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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
fast-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
A challenging and harrowing piece of horror fiction. It does seem to stumble around in a few places, but an engrossing experience all the same.
A tough read though, reader beware.
A tough read though, reader beware.
i'm very conflicted with my rating of this book. i couldn't put it down, it made me feel so many different emotions, it left me speechless at several points, i had to reread paragraphs because i couldn't believe my eyes. and yet i can't say i necessarily ENJOYED reading it - although maybe that's the point. it was confusing and horrifying and i'm going to be thinking about it for a long while. let's say 4.5 stars ⭐️
I almost requested this from Netgalley but once I realized it was a re-publication I decided to hold off and what I've learned from that is that I shouldn't have bothered with this in the first place.
This was horrifying and disgusting in many, many ways. It's full of trauma porn ie, rape, violence, transphobia, etc.
I know the author was trying to make a point but it really did not work for me and I wish I never read this. I forced myself to finish it but I can't recommend this to anyone. I'm kind of at a loss for words but I'm now going to delete this from my memory and hopefully forget about it forever.
This was horrifying and disgusting in many, many ways. It's full of trauma porn ie, rape, violence, transphobia, etc.
I know the author was trying to make a point but it really did not work for me and I wish I never read this. I forced myself to finish it but I can't recommend this to anyone. I'm kind of at a loss for words but I'm now going to delete this from my memory and hopefully forget about it forever.
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's like do you ever read The Haunting of Hill House and think, "okay but could this book be queerer?"
"And more fascism!" says the uninvited racist, standing behind you, right now, as you read this, wearing a mask that is your face, except that you touch your face and realize you don't know it, don't know that you aren't wearing a mask as your face as well.
I tend to believe in the Steppenwolf Theater approach to content warnings as trying to wrestle Jello, but I think that makes me admire works like this one that come by them honestly.
My gripe would be that some of the plot points are too cliche, the but that's the point? The 'it's like' was almost 'I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter but horror. Well, more horror,' except that the author herself invokes it in epigram, and a mapping of the respective constellations here shows how to do something right that people often get wrong. Genre fiction often has an allegorical or quasi-allegorical element to it - think 'sex kills' in slasher films - but part of that is working as a sort of cultural therapy session of externalizing our fears. But while there is plenty of room for subversion, (although, I would suggest that it is room for subversives more than for subversion) we are most accustomed to experiencing that messaging in horror as normative in aspect. This book flips that particular table. This is hard to do, or it takes a certain unflinching attitude to do, because it runs widdershins to our learned sensibilities.
Basically, what might land flat works because the author engages the fuckedupedness of the whole thing, and it all becomes the language of a different horror, one as relevant but a story not told because of traditionally horror's role in things, and because the themes of classic horror map on particularly well to all the myriad inflections of hate, seeped into our society and ourselves.
"And more fascism!" says the uninvited racist, standing behind you, right now, as you read this, wearing a mask that is your face, except that you touch your face and realize you don't know it, don't know that you aren't wearing a mask as your face as well.
I tend to believe in the Steppenwolf Theater approach to content warnings as trying to wrestle Jello, but I think that makes me admire works like this one that come by them honestly.
My gripe would be that some of the plot points are too cliche, the
Spoiler
the assault by Joyce for instanceBasically, what might land flat works because the author engages the fuckedupedness of the whole thing, and it all becomes the language of a different horror, one as relevant but a story not told because of traditionally horror's role in things, and because the themes of classic horror map on particularly well to all the myriad inflections of hate, seeped into our society and ourselves.
The core story here is about a haunted house. It's spooky and riveting. If the author stuck to this story line throughout it would be a great book.
But instead, the story line is muddled. The author spends large sections working on various sub stories that cause confusion and back tracking. There are multiple side story lines that don't get fully better out, don't have anything to do with the haunted house, and take too much time to not really impact the story line.
This book could easily be cut in half to draw it back to the focus. In doing so would be creepier and more thrilling of a story.
But instead, the story line is muddled. The author spends large sections working on various sub stories that cause confusion and back tracking. There are multiple side story lines that don't get fully better out, don't have anything to do with the haunted house, and take too much time to not really impact the story line.
This book could easily be cut in half to draw it back to the focus. In doing so would be creepier and more thrilling of a story.
if I wanted to read self aggrandizing racist, transphobic rhetoric I’d read one of my step dad’s Facebook posts
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Antisemitism
idk. there are cw in the very beginning but I don’t care enough to go back and see what it was
The chapter about the history of the house was interesting, and there were a few good scenes throughout, but it was disappointing overall. It really beats you over the head with its message, to the point where it takes you out of the story completely. This is a book that is so of the moment and online, that it won't stand the test of time-- not necessarily a criticism, just an observation. Also, I'm not sure how I feel about the TERF character ending up as a trans man... What does that say?
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes