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3.11 AVERAGE
3.11 AVERAGE
Visceral.
I haven’t encountered a book, novella or not, written with the language manipulated like poems. The strong Consonance/alliteration throughout the book was impactful. As many other state the book has many trigger warnings and is dark and disturbing. Yet I was strangely entranced to follow the narrative.
Highly emotive.
I haven’t encountered a book, novella or not, written with the language manipulated like poems. The strong Consonance/alliteration throughout the book was impactful. As many other state the book has many trigger warnings and is dark and disturbing. Yet I was strangely entranced to follow the narrative.
Highly emotive.
I finished Peach a few days ago, and I'm still feeling its pulse. It was so vibrant, painful, dark, & true.
Peach is told in the prose style that I encountered about a year ago in Max Potter's Grief is the thing with feathers, and immediately loved. .
It's so interesting to me that both these books are stories of trauma, and have used the rhythm of words to reproduce the feelings of shock when it assails us, of fear when it makes our thoughts stammer, and of loss when it makes our words and visions trip over themselves.
Peach is on the same level of vibrancy and hallucinatory escapes as The Vegetarian by Han Kang, and of violence as Out by Natsuo Kirino. The end made me hold in my breath until I gasped! What a twist!
Peach is the name of the narrator, a young girl, who is dating her sweetheart Green, a boy in her school.
The story opens when Peach is struggling to make her way back home after having been raped. She describes how her body feels, how her mind reels at what has happened, remembering in pieces and not wanting to remember. She knows she will not tell anyone about this, least of all her boyfriend. But, the rapist is also a stalker. .
While my earlier read by Machado last week was all about being in symbiosis with one's body, Glass's was about looking at this connection when it is broken. .
The kind of emotions that our body and mind demand for the rupture to be mended is ultimately what Peach was about for me.
Given the themes of rape, and violence, Peach is a tough story, but it's an essential one, and Glass's experiment with prose really drew me in.
Glass's graphic descriptions of physical trauma, and the pieces of memory I had to put together given Peach's state, drove me so close to her, I could smell the smells that assailed her, and my hair stood on end at the panic of her hallucinations.
It's a tiny story, about 100 pages, but intense and powerful.
A huge thank you so much Bloomsbury Publishing for having sent me the early copy of Emma Glass's debut novel Peach which releases on 11 Jan in exchange for a review.
Peach is told in the prose style that I encountered about a year ago in Max Potter's Grief is the thing with feathers, and immediately loved. .
It's so interesting to me that both these books are stories of trauma, and have used the rhythm of words to reproduce the feelings of shock when it assails us, of fear when it makes our thoughts stammer, and of loss when it makes our words and visions trip over themselves.
Peach is on the same level of vibrancy and hallucinatory escapes as The Vegetarian by Han Kang, and of violence as Out by Natsuo Kirino. The end made me hold in my breath until I gasped! What a twist!
Peach is the name of the narrator, a young girl, who is dating her sweetheart Green, a boy in her school.
The story opens when Peach is struggling to make her way back home after having been raped. She describes how her body feels, how her mind reels at what has happened, remembering in pieces and not wanting to remember. She knows she will not tell anyone about this, least of all her boyfriend. But, the rapist is also a stalker. .
While my earlier read by Machado last week was all about being in symbiosis with one's body, Glass's was about looking at this connection when it is broken. .
The kind of emotions that our body and mind demand for the rupture to be mended is ultimately what Peach was about for me.
Given the themes of rape, and violence, Peach is a tough story, but it's an essential one, and Glass's experiment with prose really drew me in.
Glass's graphic descriptions of physical trauma, and the pieces of memory I had to put together given Peach's state, drove me so close to her, I could smell the smells that assailed her, and my hair stood on end at the panic of her hallucinations.
It's a tiny story, about 100 pages, but intense and powerful.
A huge thank you so much Bloomsbury Publishing for having sent me the early copy of Emma Glass's debut novel Peach which releases on 11 Jan in exchange for a review.
3.5 STARS
—————
In the acknowledgements, Glass tells us one of her many influences in writing this was GertrudeStein, and if you’re not a fan of GertrudeStein or if you have trouble accepting the way she writes, I feel like the chances of you enjoying this book are slim.
On the writing style— It’s fragmented and it plays with sounds just like Stein and there isn’t any variation in punctuation. It barely has any, but if you think about it, that’s how a train of thought would work, isn’t it?
The basic story is that Peach, the main character, is a rape victim and is being stalked by her rapist. The story is explicit from page one. The narrative is woven between reality and surreality, and as a reader, you have to figure out parts of the plot as it progresses. Some things are more explicit than others, but the feelings are raw and they felt quite real.
I want to revisit this book in the future because it might just be one of my favourites, but for now I’ll leave it be. All in all, I really like this.
—————
In the acknowledgements, Glass tells us one of her many influences in writing this was GertrudeStein, and if you’re not a fan of GertrudeStein or if you have trouble accepting the way she writes, I feel like the chances of you enjoying this book are slim.
On the writing style— It’s fragmented and it plays with sounds just like Stein and there isn’t any variation in punctuation. It barely has any, but if you think about it, that’s how a train of thought would work, isn’t it?
The basic story is that Peach, the main character, is a rape victim and is being stalked by her rapist. The story is explicit from page one. The narrative is woven between reality and surreality, and as a reader, you have to figure out parts of the plot as it progresses. Some things are more explicit than others, but the feelings are raw and they felt quite real.
I want to revisit this book in the future because it might just be one of my favourites, but for now I’ll leave it be. All in all, I really like this.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment
Violent, lyrical, intense. Tough to summarize, this won’t be a fit for everyone. This trauma is very disturbing.
A challenging read that owes its roots to Gertrude Stein but is a voice truly new. Take it literally or as a wider metaphor, this book upholds its commitment to language, sound and character in its short pages. Difficult to describe, difficult to say I enjoyed it but it's one I'll be thinking about and talking about for a while.
What a way to start 2022!
I loved it, I loved it, I loved it <3
I loved it, I loved it, I loved it <3
- small book
- confusing?
- minimal punctuation so not sure when someone is speaking
- about the after effects of rape/sexual assult
- never know what's real/made-up/fantasy
- other reviews say similar things
- confusing?
- minimal punctuation so not sure when someone is speaking
- about the after effects of rape/sexual assult
- never know what's real/made-up/fantasy
- other reviews say similar things
Peach has been sexually assaulted. Glass then leads the reader through the next few days of Peach's life post assault. Showing us her deepest, darkest thoughts.
This was a strange little read. I really enjoyed it! Glass's poetic prose are like no other!
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For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong
This was a strange little read. I really enjoyed it! Glass's poetic prose are like no other!
•
For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong