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hwks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
So weird, so dark, and a bit difficult to describe. This book tells the story of a haunted house, shifting perspectives from different characters and time periods. The main characters I wouldn't describe as sympathetic at all, but were honest portrayals of complicated people with traumatic pasts and the less than desirable responses to those events. Rumfitt did a pretty impressive job combining horror and some topical social commentary. I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did, as I'm not a big horror fan. It is however, very graphic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Sexual violence, Gore, Rape, Body horror, Antisemitism, Blood, Abortion, Racism, and Mental illness
gia0203's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This book showed how fascism is circular - how our history is shared and how quickly our anger at our own circumstances becomes hatred for others. It was hard to read at times, but that’s the point. Horror is a fantastic way to examine the world around us, and Alison knows it.
The climax of this book is harrowing and I felt nauseous reading it. What a fucking ride. The way the text splits into two… Original, terrific.
I will say though that the idealistic ending between Alice and Ila is forced. This book should have ended on page 252. I don’t buy for a second that they could’ve escaped that house and moved on so happily. Maybe I’m pessimistic, but trauma isn’t so easily erased and radicalism can’t be so quickly undone. These two were doomed from the start. It was just too quickly wrapped up. I felt like Alison was just too fond of them to give them the ending they should have had.
I also think that the social commentary became too much at times. I understood the point was that all oppression is similar, but it was just a bit too much to comprehend.
That said, I will never read this book again, but I would completely recommend it. It is not for the faint of heart.
The climax of this book is harrowing and I felt nauseous reading it. What a fucking ride. The way the text splits into two… Original, terrific.
I also think that the social commentary became too much at times. I understood the point was that all oppression is similar, but it was just a bit too much to comprehend.
That said, I will never read this book again, but I would completely recommend it. It is not for the faint of heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Transphobia, Antisemitism, Rape, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Blood, Death, Suicide, Drug abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Self harm, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Abortion, Mass/school shootings, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Excrement, and Gun violence
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