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lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was my first novel from Josh Malerman, and I was very excited to kick of spooky season early with a collection of spooky short stories. This novel is made up of six novellas, all set in the same, strange smalltown. I definitely enjoyed some of these stories more than others, but overall, I really enjoyed this collection.
My favorite stories were the last three, "Presto", "A Mix-Up at the Zoo", and "The Hedges". "Presto" was a fun short story about a man who wants to be a magician more than anything, so he makes a deal with the devil so to speak and is introduced to black magic. "A Mix-Up at the Zoo" follows a man who is merely trying to be happy, and so he takes strange jobs at the zoo. "The Hedges" is about an elusive man who has lost his wife and built a huge maze made of hedges on his property.
I really enjoyed that all these stories were set in the same place, and that the entire population seemed to be a collection of creepy people who go about strange means to live their life. There is some gore and some graphic content, but overall, I did not find this book to be too "disturbing".
My favorite stories were the last three, "Presto", "A Mix-Up at the Zoo", and "The Hedges". "Presto" was a fun short story about a man who wants to be a magician more than anything, so he makes a deal with the devil so to speak and is introduced to black magic. "A Mix-Up at the Zoo" follows a man who is merely trying to be happy, and so he takes strange jobs at the zoo. "The Hedges" is about an elusive man who has lost his wife and built a huge maze made of hedges on his property.
I really enjoyed that all these stories were set in the same place, and that the entire population seemed to be a collection of creepy people who go about strange means to live their life. There is some gore and some graphic content, but overall, I did not find this book to be too "disturbing".
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Murder, Torture, Animal death, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Police brutality
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