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mjoiner11's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Blood
Minor: Child abuse and Gun violence
ubisunt's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I recommend it as a different kind of read, but don't expect a very fulfilling ending.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Cancer
mackenzi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Beyond that is an attention to small details. Characters are candid with you (eve if not with themselves) about thoughts and actions, but you quickly learn that you can have three eyewitnesses at a scene and each one might give you a different story, even while being completely honest. You will find characters repeating concepts; one character will describe feeling like he's out of his own body or experiencing four different versions of himself at once. Five chapters later another character will muse on the concept and definition of disassociation. Characters who are separated by decades will have similar thoughts, repeating phrases almost identically. One character near the beginning of the book comments that poor people hand down trauma like inheritance. Near the end another character recalls someone telling him the issues he was born into are like a virus he could spread. Sons repeat the thought patterns of their parents and it's up to you to connect those three things, despite being separated by 50 pages.
All of this weaves together to build a subtle web of sadness. There is very little actual ill will in the book. Most characters don't have any sense of malice at all. It is a series of cascading circumstances, tragedy upon tragedy, missed opportunities to make connections, make amends, move on. It's a dark spiral.
Personally I found the end a little abrupt, but that seems very intentional. Like it is meant to leave you feeling cut off. As the book itself says, the mystery is what people will remember. You cary some knowledge with you from chapter 1 and the book is more about the psychological unfurling of generational trauma than "solving a mystery." The journey is the destination with this one.
My only other qualm is the book being touted as frightening. I may read too much horror and maybe my fear gauge is wonky, but this wasn't an especially scary book. It certainly hit an atmosphere akin to true crime, so that may be leaving people frightened, but don't go in expecting chills. It's a surprisingly calm, dreamy book; distressing and awful events occur, but it's more like watching people fall from great heights in slow motion.
Graphic: Mental illness, Drug use, Violence, Terminal illness, Murder, Death of parent, Death, Kidnapping, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, and Torture
Minor: Sexual content and Mass/school shootings
robinudell's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Drug use
callikat's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Terminal illness
postman's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Drug abuse, Sexual assault, and Addiction
Moderate: Violence, Murder, and Adult/minor relationship
weeta's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Murder, and Sexual content
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gun violence, and Terminal illness