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Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Grief, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment
Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Murder, War
But the alternate history dark academia lesbian thriller of it all has infected me totally and I just can’t help but love it. this book’s format is really pretty revolutionary, I really haven’t seen anything like it. It has so much to say about what art means and perhaps how we should draw the limits of what ethical art/artists looks like. To me, this book was an incredible read, and nearer to the end, I had to put the book down twice because I knew what was coming. I really have never felt more revulsion to a fictional character’s fictional actions, and that was powerful.
My only criticism I could honestly give is something I’ve seen others say. The plausibility of the worldbuilding is a little low in places, and realistically I don’t think America could have gone down this path in almost any timeline. In defense of my rating though, the setting serves both as an interesting backdrop and as a way to reflect the character of X, along with mirroring the biographer’s relationship with her. I don’t want to give anything away, but I think there’s a very good reason the only map we see of America has the Southern Territories in the dark without a border, and the answer can be found on the last few pages.
This book was truly a delight! Thank you for reading :)
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Death, Stalking
Minor: Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Lesbophobia
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Abandonment, War
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment
Moderate: Stalking
Minor: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, War
I was reminded near the end though that each partner in a relationship has their own version of the relationship, from to way that they perceive you from the way they see the role they play in the relationship. When these things are factually inaccurate, the couple has to work harder in different ways.
It was also a reminder that as time goes on everything evolves. Relationships change, and people change too (though not usually into different people like X). Even the experience of the book changed. At times I was hanging on every word. At times it was so slow or pretentious that I didn't think I'd pick it up again. Altogether I think I've walked away with an insistent urge to hug my lovely boyfriend and a reminder that life and love are as complex as each other.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War
I gave it a 3 because I think the main character deserved better and more growth. This made the ending fall flat for me.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexism
Minor: Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Toxic friendship
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse
Moderate: Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Gaslighting
Minor: Suicide
I found out after finishing the book, as I was googling reviews and mulling things over, that the alternate history was a choice Lacey made so that
Tl;dr: Disappointing, but still good, and still glad I read it. I'll continue to read (or at least plan to read, we know how TBRs go) Catherine Lacey's future books.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief
Moderate: Death
Graphic: Drug abuse, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Abandonment
Minor: Lesbophobia