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j_m_alexander's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
A patch-work quilt of nightmares soggily draped across the sleepy New York town of Milburn like so much slushy, bloodless snow.
A somewhat confounding and disorienting book full of illusions, misdirection, loops, repetitions, and plot points to nowhere. Straub provides stories within stories, overlaying narratives and time periods in ways that makes the book seem unruly. We start with an intriguing storyline that is mysterious, tense, and seemingly coy, but the plot eventually strikes out into more gory, vulgar, and even trippy territory. I am not quite sure what to do with this book, it suggests that the most terrifying things live within our own minds, but then again... maybe not, perhaps we birth the terrors out into reality.
A somewhat confounding and disorienting book full of illusions, misdirection, loops, repetitions, and plot points to nowhere. Straub provides stories within stories, overlaying narratives and time periods in ways that makes the book seem unruly. We start with an intriguing storyline that is mysterious, tense, and seemingly coy, but the plot eventually strikes out into more gory, vulgar, and even trippy territory. I am not quite sure what to do with this book, it suggests that the most terrifying things live within our own minds, but then again... maybe not, perhaps we birth the terrors out into reality.
"The mind was a trap--it was a cage that slammed down over you."
The characters are largely entertaining though somewhat cartoonish at times. This book also has a definite dated quality to it, using terms and descriptions that today seems cringe-y. The writing is quite good overall, surprises the reader often, and even has some humor to it, but it's not perfect. There is a lot going on within this book, like so much loose viscera, it's not all that easy to hold onto, but it does make a certain impression on those that happen upon it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, and Cursing
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