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hsienhsien27's review against another edition
4.0
Halloween is coming soon, this week actually, and I read this. Not because it's a horror book, well maybe that's half of the reason. I've been looking at Andersen Prunty's books for quite awhile, for reasons that are quite obvious, they are bizarre with lots of blood and guts sprayed everywhere. I am the biggest chicken you will ever know, my shadow can scare me in the middle of the night while walking to the bathroom. This is novella length and the cover is sort of nice on the eyes, nice colors, and it fits the morbid nature of this little book.
It's all centered around this guy named Barton, a drug addict, a complete psycho, with parents that don't trust him and maybe they don't love him either. he lives in a mansion by himself and he's planning some crazy party called Mexico Frat Fun Land. During all of this party planning there's some space birds flying around, rousing fear in neighborhood or maybe just Barton himself, and there's this sound of ripping paper, and Barton is an asshole and two guys, Alex and Joe, and a girl, Ibbie, want to rob his mansion and leave their miserable jobs behind.
This novel, based on the reviewers on Goodreads, seems to be getting compared to Bret Easton Ellis and Chuck Palahniuk, which I will admit I've never read books by, but I know enough to see where these influences are coming from. But at the same time, I couldn't help but cringe at the icky stuff. Which was the point of this.
Barton is some spoiled rich White dude who obviously has some issues, really bad issues, and the drugs don't do any better. He has no empathy for others, but yet he wants someone to love him more than just his money. But this sympathy for him washes away oh so quickly when he does the sick things that he does. He definitely sounds like he might be a sociopath or something worse. Seriously, people are probably walking androids to people like him. He's a sad sack of flesh. Kick him.
Then there's all this weird stuff happening and honestly was it an illusion from Barton's point of view or was the world ending? Were these birds manifested from Barton's desperation to leave this world and his desire to commit all of these evil acts that he does? That was my question for this book. Were these birds and hallucinatory sounds signs of his downfall? Am I overthinking this? Some questions are better left unanswered. I missed something?
This novella sort of reminded me of the The Dark Half by Stephen King, but this novella is a lot better in my opinion and Barton wasn't possessed by a demon, he himself was a demon.
I will say that I actually really enjoyed this little book. It's so dang twisted, makes me cringe, and at the end of it all, humans will cry and run off to a salvation that doesn't exist. It's world that is all too bleak. Somebody like Barton will cry for help and yet get pleasure from the wicked deeds that they do. So, just so I won't sound like a broken record, The Warm Glow of Happy Homes is a novella of some dude with false happiness and the realization of this makes him destroy everything in his path, because he's a spoiled brat that wants everything, and can't get everything, and well, the Earth sends a giant F-you missile at him. I have to say I love the cover. Is that weird?
Rating: 4.5
Originally from my blog: http://wordsnotesandfiction.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-warm-glow-of-happy-homes-by.html
It's all centered around this guy named Barton, a drug addict, a complete psycho, with parents that don't trust him and maybe they don't love him either. he lives in a mansion by himself and he's planning some crazy party called Mexico Frat Fun Land. During all of this party planning there's some space birds flying around, rousing fear in neighborhood or maybe just Barton himself, and there's this sound of ripping paper, and Barton is an asshole and two guys, Alex and Joe, and a girl, Ibbie, want to rob his mansion and leave their miserable jobs behind.
This novel, based on the reviewers on Goodreads, seems to be getting compared to Bret Easton Ellis and Chuck Palahniuk, which I will admit I've never read books by, but I know enough to see where these influences are coming from. But at the same time, I couldn't help but cringe at the icky stuff. Which was the point of this.
Barton is some spoiled rich White dude who obviously has some issues, really bad issues, and the drugs don't do any better. He has no empathy for others, but yet he wants someone to love him more than just his money. But this sympathy for him washes away oh so quickly when he does the sick things that he does. He definitely sounds like he might be a sociopath or something worse. Seriously, people are probably walking androids to people like him. He's a sad sack of flesh. Kick him.
Then there's all this weird stuff happening and honestly was it an illusion from Barton's point of view or was the world ending? Were these birds manifested from Barton's desperation to leave this world and his desire to commit all of these evil acts that he does? That was my question for this book. Were these birds and hallucinatory sounds signs of his downfall? Am I overthinking this? Some questions are better left unanswered. I missed something?
This novella sort of reminded me of the The Dark Half by Stephen King, but this novella is a lot better in my opinion and Barton wasn't possessed by a demon, he himself was a demon.
I will say that I actually really enjoyed this little book. It's so dang twisted, makes me cringe, and at the end of it all, humans will cry and run off to a salvation that doesn't exist. It's world that is all too bleak. Somebody like Barton will cry for help and yet get pleasure from the wicked deeds that they do. So, just so I won't sound like a broken record, The Warm Glow of Happy Homes is a novella of some dude with false happiness and the realization of this makes him destroy everything in his path, because he's a spoiled brat that wants everything, and can't get everything, and well, the Earth sends a giant F-you missile at him. I have to say I love the cover. Is that weird?
Rating: 4.5
Originally from my blog: http://wordsnotesandfiction.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-warm-glow-of-happy-homes-by.html
adunnells's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
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