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crystaldragonst's review
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Violence, Sexual content, and Blood
whimsofwands's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I really enjoyed this book because the characters felt very believable
They were unique and flawed and I liked and disliked all of them for different reasons (except Moses). It was a bit all over the place and didn't quite stick the landing bringing it all together, but there were many beautiful and fascinating moments I'll definitely continue thinking about.
I think this is one of the best portrayals of a statutory rape situation I've ever read. The writer does an amazing job acknowledging the complicated feelings both people have, while consistently condemning it completely.
They were unique and flawed and I liked and disliked all of them for different reasons (except Moses). It was a bit all over the place and didn't quite stick the landing bringing it all together, but there were many beautiful and fascinating moments I'll definitely continue thinking about.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Animal cruelty, and Rape
jaygabler's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Brings verve and thematic focus to a classic disparate-characters-coming-together-at-a-pivotal-moment setup.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Animal death
stefhany's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
khaaaaanor's review against another edition
dark
funny
sad
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
Absolutely loved reading this book. Dark, funny, relevant, horrific. Tess Gunty is so sharp and I can’t wait for her next novel
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
emmareeser's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Mental illness and Sexual content
lindsayerin's review
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal death
horourke's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
3.0
“I am so sick…of violence against women disguised as validation.”
I wish I enjoyed this book more than I did. I was captivated by the prose and Gunty’s mastery of telling the story from multiple perspectives. The book was often darkly funny and filled with powerful passages about the human condition. Gunty wrote exceptionally vibrant and believable characters and brought each to life fully. Despite the (mostly) 3rd person narration, we can discern the characters’ feelings, thoughts and motivations. With multiple points of view, Gunty crafts a tale of people whose lives are interconnected, whether they realize it or not. However, I agree with the criticism that some characters’ stories were less central to the plot (Hope and her husband, mainly) and wish the final reveal of what happened to Blandine on that hot summer night was more dramatic; it felt almost like a throwaway, described in full only about 20 pages before the novel’s ending.
I think my main issue with the book is the amount of truly deplorable men in it. At it’s core, this is a novel about a bunch of weird losers who torture and ridicule young girls to compensate for their own insecurity. James Yager absolutely disgusted me, and I found myself annotating every chapter dedicated to his story with notes on how much of a pathetic creep he is. Nearly everyone in this book makes themselves out to be the victim, except for Blandine, who is the only true victim. While relatable and indicative of the lived experiences of maligned women, it was a tough read.
I found the author’s commentary on capitalism, depression, and connection very interesting. Many of the characters described feeling as though life “isn’t real,” and the novel does an excellent job of painting the town of Vacca Vale as a kind of purgatory. The first epigraph about rabbits is eerily foreshadowing for the content of the novel, and I constantly returned to it throughout. It does a great job of summing up key motifs: isolation, chaos, violence of insecure males, feeling trapped, etc. I would’ve loved for these themes to be explored more in depth, especially toward the end of the book; I wish it was more about human connection and less about abused women.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Sexual content, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Violence
emmas_bookshelf's review
challenging
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
4.0
I found this novel super interesting and thought provoking. The author experimented a lot with form and for me, in some places it worked and in some places it didn’t… I think I would have liked more consistency but I can appreciate what she tried to do. I wouldn’t recommend this if you don’t like lit fic (literary fiction), but it does get at a lot of important topics in our society.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, Classism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Blood, Death of parent, and Drug use
murrderdith's review
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This was an interesting, if not fully fleshed, novel. Told over a week from multiple perspectives, it focuses on the residents of an affordable housing complex in a rundown factory town in Indiana. The novel largely rotates around a teenage girl named Blandine who is obsessed with the medieval saint, Hildegard von Bingen, and creates unnerving art protests to undermine local redevelopment--you know, teen girl stuff.
I genuinely did like the novel. The writing is fantastic and the characters are odd but also believable. That said, the multitude of intersecting narratives didn't always feel cohesive. I don't think the novel would have benefitted from stripping it down to a single third-person perspective but there are characters that could have been eliminated entirely (Hope and her husband) to give others (Joan) more space without taking anything from the larger plot.
I genuinely did like the novel. The writing is fantastic and the characters are odd but also believable. That said, the multitude of intersecting narratives didn't always feel cohesive. I don't think the novel would have benefitted from stripping it down to a single third-person perspective but there are characters that could have been eliminated entirely (Hope and her husband) to give others (Joan) more space without taking anything from the larger plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, and Violence