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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
“Did she feel she’d wronged or been wronged more in her life? Did anyone ever know which was true? How much harm did we cause without knowing it? How much harm did we cause when we were certain we were doing such good?”
This was good! great spooky small town with cultish overtones and a freaky festival, loved the way atmosphere was built around this festival - the confessional element of the novel builds to a public confessional in a very compelling way. I also really appreciated the way the MC Pew was presented and how their inability to situate themselves in any single category turned them from a figure of pity to distrust and danger amongst the townsfolk.
This was good! great spooky small town with cultish overtones and a freaky festival, loved the way atmosphere was built around this festival - the confessional element of the novel builds to a public confessional in a very compelling way. I also really appreciated the way the MC Pew was presented and how their inability to situate themselves in any single category turned them from a figure of pity to distrust and danger amongst the townsfolk.
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
a southern gothic cathartic exploration of identity and the complexity of where kindness, forcefulness, forgiveness, and forgetting all mix in a tangled up middle space. i really couldn't write a review for this book if i tried, but i would recommend it if you liked russell bank's "the sweet hereafter" or jacqueline harpman's "i who have never known men."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Homophobia, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Alcohol
all of the minor content warnings other than alcohol use occur in a grand finale of single cut off sentences removed from actionable plot or context.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was interesting and weird and for whatever reason I wanted more. Not necessarily more as in I wanted to know more about Pew, but more about people's reactions to Pew while they try to figure Pew out.
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Well written, often frustrating, and thought-provoking (I often found myself guilty of speculating on the gender of the MC even though it doesn't matter at all) but ultimately felt a little too meandering in the plot for me to give it a higher rating. A good book but not necessarily my cup of tea.
I enjoyed Biography of X much more.
I enjoyed Biography of X much more.
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ho iniziato questa lettura per caso, senza aspettarmi nulla, e invece mi sono ritrovata ad amare questo romanzo. La storia è piuttosto semplice: un senzatetto, senza nome e senza volto, in perenne fuga da un passato che non ricorda, trova suo malgrado rifugio in una comunità cristiana nella provincia sperduta del Sud statunitense. Viene dapprima accolto a braccia aperte, come del resto si confà ad una comunità religiosa, ma inesorabilmente la sua presenza inizia a destabilizzare l'equilibrio perbenista ed ipocrita che domina i rapporti tra i parrocchiani, diventando una sorta di capro espiatorio collettivo. La sua colpa è, nella sua semplicità, imperdonabile: rifiuta ogni sorta di definizione ed etichetta. Di Panca, infatti, non si capisce il sesso, l'etnia, l'età. Non lo sa, ma sono in fondo definizioni così essenziali? A quanto pare sì. In un rifiuto della società che è forse più radicale di quello del Bartleby di Melville, Panca si barrica dietro un impenetrabile mutismo. Eppure, ha una profondissima capacità di comunione col prossimo, una sensibilità che lo rende un personaggio quasi messianico, ma queste qualità non trovano spazio in una comunità dentro cui ogni spiritualità è ridotta a rito, ogni peccato sciacquato via dalla catarsi domenicale. Ho vissuto questo romanzo a un livello estremamente personale, perché ci ho rivisto l'ambiente provinciale nel quale sono cresciuta. Ambienti in cui tutto stagna e dove le parole famiglia e comunità si trasformano spesso in stereotipi privi di senso. Ma stimola allo stesso tempo una riflessione più ampia circa la nostra società: quanto spesso lasciamo che siano definizioni di comodo a parlare per gli altri? Per noi stessi?
There's an unsettling sense of eeriness and suspense throughout the entire book. I liked being able to navigate the entire week with Pew and understand what was going on in their mind. I was fine with them not ever fully remembering where they came from, if and who their family was, what their real name was, etc. The more you read, the more you understood how irrelevant all that information truly was; how it didn't add anything of value to Pew's character or the overall story. As Pew interacts with different townsfolk, you start to piece together the town's underlying ethos and pervading racial and socioeconomic undertones - "Everyone knew everyone and they all belonged to one another." I was a bit thrown off by the anticlimactic ending but after some thought, it was a satisfying end to the story. Definitely one of those books that will linger for a while - recommend!
Very interesting, but I was disappointed that the main character is never fully explained.