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zenzi2read's review
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Excrement and Vomit
Minor: Child abuse
isabeltavares's review against another edition
DNF 55%
This isn't meant to be a "nice" book but there is something infuriating when all the fat characters that appear are described negatively or with disgust but everyone else is not.
Regarding the story itself, I wasn't invested. When I decided to abandon this read, I skipped to the end and it wasn't as interesting enough to warrant me finishing it.
This isn't meant to be a "nice" book but there is something infuriating when all the fat characters that appear are described negatively or with disgust but everyone else is not.
Regarding the story itself, I wasn't invested. When I decided to abandon this read, I skipped to the end and it wasn't as interesting enough to warrant me finishing it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Body shaming, Rape, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Violence, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Emotional abuse, and Death
starrysteph's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-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
3.5
A History of Fear is an unsettling, slow building story featuring an unreliable narrator.
In 2016, Grayson Hale murdered a fellow graduate student in Scotland. He became infamously known as the Devil’s Advocate for his claim he committed his sensational crime on behalf of the Devil. Grayson is convicted, but after he is mysteriously found dead in his prison cell, his newly uncovered handwritten manuscript promises to reveal the truth.
And that manuscript is passed along to us readers, so that we may interpret the pages and deduce whether or not Grayson truly has been manipulated by the Devil. Interspersed between the pages of Grayson’s manuscript is research from a curious editor, including transcripts of calls with folks from Grayson’s past and commentary on the major events.
Dumas walks the line of believability most of the novel. You’ll wonder if the supernatural elements could possibly be true, or if we’re witnessing a tale of inner turmoil and complete delusion. I don’t feel like there were any major “twists” in this book (not a complaint at all!): everything had clear foreshadowing and buildup. But through the ending, no matter how practical of a thinker you may be, you’ll wonder … what if it’s all true?
The narration felt dated, and I think this was intended to deepen the atmospheric fear of battling an ancient, biblical evil & spoke to Grayson’s traumatic religious upbringing and academic self image. However, this also led to interjections of speeches about Trump’s election and phrases like “summoned an Uber”, both of which seemed awkwardly out of place.
The scenes of horror and fright and missing memories were very well done. While the pacing lagged at the start, it exploded in the last section of the book and the scenes were much more captivating. I also found that the various elements of storytelling (flashbacks, interviews, etc.) kept things interesting. I just generally think a lot of the writing towards the beginning could have been trimmed & tightened.
I often feel uncomfortable with plotlines featuring delusions that lead to violent acts – here it was blended with the supernatural and potential possession to craft unreliable narration, but I don’t like perpetuating myths that those who hallucinate or have trouble distinguishing truth from delusion are likely to become killers. In this case, it was a perfect storm of a violently abusive childhood, religious indoctrination, repression of sexuality, and (partially underlying/genetic) mental health struggles.
Additionally, while the author offers up an honest, unforgiving look into how abusive religious leaders preach that queerness is the work of evil, the violent homophobia (both internalized and from outsiders) depicted in this book can be difficult and saddening to read.
Mixed feelings aside, this one will definitely be sticking with me for a while.
CW: death (incl. death of a parent), murder, psychosis, blood, ableism, animal cruelty & death (brief mention), ableism, extreme homophobia, biphobia, child abuse (physical & emotional), domestic abuse, suicide, body shaming, fatphobia, religious bigotry & religious trauma, stalking, outing, panic attacks, mental illness, sexual violence, vomit, eating disorder, pedophilia & incest (brief mention)
(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Murder, Body shaming, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Excrement, Gore, Violence, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Self harm, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Death of parent, Blood, Grief, Vomit, Rape, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexism, Outing, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Hate crime, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Incest and Adult/minor relationship
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