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jamieleepilk's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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? Yes
4.0
"I have never believed in spirits or the afterlife, but still they swirl around me like a current, dragging at me as if my survival was somehow a betrayal." p.30
For a fiction debut this book is brilliant! You are completely sucked in from page one with it's train of thought narration and dark circumstance. Covering topics like influence, growing up and being a mother. A lot of the story revolves around memory and specifically what trauma does to our memories, how we remember and process things which in turn effects how we live in the present day.
The first half of the novel is from an adult female whose name is Monster. Monster believes that she is the only person left and is making her way back to her home town after being away while a sickness and a war has killed everyone else. Her chapters are sinister and even though you are reading from inside her brain, it does feel like you are being kept at arms left and she's being intentionally vague which is very immersive and tells you a lot about her character and state of mind. The second part of the book is told from the point of view of a young girl (probably around 12-13?) who Monster "adopts" then giving her the name Monster, she becomes Mother separating herself as "creator" and the young girl as "survivor". Monster 2 has had a hard life and you only get small glimpses of her past. From her perspective you find that Monster 1 has not been giving us the whole truth. The contrast in the two sections is vast, which Monster 1 being set in her ways of survival and Monster 2 wanting to create, grow and explore more not just for food and things to survive.
To be honest there isn't much plot within this story but you do get sucked in regardless. There also isn't very much dialogue, conversations are very brief and often shut down by Monster 1. I'm grateful that the novel changed pov half way through as it did start to get a little repetitive so it was good to get both voices in.
For a fiction debut this book is brilliant! You are completely sucked in from page one with it's train of thought narration and dark circumstance. Covering topics like influence, growing up and being a mother. A lot of the story revolves around memory and specifically what trauma does to our memories, how we remember and process things which in turn effects how we live in the present day.
The first half of the novel is from an adult female whose name is Monster. Monster believes that she is the only person left and is making her way back to her home town after being away while a sickness and a war has killed everyone else. Her chapters are sinister and even though you are reading from inside her brain, it does feel like you are being kept at arms left and she's being intentionally vague which is very immersive and tells you a lot about her character and state of mind. The second part of the book is told from the point of view of a young girl (probably around 12-13?) who Monster "adopts" then giving her the name Monster, she becomes Mother separating herself as "creator" and the young girl as "survivor". Monster 2 has had a hard life and you only get small glimpses of her past. From her perspective you find that Monster 1 has not been giving us the whole truth. The contrast in the two sections is vast, which Monster 1 being set in her ways of survival and Monster 2 wanting to create, grow and explore more not just for food and things to survive.
To be honest there isn't much plot within this story but you do get sucked in regardless. There also isn't very much dialogue, conversations are very brief and often shut down by Monster 1. I'm grateful that the novel changed pov half way through as it did start to get a little repetitive so it was good to get both voices in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Death, Gore, Grief, and Medical content
Minor: Vomit and Homophobia
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