not really sure why, maybe I just wanted more for the characters. Maybe it was just too dark

Content Warnings

sydneybeans18's review

Go to review page

dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

finally finished this book. it took me the longest time in the history of the world despite the fact that it was only 124 pages because, well, it was boring (to me). marie is insufferable and what she does to simon is horrible and they all just move on. i was relieved when they killed themselves at the end. this book discusses grief and loss of a child and i’m not sure if the writing reflects that or if it’s merely translation but the writing is so stale and slow-moving and painful to progress. fisher is annoying, the townsfolk are annoying, the lavoies are extra annoying and alice was cool until she opened her mouth and then i found her annoying too. i think something that warped my view of this book was the book description. it talks about how this couple is depressed and moving to an “eerie and hostile” town where “a broadcast antenna is erected”. so i was picturing something supernatural maybe? or an overarching theme resonating with the antenna? personally, i didn’t get that and the plot was a lot more slow moving than i was expecting and honestly not at all what i thought it was going to be. everyone in the town is just so miserable and nothing really changes or elevates the story, i think i just found more reasons to dislike the characters as the story continued.

i’m sorry, i really wanted to like this book but it was just too slow and the characters too unlikeable, which usually i can forgive but this book had no redeeming qualities in terms of its characters. seriously, when they finally used the gun in the toolshed to kill themselves i was like WOOHOO! the suffering is over!

ALSO: i just re-read the goodreads book description and it talks about how “people have been disappearing and the birds stopped singing” i feel like that wasn’t really a major plot point until the very end. so it just feels sliiiightly misleading…because in terms of “disappearing” most of the characters just up and left town to move to the city. the only “disappeared” characters are marie, simon, and the old man who lived in their house before.

Content Warnings

a_violentfemme's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This is such a powerful book for something only 125 pages long. A devastating exploation of grief that feels suffocating at times. The atmosphere is very well crafted, feeling heavy and like a gothic horror the town and house become their own character. I have a feeling I'll be thinking about this one for a while.

Content Warnings

calydr's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

More...