Reviews

The Owl Cries by 편혜영, Pyun Hye-young

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meeshreads's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

3.0

This is an atmospheric and uneasy book. It has a few different sections told from different viewpoints. I liked the first part best, which was a mystery of a missing forest ranger. The largest section focused on the current ranger who is struggling with alcoholism and family struggles. I just found this character and story so depressing, and I felt towards the end he was being gaslit, but it's a bit of an unreliable narrator situation so I'm not really sure. There is also a section that delves into the time before the missing ranger, some long held secrets in the town. Throughout the whole thing, the forest is a looming and dark presence. It's a slow book, and I didn't really feel it paid off.

sisa_moyo's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

A young lawyer arrives in a small town in search of his dead beat brother who has been missing for months - an eerie, dark small town in the shadow of a large and looking forest, shrouded in secrecy, alcoholism, failed lives and families and the loud, thundering cries of an owl.
This plays out very much like a thriller, and the whole time the questions is not a whodunnit but a what-was-done. Through this we get an exploration of the lives of the people who one way or another are forever trapped in this town with no way out, gripped by the forest, debt, alcholism and deadly secrets.
Highly enjoyed this one, it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.