Scan barcode
essiie's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
copascribe's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 ⭐️
In a nutshell, a slow-burn horror on the anxiety and terror of dying alone and fear of not relying on your perception of reality.
It's sad when an elderly person has no family and is just left to live out their days being taken care of by paid employees. This book delves into one woman's story who never had a family and looks back on her life with some regret as she starts to notice how she's aging. And then an accident at home forces her to move into a home. Soon, she starts noticing the staff at her nursing home behave oddly and thinks they're making her and the other residents sick. And then she sees the fungus.
This book was well-written, and I won't be surprised if I'm still thinking about it a week from now.
In a nutshell, a slow-burn horror on the anxiety and terror of dying alone and fear of not relying on your perception of reality.
It's sad when an elderly person has no family and is just left to live out their days being taken care of by paid employees. This book delves into one woman's story who never had a family and looks back on her life with some regret as she starts to notice how she's aging. And then an accident at home forces her to move into a home. Soon, she starts noticing the staff at her nursing home behave oddly and thinks they're making her and the other residents sick. And then she sees the fungus.
This book was well-written, and I won't be surprised if I'm still thinking about it a week from now.
atnea's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mike_nz's review against another edition
I have no idea how to rate this. 1 star? 5 star? I really do not know. But I finished it a few days ago and I'm still thinking about what it meant, what was going on, which is rare for me.
OK, I'm going with 4 stars. Or maybe 5? Aaaahhhh!
OK, I'm going with 4 stars. Or maybe 5? Aaaahhhh!
lit_laugh_luv's review against another edition
3.0
This has everything I typically enjoy - body horror, an unreliable narrator, ambiguity and grief as a key theme. Unfortunately in execution it felt underbaked for me despite being hard to put down.
Penny is a compelling narrator who reminded me a lot of Vesta from [b:Death in Her Hands|52878453|Death in Her Hands|Ottessa Moshfegh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567702645l/52878453._SX50_SY75_.jpg|71378368]; we see her try to navigate aging and loneliness as a widow. As the synopsis implies, oddities begin happening in her care facility and we see reality become increasingly hazy and surreal. With that said, I didn't really "get" this - there's a lot going on at once and there's so many unanswered questions with the abrupt ending. I've read a few theories about how to interpret the book but all of them feel so speculative - there's not enough information given to the readers to make any meaningful conclusions about what happened. It feels like it is leading up to some big reveal or climax that never actually comes to fruition.
Overall, I did feel like this does a good job conveying suspense and paranoia, but ultimately just fell pretty flat to me. I'd definitely give Reid's books another go, but the number of unanswered questions I have after finishing this one left me more frustrated than satisfied.
Penny is a compelling narrator who reminded me a lot of Vesta from [b:Death in Her Hands|52878453|Death in Her Hands|Ottessa Moshfegh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567702645l/52878453._SX50_SY75_.jpg|71378368]; we see her try to navigate aging and loneliness as a widow. As the synopsis implies, oddities begin happening in her care facility and we see reality become increasingly hazy and surreal. With that said, I didn't really "get" this - there's a lot going on at once and there's so many unanswered questions with the abrupt ending. I've read a few theories about how to interpret the book but all of them feel so speculative - there's not enough information given to the readers to make any meaningful conclusions about what happened. It feels like it is leading up to some big reveal or climax that never actually comes to fruition.
Overall, I did feel like this does a good job conveying suspense and paranoia, but ultimately just fell pretty flat to me. I'd definitely give Reid's books another go, but the number of unanswered questions I have after finishing this one left me more frustrated than satisfied.
shellig93's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5