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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
I always feel weird recommending this book or film to people because it is so disturbing. But it is also beautiful, heartbreaking and an important look at trauma and how we deal with it. I'm also amazed that I like the movie as much as the book, that rarely happens.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
love this book so so much
challenging
dark
A former roommate of mine convinced me to go see the movie version of Mysterious Skin when it was in theaters. He'd read the book, loved it, and decided we both needed to see the movie during the one weekend it played at one of the localish independent theaters.
I thought I read the book before we went to go see it, but I was barely three pages in before I realized that I'd never read it, that I had read some other book that he'd recommended, bought my own copy of Mysterious Skin, and have been moving it with me from house to house for over a decade.
The movie adaptation is Very Faithful, if I'm remembering it properly. Many times during the book, I was visualizing scenes from the movie. But the book is worth reading whether or not you've seen the movie and know how it ends.
Each chapter shifts perspective from the two main characters, their very few close friends, and one of their siblings. And Heim does a great job choosing which character's lens were looking through when he reveals parts of the story.
I don't think any of the reveals are ever surprises to the reader by the time he gets to them, but they're often surprises to the characters, which seems more devastating. I'm definitely going to have to reread this at some point.
I would recommend this to people interested in writing fiction from various perspectives, people looking for books about melodramatic events that don't seem as over-the-top as they probably should, people looking to read queer books by/about twentieth century queer lives that don't reduce their characters to expected stereotypes, and people looking for an engrossing book written in a conversational tone by someone who knows how to tell a story.
I thought I read the book before we went to go see it, but I was barely three pages in before I realized that I'd never read it, that I had read some other book that he'd recommended, bought my own copy of Mysterious Skin, and have been moving it with me from house to house for over a decade.
The movie adaptation is Very Faithful, if I'm remembering it properly. Many times during the book, I was visualizing scenes from the movie. But the book is worth reading whether or not you've seen the movie and know how it ends.
Each chapter shifts perspective from the two main characters, their very few close friends, and one of their siblings. And Heim does a great job choosing which character's lens were looking through when he reveals parts of the story.
I don't think any of the reveals are ever surprises to the reader by the time he gets to them, but they're often surprises to the characters, which seems more devastating. I'm definitely going to have to reread this at some point.
I would recommend this to people interested in writing fiction from various perspectives, people looking for books about melodramatic events that don't seem as over-the-top as they probably should, people looking to read queer books by/about twentieth century queer lives that don't reduce their characters to expected stereotypes, and people looking for an engrossing book written in a conversational tone by someone who knows how to tell a story.
This is easily the most gruesome and explicit book I've ever read. Heim's descriptive powers are a double edged sword when it comes to telling this story. The abuse is painfully detailed and often had me physically recoiling from the book, but I was drawn back in with the beautiful descriptions of rural Kansas and the characters that inhabited it. Mysterious Skin will undoubtedly haunt me forever.
dark
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
I wasn't able to finish reading this even though it held my interest and I was intrigued... If you have PTSD or some type of trauma-related struggles, I would recommend passing this one up. I'm disappointed that I had to, it's beautifully written, many of the scenes only became way too intense for me to finish.
For a book with a dark and disturbing subject, it didn't seem too melodramatic. The author wrote with some restraint and allowed the story to naturally unfold. I really liked that. This in turn made some parts a little predictable and I’m sure readers figured some things out before some of the characters were able to, but that wasn’t necessarily always a bad thing! It made the characters realistic. I think both characters didn’t see the truth because they didn’t want to believe and accept it as truth. And, wow, that final scene was really satisfying!!
(I did think Neil remembered Brian a little too quickly, though. I also wish the moments in which he experienced shifting views of his relationship with Coach were a little more drawn out.)
(I did think Neil remembered Brian a little too quickly, though. I also wish the moments in which he experienced shifting views of his relationship with Coach were a little more drawn out.)
This was a pretty depressing book about childhood sexual abuse. It had some strange twists and turns in the plot that made it somewhat interesting. The ending provided some closure, but left more questions than answers.