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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
"Because without a name for it, it's just something I am. A part of life. Once it's go a name, I know that means someone has studied it, dissected it, pulled i apart. When something has a name, hey can say it's bad. "
This was dark but very good. Expected the fungi horror (which delivered) but it unexpectedly also heavily dealt with themes around cults and manipulation, and to my surprise, I though these parts were even better. What I specifically thought was well done with those, was how Vern recognised patterns of what happened on a bigger scale (in a cult) in the even bigger scale of a whole society (America/what it means being American) & on the much smaller scale of interpersonal relationships. Truly horrific and well done.
Vern was also an interesting main character - and I liked that she was flawed and sometimes a horrible person while I also continued to root for her.
My main criticisms would be the societal critique was a bit on the nose sometimes, the pacing was a bit off (with big events happening very suddenly) and some of the fighting scenes were impossible to make sense of (but the latter might also be my problem tbh).
This was dark but very good. Expected the fungi horror (which delivered) but it unexpectedly also heavily dealt with themes around cults and manipulation, and to my surprise, I though these parts were even better. What I specifically thought was well done with those, was how Vern recognised patterns of what happened on a bigger scale (in a cult) in the even bigger scale of a whole society (America/what it means being American) & on the much smaller scale of interpersonal relationships. Truly horrific and well done.
Vern was also an interesting main character - and I liked that she was flawed and sometimes a horrible person while I also continued to root for her.
My main criticisms would be the societal critique was a bit on the nose sometimes, the pacing was a bit off (with big events happening very suddenly) and some of the fighting scenes were impossible to make sense of (but the latter might also be my problem tbh).
"Because without a name for it, it's just something I am. A part of life. Once it's go a name, I know that means someone has studied it, dissected it, pulled i apart. When something has a name, hey can say it's bad. "
This was dark but very good. Expected the fungi horror (which delivered) but it unexpectedly also heavily dealt with themes around cults and manipulation, and to my surprise, I though these parts were even better. What I specifically thought was well done with those, was how Vern recognised patterns of what happened on a bigger scale (in a cult) in the even bigger scale of a whole society (America/what it means being American) & on the much smaller scale of interpersonal relationships. Truly horrific and well done.
Vern was also an interesting main character - and I liked that she was flawed and sometimes a horrible person while I also continued to root for her.
My main criticisms would be the societal critique was a bit on the nose sometimes, the pacing was a bit off (with big events happening very suddenly) and some of the fighting scenes were impossible to make sense of (but the latter might also be my problem tbh).
This was dark but very good. Expected the fungi horror (which delivered) but it unexpectedly also heavily dealt with themes around cults and manipulation, and to my surprise, I though these parts were even better. What I specifically thought was well done with those, was how Vern recognised patterns of what happened on a bigger scale (in a cult) in the even bigger scale of a whole society (America/what it means being American) & on the much smaller scale of interpersonal relationships. Truly horrific and well done.
Vern was also an interesting main character - and I liked that she was flawed and sometimes a horrible person while I also continued to root for her.
My main criticisms would be the societal critique was a bit on the nose sometimes, the pacing was a bit off (with big events happening very suddenly) and some of the fighting scenes were impossible to make sense of (but the latter might also be my problem tbh).
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was a hard one to pick up and continue reading for me. I was interested by the story that seemed to have a wide range of themes that I don't normally read to this extent such as religion and sexuality. Where I struggled was the worldbuilding and plot, it was too much detail overload in such a small window. The story is great and it is definitely a interesting read.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
She was a girl made of aches and she flung her body at the world in the hopes that something, anything, might soothe the tendernesses.
4.5 stars. Everything about Solomon's prose always really captivates me. This isn't the easiest book for me to review, because I think I was more taken with the writing and the style than I was with the plot, but there is still so much to love about it. I love that it was so character-driven. We're following Vern, who has just escaped from a cult and gives birth to her children in the woods. Her body is undergoing some sort of change, and she struggles through it, while raising her children, before circumstances force them to leave their bubble in the wilderness. This is a difficult read, intertwined with a lot of painful history, racism, misogyny and violence. The fantasy/science fiction aspects of it were so fascinating, if not as well expressed as I could have liked. It took me a while to be able to visualise things in the way I think the author meant for us to. But it was so so interesting. I love stories about transformation, especially in the literal sense like this, and the body horror of it turned my stomach sometimes, but I just couldn't look away. It was also beautiful. I love how this turned shared trauma into a physical thing, something that manifested in a real and scary way, but our protagonist eventually learns her way through it.
Vern would call it worshipful, but this thing between them was not god-stuff. They were as two animals, heat, blood, mortal. [...] She could not view their act, their precious, carnal, desperate act, as anything other than the soft beauty of a kind of living.
I adored Vern. I love how contrary she was, how combative. Some parts of motherhood came naturally to her, but other parts she struggled with and I enjoyed reading about every part of her journey. I just love a heroine who fights, and the lengths that she went through to protect her children, I just adored. I liked the way history was intertwined and brought up in this, the roots of the cult, all of the commentary on gender and sexuality and land rights. The romance was also lovely, and again, everything was wrapped up in writing that was so incandescent, I felt like I was highlighting every other line. Solomon is just so good at their craft, and the way things all tied together in the end was heart-breaking and fitting. I do think there's something else I wanted out of this, something that I can't really put a finger on, but this was, as always, really excellent. I'll be glad to read whatever they write next.
Content warnings:
Spoiler
child sexual assault, rape, self-harm, gaslighting, animal death.Better not to belong at all than belong in a cage.
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really appreciated the themes of the book and the overall message of it, but I didn't really enjoy I guess the narrative? if that makes sense. It often felt like it was either really spinning its wheels or rushing.