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lil13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide attempt, Excrement, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Child abuse, Medical content, Misogyny, and Rape
zwin's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Body shaming, Child abuse, Bullying, Mental illness, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, and Sexual violence
danidamico's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
Esta novela narra la historia de Ruthie, una adolescente que crece en un suburbio de Massachussetts y observa todo lo que sucede a su alrededor. La autora Sarah Manguso expone todas las pequeñas (y no tan pequeñas) miserias que existen debajo de la fachada de decencia, la realidad detrás de la imagen de revista del típico pueblo norteamericano. En menos de 200 páginas, Ruthie relata la crueldad a la que fue sometida por parte de su familia, especialmente su madre, y cómo esa misma crueldad se reproduce en cada casa del barrio, en la escuela, en cada vínculo. Cómo el veneno de los adultos ya comienza a asentarse en los niños.
Es un libro en el que los hechos más terribles se mencionan rápidamente, al pasar, porque es así como la sociedad los percibe y nos enseña a percibirlos. Un estado permanente de elipsis. Normalizar la violencia ejercida sobre los cuerpos de niños y mujeres. "It was clear to me that what had happened to her wasn't rare but normal, that it was too common even to register as a story. It wasn't even a story at all", escribe Manguso.
La "gente muy fría" del título no se refiere sólo a la familia de la narradora, hace referencia a todo el pueblo, al cual Manguso caracterizó como un lugar de "pobreza emocional", que a su vez funciona como una versión en miniatura de toda la sociedad. Las cosas que ocurren en Waitsfield no son únicas, suceden todos los días en todas partes. La crueldad, la falta de empatía, el clasismo, el desprecio por uno mismo y el otro. La desconexión apática ante el dolor propio y ajeno. Es también una novela sobre la inocencia perdida, sobre infancias interrumpidas.
Es un libro silencioso, sútil, pero absolutamente violento.
"She'd believed his praise was genuine. She hadn't noticed that he'd pegged her as a person who would snatch up any compliment into the maw of her unloved, throbbing little heart".
"She was telling me that she'd absorbed so much of her father's violent attentions that she had to get it out of herself, to inflict it on a mute, inanimate object that would never tell".
"My mother looked at me. (...) As if she wanted to take good care of me but knew that she couldn't, that no one could protect a child from being hurt, that no one could take care of anyone".
Graphic: Suicide, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Pedophilia
lyhtning's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
blainereads's review
- 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
3.5
With that said, coming from a Very Cold New England town myself, I can attest to the accuracy with which the author painted every horrid detail; perhaps had I not come from such a place or witnessed such depravity, this book would have been even more impressive or shocking in its scope, but it lacked a certain narrative dynamism so what's supposed to be "the reveal" at the end was nothing more than a foregone conclusion. (I also think the chapters about the Lowells and Cabots actually did a disservice to the rest of the story—it took away from the fragility and subtly, in a way. It felt a bit heavy-handed and out of place and didn't add much by way of context to the story; the social class discussions would still have been understood loud and clear without these passages.)
Content Warnings: Child Abuse, Sexual Assault, Molestation, Disordered Eating, Mental Illness, Self-Harm, Voluntary Institutionalization, Incest, Suicidal Ideation
Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Incest, and Self harm
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Eating disorder