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so. this is A Lot. very interesting premise and definitely something i’ll be thinking about for a long time. i liked the setup of marcos as a complicit/hypocritical narrator even as he is so vocally disgusted with his world. it makes for a really engaging back and forth between what he says and what he does and highlights how every character has their own relationship with the Transition, even if we don’t get to see it.
that being said, jesus. i wouldn’t say the pacing is necessarily slow, but extensive, detailed worldbuilding for a world that i personally did not want to stay in made it feel like a slog at times. i think the gratuitousness is part of the point, and i think it mostly works, but up until the ~70% mark it definitely felt like we were just bopping around aimlessly with marcos. it’s still interesting given the world he’s in and illustrate the industrial/bureaucratic aspects of everything, but it makes the book feel easily twice as long as it actually is. i don’t mind dread, but at a certain point it becomes a bit numbing. idk. would definitely still recommend to anyone interested in cannibalism/dystopian horror or your local vegan
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Rape, Blood, Dementia, Trafficking, Murder
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Pregnancy
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Child death
Graphic: Animal death, Rape, Cannibalism, Murder
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Homophobia
this book made me simultaneously sad and disgusted. i could have done without the
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Torture, Cannibalism, Murder
The strengths of this book are plenty. The tension and discomfort I felt whilst reading it actually lead to me needing to put it down a few times. The push and the pull that Marcos feels whilst navigating the world around him, his judgement of people around him whilst partaking in similar, if not worse, behaviours.
I can see why people think the ending is abrupt, and it definitely feels that way when you reach it. But I think I liked the ending. The sudden full-stop to the story, nothing has changed and nothing will. We don’t need to read more to know Marcos’ life isn’t impacted by anything that’s happened.
All this to say, there’s absolutely some weak points. There’s a lot of filler that feels unnecessary to the plot. The characters, whilst written well, are unbearable. The tropes and message of the book are very on the nose.
Overall, I did really enjoy this. I enjoyed being made to squirm and face moral questioning, even if it was loud and in red and bold lettering. A shameless and unapologetic dystopia.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Dementia, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Cannibalism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Gore, Violence, Dementia
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual violence, Violence, Cannibalism
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Cannibalism
Graphic: Gore, Cannibalism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Murder
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence