Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
* spoilers *
Molly Southbourne is not a normal child. Her parents keep her at their farm at all times, homeschooling her and never allowing her into the city. You might think it cruel, but the circumstances deem it necessary. Every time Molly bleeds, a complete physical copy of her is made. The new molly inevitably will try to kill her whether it's immediately or in a few days. Her first memory is of her father bludgeoning her double to death. At age 5, her parents teach her to fight and drill rules into her. Don't bleed. If you bleed, blot, burn, and bleach. If you find a hole (where a molly emerged), find your parents. Before this, the parents tried to keep it secret to keep Molly safe and free from fear, but it led to numerous lies and Molly almost being killed. At age 9, she is taught how to dismember a pig with minimal mess and risk to her for optimal molly disposal. Molly's inner monologue is analytical and cold, observing the small details about the world and people around her.
Everything changes at age 14 when Molly menstruates. She tries to hide the blood since it's forbidden, but it keeps flowing. Because her parents never thought to teach her about the inevitable changes in her body, 5 mollys try to murder her at once. Her parents are very loving and practical, but nor perfect. At 16, Molly explores herself and her abilities and pushes the boundaries set for her, making herself bleed on purpose and escaping to the city. Of course, she still has normal teen questions about her body. Eventually, she goes through a dark period where she allows her period to produce mollys and cuts herself daily both to provide emotional release and to produce mollys to kill. Normal parent and child mistakes could mean that someone dies instead of the normal emotional scars that everyone else has. Once 17 hits, Molly is back to adhering to the rules set by her parents and becomes emotionally stable once more.
The mollys affect everyone she is close to and eventually kills them. Months into college where she lives somewhere besides the farm for the first time, she finds her parents murdered by a hidden, starving molly. Two men have sexual relationship with her more for physical than emotional connection. When she finds out small mollys are forming inside of those men, Molly is rightfully distraught and wants to train a molly to be her so she won't inflict this pain anymore. These mollys are thought to be less than human, but their lives are brutally short. What makes them less human than Molly? These mollys are symbolic for the pain we inflict on the people around us. They all wear her face but have none of her emotions or personality outside of rage. In any relationship, you can't help but hurt each other in some way. This novel personifies this and attaches more danger to it. The emotional battles of life from small infractions to teen angst to huge blowouts become physical ones where lives are at stake.
The Murders of Molly Southbourne is a tale many can relate to despite its bizarre trappings. Living is pain and this novel examines if that pain is worth it by upping the stakes. The book is very short at only 128 pages and packed densely with this fascinating story. I was a little skeptical of a male writer with this story, but the story feels realistic despite the fantastical elements. The only thing that I could criticize is that Molly more introverted, less outwardly emotional, and more calculating to contrast with "normal" girls and many girls are like this despite societal pressure. Other than that minor detail, this novel hit me hard and I read the entire thing in one sitting.
Molly Southbourne is not a normal child. Her parents keep her at their farm at all times, homeschooling her and never allowing her into the city. You might think it cruel, but the circumstances deem it necessary. Every time Molly bleeds, a complete physical copy of her is made. The new molly inevitably will try to kill her whether it's immediately or in a few days. Her first memory is of her father bludgeoning her double to death. At age 5, her parents teach her to fight and drill rules into her. Don't bleed. If you bleed, blot, burn, and bleach. If you find a hole (where a molly emerged), find your parents. Before this, the parents tried to keep it secret to keep Molly safe and free from fear, but it led to numerous lies and Molly almost being killed. At age 9, she is taught how to dismember a pig with minimal mess and risk to her for optimal molly disposal. Molly's inner monologue is analytical and cold, observing the small details about the world and people around her.
Everything changes at age 14 when Molly menstruates. She tries to hide the blood since it's forbidden, but it keeps flowing. Because her parents never thought to teach her about the inevitable changes in her body, 5 mollys try to murder her at once. Her parents are very loving and practical, but nor perfect. At 16, Molly explores herself and her abilities and pushes the boundaries set for her, making herself bleed on purpose and escaping to the city. Of course, she still has normal teen questions about her body. Eventually, she goes through a dark period where she allows her period to produce mollys and cuts herself daily both to provide emotional release and to produce mollys to kill. Normal parent and child mistakes could mean that someone dies instead of the normal emotional scars that everyone else has. Once 17 hits, Molly is back to adhering to the rules set by her parents and becomes emotionally stable once more.
The mollys affect everyone she is close to and eventually kills them. Months into college where she lives somewhere besides the farm for the first time, she finds her parents murdered by a hidden, starving molly. Two men have sexual relationship with her more for physical than emotional connection. When she finds out small mollys are forming inside of those men, Molly is rightfully distraught and wants to train a molly to be her so she won't inflict this pain anymore. These mollys are thought to be less than human, but their lives are brutally short. What makes them less human than Molly? These mollys are symbolic for the pain we inflict on the people around us. They all wear her face but have none of her emotions or personality outside of rage. In any relationship, you can't help but hurt each other in some way. This novel personifies this and attaches more danger to it. The emotional battles of life from small infractions to teen angst to huge blowouts become physical ones where lives are at stake.
