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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 stars
it was an interesting read, i definitely felt a bit like ??? when reading the last chapter in the house. i thought i understood then it completely changed. definitely think it would have been a better short story, or the house being the main thing that ties a bunch of short stories together
it was an interesting read, i definitely felt a bit like ??? when reading the last chapter in the house. i thought i understood then it completely changed. definitely think it would have been a better short story, or the house being the main thing that ties a bunch of short stories together
While extremely gratuitous, I appreciate the author’s overall point about complicity. But it is so, so bleak.
Only Kathy Acker or Chris Krause have come close to producing texts as smart and as vivid as the in-your-face cry of pain and outrage that is this wonderful novel. Even better maybe than those avant-garde mavens, that cry is here blended perfectly into a classic horror trope twisted and regurgitated through contemporary politics and gender issues, replete with textual references, cultural signposts, humor, some real gross horror, fabulous parodies (not humorous takes, but rather more literal para-odos or parallel songs, as in a Kathy Acker's incorporations, but even a tad better than that), a great split-screen experiment... It's all here, folks, the Postmodern trans Gothic antifascist novel you've been waiting for!
Not only that but the prose is just perfect, I thought, Finely honed--just as the singer/ghost's hair when he comes out of that poster to haunt our heroine, there isn't a single word out of place in this snappy, multi-voiced, multi-point-of-view, descent into the specter haunting England, Albion, the slumbering fascist giant who eats little girls for breakfast.
It's terrifying, food for so much debate, harrowing, thoughtful, moving, and, best of all, super well written. My hat is off to Ms. Rumfitt.'
Just read it a third time through--have taught it twice now. Interestingly relevant what with Fascist Liberation Day here in Italy presided over by the new crypto-fascist prime minister and the Bud Light trans spokesperson controversy raging. Students seem, for the most part, to dig it.
Not only that but the prose is just perfect, I thought, Finely honed--just as the singer/ghost's hair when he comes out of that poster to haunt our heroine, there isn't a single word out of place in this snappy, multi-voiced, multi-point-of-view, descent into the specter haunting England, Albion, the slumbering fascist giant who eats little girls for breakfast.
It's terrifying, food for so much debate, harrowing, thoughtful, moving, and, best of all, super well written. My hat is off to Ms. Rumfitt.'
Just read it a third time through--have taught it twice now. Interestingly relevant what with Fascist Liberation Day here in Italy presided over by the new crypto-fascist prime minister and the Bud Light trans spokesperson controversy raging. Students seem, for the most part, to dig it.
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia
Minor: Deadnaming
Ohhhhh now this is horror. Sexual horror. Racist horror. Transphobic horror. Body horror.
We were warned! At times it was a bit hard to follow what was going on (but I kind of liked that) and I was really intrigued by the house as a character.
We were warned! At times it was a bit hard to follow what was going on (but I kind of liked that) and I was really intrigued by the house as a character.
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Rape, Transphobia, Antisemitism
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Racism, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Vomit, Suicide attempt
I was a little uncertain about how I felt about this book about halfway in. The prose was beautiful, the narrative structure fit the plot perfectly, but I wasn’t digging it as much as I heard I would from some reviews. That changed with the ending, since I had the whole picture to look at. Tough read, won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but powerful.