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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
I almost never read horror, but got this book for free from the Tor.com eBook of the Month Club and steeled myself to check it out. It freaked me the *fuck* out. Which, I suppose, is the point of horror? I am too delicate for this genre lol.
I love the novella length. This is a pretty short novella, and was easy to read in one sitting. I was surprised by how fast it went, in fact--in a lot of ways this felt like reading a short story.
As for the type of horror, it's mostly psychological. There's some gore, dismemberment of bodies and fight scenes, but the really impactful stuff, for me, was the mollys who weren't just all about violent, bloody death, but were conversationalists instead. That was creepy as shit.
I like the central conceit--the idea of the self being overtaken by other versions of the same self. If I have one complaint about the book, in fact, it was that (spoiler) the ending felt pretty low impact to me because there are hints dropped throughout the narrative that suggest that it's not the first time a molly has replaced the 'original' Molly. Before I got to the end, I was pretty sure that it had happened before, and she just hadn't remembered accurately--which was part of the horror, I thought. Looking back, it's possible that this wasn't what was actually happening, but the impression of it was certainly there. So the idea of the old self cooperating with the replacement was the only new part, and the ending was a little anticlimactic.
Relatedly, I wish I understood more clearly why Molly found herself so suicidal by the end. I mean, okay, killing yourself over and over could certainly acclimate you to the idea of killing yourself. It just didn't feel like the end of the story, to me--it felt like the time you look back on, and laugh about cynically over beer with friends because, as Robin Eames says, "when you get to/ that point you have to either laugh or just/ fucking kill yourself & I already tried that/ & it didn’t work out, so, this is where I live now."
So anyway the moral of the story is, I don't really read horror because I'm the sort to laugh instead of kill myself. But if you read horror you will probably like this one, and even if you don't read horror you should absolutely check out the Book of the Month Club offered by Tor.com because they've offered a wide variety of fantastic books--I recently read Witchmark by CL Polk, which was a book of the month also, and really enjoyed it.
I love the novella length. This is a pretty short novella, and was easy to read in one sitting. I was surprised by how fast it went, in fact--in a lot of ways this felt like reading a short story.
As for the type of horror, it's mostly psychological. There's some gore, dismemberment of bodies and fight scenes, but the really impactful stuff, for me, was the mollys who weren't just all about violent, bloody death, but were conversationalists instead. That was creepy as shit.
I like the central conceit--the idea of the self being overtaken by other versions of the same self. If I have one complaint about the book, in fact, it was that (spoiler) the ending felt pretty low impact to me because there are hints dropped throughout the narrative that suggest that it's not the first time a molly has replaced the 'original' Molly. Before I got to the end, I was pretty sure that it had happened before, and she just hadn't remembered accurately--which was part of the horror, I thought. Looking back, it's possible that this wasn't what was actually happening, but the impression of it was certainly there. So the idea of the old self cooperating with the replacement was the only new part, and the ending was a little anticlimactic.
Relatedly, I wish I understood more clearly why Molly found herself so suicidal by the end. I mean, okay, killing yourself over and over could certainly acclimate you to the idea of killing yourself. It just didn't feel like the end of the story, to me--it felt like the time you look back on, and laugh about cynically over beer with friends because, as Robin Eames says, "when you get to/ that point you have to either laugh or just/ fucking kill yourself & I already tried that/ & it didn’t work out, so, this is where I live now."
So anyway the moral of the story is, I don't really read horror because I'm the sort to laugh instead of kill myself. But if you read horror you will probably like this one, and even if you don't read horror you should absolutely check out the Book of the Month Club offered by Tor.com because they've offered a wide variety of fantastic books--I recently read Witchmark by CL Polk, which was a book of the month also, and really enjoyed it.
No era lo que esperaba. Parte de una idea muy guay, pero no esperaba que contara toda la vida de la protagonista. El plot twist final para mí no ha sido tal. Aun así, es ameno y trata varios temas interesantes. Tengo curiosidad por saber qué hará en el próximo
This one was a lot of fun. I'll probably seek out more by this author in the future.
Oh, how I wish this had been a full novel! Such a creepy premise, such a great execution.
This little book packs a punch! Super original ideas, creatively written, and I absolutely loved every bit of it!
I'm not actually sure if I liked this novella or not. I might have to think about it for a longer time. I might have to talk about it with others to really understand entirely how I feel about it.
Molly grows up on a remote farm with her parents and some very strange rules. The most important of which are not to bleed and to run and fight if she sees someone who looks like her. As Molly grows up her parents reveal more to her, that whenever she bleeds, a clone (molly) grows from her blood and these clones always go bad and try to kill the original.
The concept of the story and plot alone, without deeper thought, is a suspenseful thriller. The book starts out by introducing a character who is being held in some sort of torture chamber, and then Molly's story, or the meat of the book, is being told to that prisoner. So throughout the novel the reader is also thinking about that prisoner, and how they fit into the story as a whole. As Molly's story progresses the reader is fed more and more information about why Molly's blood reacts this way, and Molly herself begins to research her genetics, pursuing advanced medical degrees to support her need to understand. It is unclear what she wants to gain from figuring out her secrets. Does she want to stop creating clones? Does she want to figure out why her clones are violent?
The part of the book that is hanging me up is the deeper meaning behind it. What is the author trying to say? Molly, the main character of the novel, basically gives birth every time she sheds a drop of blood. Story background reveals that the current world in Molly's time is suffering from a loss of fertility. Is self-replicating Molly supposed to be the answer to an aging world with no young people? Is the author wanting readers to examine whether clones of ourselves (or wanting our children to be the same as ourselves) is dangerous for the world? Is it a warning about our own destructive need to replicate ourselves until the entire planet is overrun?