The Murders of Molly Southbourne is a tale many can relate to despite its bizarre trappings. Living is pain and this novel examines if that pain is worth it by upping the stakes. The book is very short at only 128 pages and packed densely with this fascinating story. I was a little skeptical of a male writer with this story, but the story feels realistic despite the fantastical elements. The only thing that I could criticize is that Molly more introverted, less outwardly emotional, and more calculating to contrast with "normal" girls and many girls are like this despite societal pressure. Other than that minor detail, this novel hit me hard and I read the entire thing in one sitting.
This is a twisted little nugget of a book. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything else like it. Based on the blurb, one would expect to read a suspense novel or a thriller, but it really wasn’t either. Molly Southbourne faces nearly impossible circumstances, because her blood can spontaneously reproduce into murderous replicas of herself. I say murderous, but they don’t set their sights on any old target, just on Molly herself. Despite this, Molly chooses to leave behind the insular life she has lived on her parents’ farm and attend university. In the end, The Murders of Molly Southbourne is a story about a girl facing factors outside her control and still trying to find a way to live life on her own terms.
I would recommend this book to more mature readers who don’t mind delving into the gray areas of morality. There is extensive bloodshed, but it is acknowledged in a very clinical manner, so it doesn’t come across as being gory.
I would recommend this book to more mature readers who don’t mind delving into the gray areas of morality. There is extensive bloodshed, but it is acknowledged in a very clinical manner, so it doesn’t come across as being gory.
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
You can read my full review here: https://mediadrome.wordpress.com/2020/06/17/the-murders-of-molly-southbourne-by-tade-thompson/
The TL;DR (but you should read my full reviews. I work hard on them!):
When I first read the synopsis, I remember thinking to myself that this was going to be one hell of a hard story to tie together in a satisfactory manner. But I’ll be damned if Thompson didn’t manage to do exactly that. The ending and its explanation were incredibly satisfying.
The TL;DR (but you should read my full reviews. I work hard on them!):
When I first read the synopsis, I remember thinking to myself that this was going to be one hell of a hard story to tie together in a satisfactory manner. But I’ll be damned if Thompson didn’t manage to do exactly that. The ending and its explanation were incredibly satisfying.
The Murders of Molly Southbourne is a story about enduring trauma and the fear that comes with mental illness (as this story acts as a parable for mental illness). Thompson asks: what happens when someone who looks exactly like you, comes from within you, seeking to destroy your relationships and to kill you. This is what suffering from undiagnosed mental illness in extreme cases feels like.
The Murders of Molly Southbourne is a body horror/psychological thriller about a woman named Molly whose blood makes murderous doppelgängers when it is shed outside her body. She and her parents call them mollies. The reason that Molly’s blood has this effect is opaque to Molly, though as the story begins in Molly’s early childhood, it’s clear that this peculiar blood-borne disease is normal to Molly, even though she may be the only one in the world to suffer from it (although a letter from her mother reveals that Molly's disease was potentially somehow was passed on to her) Molly is trained from a young age to kill the mollies: to bleach and burn any of her blood that falls.
So when she goes to college, she finds that her disease makes everything harder. She finds out that her relations with men ultimately result in their deaths. Her parents are killed (also by mollies, ones that were trapped in Molly’s childhood and overlooked),and in the conclusion, we learn that Molly is trying to find a lucid non-murderous mollie to replace her, because she’s tired of living.
Talk about bleak. But Thompson has crafted a tale of life, death, love, and suffering and heartbreak that is so disturbing you can't look away. It's visceral, it's chilling, it's sad. AND there is truth to it.
Molly is fighting herself and she destroys everything she is connected to. When mental illness goes untreated this is what it feels like.
This is a powerful work of fiction.
The Murders of Molly Southbourne is a body horror/psychological thriller about a woman named Molly whose blood makes murderous doppelgängers when it is shed outside her body. She and her parents call them mollies. The reason that Molly’s blood has this effect is opaque to Molly, though as the story begins in Molly’s early childhood, it’s clear that this peculiar blood-borne disease is normal to Molly, even though she may be the only one in the world to suffer from it (although a letter from her mother reveals that Molly's disease was potentially somehow was passed on to her) Molly is trained from a young age to kill the mollies: to bleach and burn any of her blood that falls.
So when she goes to college, she finds that her disease makes everything harder. She finds out that her relations with men ultimately result in their deaths. Her parents are killed (also by mollies, ones that were trapped in Molly’s childhood and overlooked),and in the conclusion, we learn that Molly is trying to find a lucid non-murderous mollie to replace her, because she’s tired of living.
Talk about bleak. But Thompson has crafted a tale of life, death, love, and suffering and heartbreak that is so disturbing you can't look away. It's visceral, it's chilling, it's sad. AND there is truth to it.
Molly is fighting herself and she destroys everything she is connected to. When mental illness goes untreated this is what it feels like.
This is a powerful work of fiction.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Murder
Quite interesting, fast read. Think it would make a great movie!