Reviews

Das Haus der unfassbar Schönen by Joseph Cassara, Stephan Kleiner

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bookschaosnart's review against another edition

4.0

Tragic ending like many Trans stories of that time period (and sadly today). It felt well written andt voyeuristic. It started out slow and I'd occasionally lose who was narrating due to the flashbacks. Overall an important and good read. It is a well done LGBTQ book.

katie_curran's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

martine_01's review against another edition

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dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

kate_cunningham's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

kdahlo's review against another edition

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4.0

If you have seen Paris is Burning (if you haven't, probably you should) this is a retelling, an attempt to get inside the heads of some of the people at the center of that story. At times it gets very grim, and I felt some fear that spinning out the details of their tragedies wasn't the right way to honor them. The writing is beautiful, if brutal, and I think it does manage to capture some of the beauty and meaning to it all, even while it sticks to the gruesome details. The voices feel real, and it's easy to get lost in. Really, I think I understand the why the author wrote this book, because I saw Paris is burning, I read the stubs on Wikipedia about each person in the film and I wanted more, but there isn't more. So I get the need to make more, to live with these people a little longer. I don't know if it's okay, I think maybe it isn't. But I get it. And the book is beautiful.

kprocopio's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

rubyfruit's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

3.75

When I was 40 pages in, I could already tell this book was gonna break me. I don't think I've ever cried this much with any other book. I LOVED the first part of the story and the plot surrounding the character of Angel, I think it was beautifully sad. HOWEVER, I HATED the last bit about Daniel and Juanito, and the descriptions of sexual assault were just too much and too graphic for me, which (even if I understand why they may have been included) stopped me from fully enjoying this novel.