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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse
Minor: Rape, Vomit
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book almost had it all. The frenetic energy of a close knit group of women combined with the magnetic pull of an elusive leader and the idyllic setting of the English country seems like a recipe with disastrous consequences; but incredibly compelling reading. The story being told in two timelines worked in it's favor until the very end. All of this drama and mystery and tension kept building but when it reached it's climax, it was a little too late. I was enthralled with the characters and I loved the story and writing style immensely but in the end it felt like it could've used one more round of editing. I don't think plotlines needed to be cut but they definitely needed to be more concise. With all that being said, however, I really did love this book and the way it told a cult like story in a way that didn't seem out there. I highly recommend this and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for Amy Twiggs next novel.
What I learned from one of the nature documentaries: the green heron, native to north and central America, lures its prey by dropping bait into the water. Often, it will use smaller fish to tempt larger ones to the surface. No one knows how the green heron developed this behaviour, although it's thought it learned by observing humans.
The first 90 pages or so were riveting and atmospheric. Twigg's writing style is compelling, her imagery precise, interesting, (at first) surprising. However I found it started to run out of steam due to thin characterisation of most of the women and I found the conflict which drives the second half of the book unrealistic. The ending itself and the women's final descent into madness/ act of violence is well-written but doesn't necessarily feel earned to me.
The first 90 pages or so were riveting and atmospheric. Twigg's writing style is compelling, her imagery precise, interesting, (at first) surprising. However I found it started to run out of steam due to thin characterisation of most of the women and I found the conflict which drives the second half of the book unrealistic. The ending itself and the women's final descent into madness/ act of violence is well-written but doesn't necessarily feel earned to me.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Really enjoyed it and finished it in a day as couldn't put it down. Great book.
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was super excited for this one as I grew up a stones throw from the Kent Downs.
I always enjoy a bit of chaos and female rage and the dual-timeline does a good job of building tension and discomfort. Unfortunately I found the ending felt a little anticlimactic but this was a great debut and I’ll defo be keeping an eye out for more from Amy Twigg!
Thank you to Tinder Press and Headline for the PR copy.
Also shout out to Twigg for withdrawing from the Polari Prize longlist due to their transphobia. We love a supportive queen 🙌🏻
I’m struggling to conceptualise my thoughts on this one. Maybe this is a sign that I’m reading too many books in too short succession, but I walked away from this feeling like it wasn’t hugely notable and like I’ve read something like it before. Though I recognise that that’s not really fair! I thought this was really beautifully written and incredibly engaging. The writing style is very lyrical and vivid, and the world felt very real. I think my main gripe was I always felt like I was missing something. I don’t think I really understood the main character, and couldn’t wrap my head around what she was feeling and the decisions she was making. In theory, I like the idea of following someone as they get sucked into a cult that becomes increasingly violent. But I don’t think I really got the main character’s reason for being drawn in, and for not being able to see the cult for what it was. Frankly, I don’t think I got why the cult was that magnetic to anyone at all. There’s lots of hints to women “escaping bad men” and general mentioned of how the world treats women poorly, but I don’t think that’s enough and I wanted more. Similarly, a large plot point is the main character’s obsession with (crush on) another woman and how that keeps her from leaving. Though this didn’t feel fully fleshed out either. I don’t know, I think I just struggle to believe some of the choices made and I didn’t feel hugely connected to the narrator which made it difficult. I think we could’ve dug a bit deeper in general, though this was a very entertaining read and I’m glad to have read it.
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Blimey. I think I had my hopes up because of the hype but it's a sour book with nothing interesting or profound to say.
Still, I wrote a lot of notes up until half way - Twigg can write, and with complexity and subtlety - but I lost patience and kind of gave up: I read the second half very quickly.
What are we meant to take from it? All people are sheep (led by charismatic bullies) who won't question or stand up to bad group behavior, or stand up for what's right, because they're so desperate?
It's not truly reactionary in the way Birnam Wood is: there is psychological acuity here. The bit where the women pelt Sarah's sons' car reminded me of some of the things in Disaster Nationalism when Seymour discusses the fascist's joy of violence and pogroms.
But it's so bitter: the women's expectations are so low and everything seems to have to be pulled down to the lowest common denominator. The author draws them as the worst kind of bratty, selfish teens rather than adult women. It's portrayal of women brutalized by patriarchy, capitalism and class society is wafer thin; Hazel is little more than a femme fatale and is WAFER THIN.
Sure, cults exist and I guess they are worth examining (though I think a kind of David Peace style would serve better - and aren't there real life versions to examine, understand and fictionalise), but the cult of greed, and stupidity, and destroying the whole fucking planet DOMINATE every aspect of human existence right now. This just felt like a miserable, seedy episode of Endeavor. I wanted, and needed, a joyous queer version of The Good Life Commune instead 😁
Still, I wrote a lot of notes up until half way - Twigg can write, and with complexity and subtlety - but I lost patience and kind of gave up: I read the second half very quickly.
What are we meant to take from it? All people are sheep (led by charismatic bullies) who won't question or stand up to bad group behavior, or stand up for what's right, because they're so desperate?
It's not truly reactionary in the way Birnam Wood is: there is psychological acuity here. The bit where the women pelt Sarah's sons' car reminded me of some of the things in Disaster Nationalism when Seymour discusses the fascist's joy of violence and pogroms.
But it's so bitter: the women's expectations are so low and everything seems to have to be pulled down to the lowest common denominator. The author draws them as the worst kind of bratty, selfish teens rather than adult women. It's portrayal of women brutalized by patriarchy, capitalism and class society is wafer thin; Hazel is little more than a femme fatale and is WAFER THIN.
Sure, cults exist and I guess they are worth examining (though I think a kind of David Peace style would serve better - and aren't there real life versions to examine, understand and fictionalise), but the cult of greed, and stupidity, and destroying the whole fucking planet DOMINATE every aspect of human existence right now. This just felt like a miserable, seedy episode of Endeavor. I wanted, and needed, a joyous queer version of The Good Life Commune instead 😁