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bandysbooks's review
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I recently listened to House of Cotton on audiobook. I didn't know much about the book going into it, but the summary sounded amazing and the cover was really calling my attention. Maybe I should've done a bit more research because this was quite the surprise.
This book follows a young woman who is struggling to get by and is approached by the eccentric owner of a mortuary who offers her a job modeling. While she initially assumes that it will be a standard modeling job, she finds that it requires quite a bit more than she bargained for. As she works for him, things get stranger and stranger and soon she is imitating dead people.
I don't really know where exactly to start with this review. The summary does not really adequately prepare the reader for what is going to happen. This book touches on a lot of difficult topics. Some parts felt like sharp social critique and other parts felt like they were added in just for shock value. Perhaps some of it went over my head, but I felt like some of the messaging might've been lost within the graphic and uncomfortable content.
Our main character is a tough character. She's clearly lived a hard life and seen some of the worst that society has to offer. No one has ever given her anything and she's really had to struggle to survive. That said, I'm not sure how I feel about her. I understand some of the choices she makes. The weird things she's being asked to do offer her a semblance of financial freedom, but they come with some pretty heavy strings attached.. It was also pretty hard reading about the way she approaches sex. Ultimately, I don't dislike her character, but I don't exactly like her either. I felt sad for her and angry for her too, but she was just not an easy character to read.
One thing that I did really appreciate about this story was the beautiful description. The author really did an excellent job of setting the scene. I could easily imagine what was going on and where it was happening which is part of what made this book so visceral and uncomfortable at times.
I will say that overall I found this book to be a very confusing experience. In some ways, I think that that might be intentional, but in other ways I wonder if the message would've been better understood had the story been a bit more tightly woven. The flashes between reality and dreams or hallucinations were sometimes hard to follow and all of the chaos made for a disorienting experience.
All in all, I'm not sure who to recommend this book to, but if you decide to read it, make sure you read the trigger warnings as there is a lot of dark stuff in this book.
As for the audiobook, I felt that the narrator did a good job. I was able to understand her and I felt she suited the story. It was easy to tell who the different characters were and I thought her pace worked well.
TW: Rape, Sexual Content, Illusions to Necrophilia, Drugs, Racism, Homelessness, False Imprisonment
This book follows a young woman who is struggling to get by and is approached by the eccentric owner of a mortuary who offers her a job modeling. While she initially assumes that it will be a standard modeling job, she finds that it requires quite a bit more than she bargained for. As she works for him, things get stranger and stranger and soon she is imitating dead people.
I don't really know where exactly to start with this review. The summary does not really adequately prepare the reader for what is going to happen. This book touches on a lot of difficult topics. Some parts felt like sharp social critique and other parts felt like they were added in just for shock value. Perhaps some of it went over my head, but I felt like some of the messaging might've been lost within the graphic and uncomfortable content.
Our main character is a tough character. She's clearly lived a hard life and seen some of the worst that society has to offer. No one has ever given her anything and she's really had to struggle to survive. That said, I'm not sure how I feel about her. I understand some of the choices she makes. The weird things she's being asked to do offer her a semblance of financial freedom, but they come with some pretty heavy strings attached.. It was also pretty hard reading about the way she approaches sex. Ultimately, I don't dislike her character, but I don't exactly like her either. I felt sad for her and angry for her too, but she was just not an easy character to read.
One thing that I did really appreciate about this story was the beautiful description. The author really did an excellent job of setting the scene. I could easily imagine what was going on and where it was happening which is part of what made this book so visceral and uncomfortable at times.
I will say that overall I found this book to be a very confusing experience. In some ways, I think that that might be intentional, but in other ways I wonder if the message would've been better understood had the story been a bit more tightly woven. The flashes between reality and dreams or hallucinations were sometimes hard to follow and all of the chaos made for a disorienting experience.
All in all, I'm not sure who to recommend this book to, but if you decide to read it, make sure you read the trigger warnings as there is a lot of dark stuff in this book.
As for the audiobook, I felt that the narrator did a good job. I was able to understand her and I felt she suited the story. It was easy to tell who the different characters were and I thought her pace worked well.
TW: Rape, Sexual Content, Illusions to Necrophilia, Drugs, Racism, Homelessness, False Imprisonment
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Abortion, Rape, and Alcohol
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