Reviews with content warning for Violence - In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods by Matt Bell

2 reviews

sshabein's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Though this is excellently written, I don't think this was for me. I was curious enough to see how it all ended, but it is not my preferred flavor of strange. The animal and body imagery are quite gross (your mileage may vary), and it all revolves around "man's pain damages woman from the point-of-view of the man." Even with the surreal way the story leads to the ending, that's a topic I find myself less interested in. I do respect the ambition and innovation happening within the writing, but I wouldn't say I enjoyed myself.

Content Warnings

howwoolatthemoon's review against another edition

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Oh no no no no no this is not an author I should ever read again. The other book I tried by him had many mentions, many strong hints (but no outright description of the events) of child sexual assault, with no warning in the book description or in anyone's reviews. I said I'd like to give him another chance, and here we are. In the opening scene the wife has a miscarriage and the husband eats it. And then lies to her about it, saying he had a ceremony and floated it down the river or whatever. This is not a spoiler because it's literally the first thing that happens in the book. That's disgusting, and a violation, and not what I want to read about. It's over, Matt Bell. No more second chances. You blew it, buddy.

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