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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault
challenging
dark
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
i love this movie and avoided reading this for so long bcz i was afraid it wouldn’t measure up .. God i was wrong …
Brian Lackey is an awkward, gawky kid obsessed with UFOs and alien abduction, trying to explain five hours of missing childhood memories. Neil McCormick's hypersexuality and attraction to older men stems from the vividly-remembered, idealized sexual abuse he experienced as a child. A story of the personal, private consequences of trauma, Mysterious Skin is one hell of a book, written with challenging, quiet ambiguity. The characters are dirty and flawed, but presented with such authenticity that it's impossible not to care for them, and the setting is similarly unglamorous; the plot is simultaneously mundane and compelling, and always overshadowed by a sense of inevitability no matter dark and strange its content becomes. This is in no way a criticism, because what happens is only half the story: Mysterious Skin is as about the relationship between an event and what it means to us, what it becomes to us, how it changes us—and in its mundanity and vastness, its strangeness and inevitability, its event and impact, it's the relationship between the halves that create a compelling and meaningful whole.
As such, Mysterious Skin is no tearjerker, despite appearances to the contrary. It's as much about the mundane fallout as the cataclysmic event and it's handled with intense and discomforting ambiguity, denying sensationalism and the comfort of cheap catharsis, providing instead the personal, imperfect, private truths of two individuals effected by child sexual abuse. Such ambiguity is demanding and Mysterious Skin offers no easy relief. It's a painful, difficult book—and a good one. On an artistic level, the text doesn't quite sing from the page—each narrator has a near-identical voice, despite their number and variety; otherwise, the prose is nearly transparent, the themes are handled with a slightly heavy hand, and the plot's inevitability can become too obvious. Those issues matter, but they're minor quibbles as the rest of what Mysterious Skin offers is enough to outweigh them. It's hard to call this a book I "enjoyed," but it's one I appreciated and my opinion of it only improves in retrospect; I hope to revisit, someday. And I recommend it.
As such, Mysterious Skin is no tearjerker, despite appearances to the contrary. It's as much about the mundane fallout as the cataclysmic event and it's handled with intense and discomforting ambiguity, denying sensationalism and the comfort of cheap catharsis, providing instead the personal, imperfect, private truths of two individuals effected by child sexual abuse. Such ambiguity is demanding and Mysterious Skin offers no easy relief. It's a painful, difficult book—and a good one. On an artistic level, the text doesn't quite sing from the page—each narrator has a near-identical voice, despite their number and variety; otherwise, the prose is nearly transparent, the themes are handled with a slightly heavy hand, and the plot's inevitability can become too obvious. Those issues matter, but they're minor quibbles as the rest of what Mysterious Skin offers is enough to outweigh them. It's hard to call this a book I "enjoyed," but it's one I appreciated and my opinion of it only improves in retrospect; I hope to revisit, someday. And I recommend it.
one of the most difficult reads of my life. wanted to read the book before watching the movie but i honestly don't think i can recommend the book. one of those things that's so disturbing but so well written that you're compelled to finish it. now i will read something much happier
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Drug use, Car accident, Death of parent
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A poignant book but unnecessarily graphic
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
It took me a while to finish this book because of how terribly empty and depressed it made me, not to mention memories of my own similar childhood crept up to haunt me in comparison thanks to the book. I think being able to relate to this book affects your reading experience a lot. Heim did an amazing job writing this, so tragically beautiful and realistic, especially the way two victims deal with their trauma in two completely different ways. I’ll never forget this book, nor the feeling it gave me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment