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punkasskid's review
4.0
It's easy to toss this book aside quickly because of it's strange turn of events and that little voice inside your head that says "This is just too weird". Don't. This book was absolutely phenomenal, Marisa Silver's magical realism rivals Ray Bradbury. Right off the bat we see Pavla's parents and how they are just humans, instead of the way children view parents, which is as perfect people. We see Pavla's struggle and you are left to piece together what's actually occurring by yourself rather than it the answer being given to you. If you don't like thinking critically about books and would rather have a book that is all in black and white, with all loose ends tied up, Little Nothing is not for you.
But if you're like me and you like a little ambiguity, by all means, don't toss it aside.
But if you're like me and you like a little ambiguity, by all means, don't toss it aside.
hayreading's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Upon reading a second time, I came to appreciate much more about this book. It's bizarre, but it's full of themes and tells a compelling story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Body horror
Moderate: War, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Dementia, Torture, Body shaming, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Death, Grief, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Blood, Child abuse, Murder, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
casspro's review
2.0
I feel like this novel got to pull the wool over my eyes. There I was, driving along in my car, listening to what I thought was a nice rustic old world European freak show carnival novel, when all of a sudden *BAM* surprise werewolf. I'm still not sure how the hell Pavla turned into a werewolf other than one second she was chomping down on the throat of her sexual assailant and then next she's romping through a snowy forest in full on wolf mode. I kept listening because the writing is actually really captivating, but it felt like two completely different halves propped together in one book. And towards the end, it turns into a historical crime thriller out of no where. Does anything ever really get explained. No. Do we have get a nice neat bow of an ending. No. I'm not even 100% sure I liked the plot. But it is stark and beautiful in a way that I haven't experienced in a while.
luvfoolish's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
katie_samsock's review
3.0
It was good. Interesting fairytale though the ending still has me confused
theangrystackrat's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
kall_em's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I liked this book and all it’s strange twist and turns. I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending…but it was still worth it to see the storyline of the characters and where the author took them throughout their development.
Does this book make sense completely? Perhaps not. But that was part of its beauty. Overall, I enjoyed it and found myself wanting to know what happened next.
Does this book make sense completely? Perhaps not. But that was part of its beauty. Overall, I enjoyed it and found myself wanting to know what happened next.
corita's review
4.0
Little Nothing by Marisa Silver is a complex, layered fairy tale. The story’s delight is that it subverts traditional and modern storytelling with unpredictable twists and turns.
At its heart, this is a tale of Pavla and Danilo’s unrequited love and their personal transformative journeys. When they have their palms read and are told, “One of you will be brave and one of you will be a coward,” the ideas is key and stuck with me as I read.
There’s much to love about this story. The writing is lovely and vivid. I savored the complexity of this open-ended story and found the exploration of personal transformation in extreme adversity gripping.
Pavla’s shapeshifting allows her to transcend the horrors of her life and find power when she has none. The love story is not a typical Hollywood tale because Danilo and Pavla are too broken to imagine the other feels the same.
Fairy tales should have an internal logic that fits the story world. Pavla’s first transformation felt strange and unbelievable. It lacked internal story consistency. In addition, most of the novel is relentlessly bleak and heartbreaking. Often, I wished for a moment of respite and hope.
This book isn’t for everyone. Little Nothing is often in your face with the grisly aspects of Pavla and Danilo’s lives. If you prefer the Brothers Grimm to Disney, if you love gritty, ambiguous tales, if you jump for joy at open-ended stories, you’ll enjoy Little Nothing.
At its heart, this is a tale of Pavla and Danilo’s unrequited love and their personal transformative journeys. When they have their palms read and are told, “One of you will be brave and one of you will be a coward,” the ideas is key and stuck with me as I read.
There’s much to love about this story. The writing is lovely and vivid. I savored the complexity of this open-ended story and found the exploration of personal transformation in extreme adversity gripping.
Pavla’s shapeshifting allows her to transcend the horrors of her life and find power when she has none. The love story is not a typical Hollywood tale because Danilo and Pavla are too broken to imagine the other feels the same.
Fairy tales should have an internal logic that fits the story world. Pavla’s first transformation felt strange and unbelievable. It lacked internal story consistency. In addition, most of the novel is relentlessly bleak and heartbreaking. Often, I wished for a moment of respite and hope.
This book isn’t for everyone. Little Nothing is often in your face with the grisly aspects of Pavla and Danilo’s lives. If you prefer the Brothers Grimm to Disney, if you love gritty, ambiguous tales, if you jump for joy at open-ended stories, you’ll enjoy Little Nothing.
bradypus's review against another edition
There was one passage about people with dwarfism being made for entertainment that was so gross I couldn’t keep reading. It made me literally grimace.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
mollyisfullybooked's review
4.0
This book was pure magic. Gorgeous writing with unforgettable characters.