Molly herself is cold. She was trained from a young age, not only to kill, but also dismember and dispose of her clones. She views her blood as a curse, when she menstruates she must dispose of every drop of blood carefully. While her 'curse' could have held her back from pursing a life outside of her farm, her parents certainly start out preferring to keep her separate from all others, eventually she visits the city, has a boyfriend and attends college. It's tough being a woman. When she sees children she's reminded of the mollys and feels sickened. Unlike other women she has no maternal feelings.
What is the message here? Is it so unnatural for a woman to eschew childbirth? I myself have no desire for children (although I'm certainly not disgusted or frightened by them). I know other women for whom child rearing is not a life goal. None of them are cold or unfeeling, or child-hating. Is being a woman so burdensome? In a way it feels like the author finds it miraculous that women can manage to bear both uterus and brain. The fact that Molly is strong and intelligent, as well as beautiful, seems to suggest that those things come at the cost of motherhood. That a mother must, using this logic, be soft, dim and plain, someone who would stay at home. A woman who doesn't want children, must be cruel, emotionally unavailable and a potentially dangerous sexual partner.
Spoilers follow below.
It turns out that Molly gives birth not only with her blood, but through sex as well. Every time she has sex, a small portion of her remains with her partner, until they too give birth to a molly clone, bursting from them like an Alien.
Every time she has a menstrual cycle Molly must dispose of her blood carefully, lest clones be born from it. It seems not matter how carefully she disposes of her blood, the clones appear. Some of them are little more than animals, others are cunning. One apparently survived for years at the bottom of a cesspit, yet was still strong enough to kill both her parents, one of whom was a farmer and the other a trained government agent. (This was the only point in the novel where I thought the plot really failed).
What is this story trying to tell us? On one had I thought that it was about infertility, that what so many women take for granted, the ability to give birth, is not something that is easy or even possible for all. Yet I also felt it was about the callousness Molly had for her offshoots, so is this message about abortion?
I want to find out more what other women feel about this book, as well as men. Were men horrified by the fate of the men who had sex with Molly, were they disgusted by the description of Molly's menstrual cycle, what did they think of the entire concept?
Also, if this condition is the result of a government experiment, why did the author choose a woman to be the bearer of this monstrous thing? I wonder to myself also what it means that the author is a man. What research did he do, what was his process in imaging a character with this particular disability, how did he imagine a woman would feel in this position? I think that he did do a good job in writing this character, but I also feel that there is an argument about authenticity that could be made here, or whenever an author from one gender identity writes from the perspective of a character with a different gender identity.
There is much to discuss in this short novella, it would be a good choice for a book club, but I would keep in mind it may bring with it some potential for arguments and sexist stances.
Molly grows up on a remote farm with her parents and some very strange rules. The most important of which are not to bleed and to run and fight if she sees someone who looks like her. As Molly grows up her parents reveal more to her, that whenever she bleeds, a clone (molly) grows from her blood and these clones always go bad and try to kill the original.
The concept of the story and plot alone, without deeper thought, is a suspenseful thriller. The book starts out by introducing a character who is being held in some sort of torture chamber, and then Molly's story, or the meat of the book, is being told to that prisoner. So throughout the novel the reader is also thinking about that prisoner, and how they fit into the story as a whole. As Molly's story progresses the reader is fed more and more information about why Molly's blood reacts this way, and Molly herself begins to research her genetics, pursuing advanced medical degrees to support her need to understand. It is unclear what she wants to gain from figuring out her secrets. Does she want to stop creating clones? Does she want to figure out why her clones are violent?
The part of the book that is hanging me up is the deeper meaning behind it. What is the author trying to say? Molly, the main character of the novel, basically gives birth every time she sheds a drop of blood. Story background reveals that the current world in Molly's time is suffering from a loss of fertility. Is self-replicating Molly supposed to be the answer to an aging world with no young people? Is the author wanting readers to examine whether clones of ourselves (or wanting our children to be the same as ourselves) is dangerous for the world? Is it a warning about our own destructive need to replicate ourselves until the entire planet is overrun?
Molly herself is cold. She was trained from a young age, not only to kill, but also dismember and dispose of her clones. She views her blood as a curse, when she menstruates she must dispose of every drop of blood carefully. While her 'curse' could have held her back from pursing a life outside of her farm, her parents certainly start out preferring to keep her separate from all others, eventually she visits the city, has a boyfriend and attends college. It's tough being a woman. When she sees children she's reminded of the mollys and feels sickened. Unlike other women she has no maternal feelings.
What is the message here? Is it so unnatural for a woman to eschew childbirth? I myself have no desire for children (although I'm certainly not disgusted or frightened by them). I know other women for whom child rearing is not a life goal. None of them are cold or unfeeling, or child-hating. Is being a woman so burdensome? In a way it feels like the author finds it miraculous that women can manage to bear both uterus and brain. The fact that Molly is strong and intelligent, as well as beautiful, seems to suggest that those things come at the cost of motherhood. That a mother must, using this logic, be soft, dim and plain, someone who would stay at home. A woman who doesn't want children, must be cruel, emotionally unavailable and a potentially dangerous sexual partner.
Spoilers follow below.
It turns out that Molly gives birth not only with her blood, but through sex as well. Every time she has sex, a small portion of her remains with her partner, until they too give birth to a molly clone, bursting from them like an Alien.
Every time she has a menstrual cycle Molly must dispose of her blood carefully, lest clones be born from it. It seems not matter how carefully she disposes of her blood, the clones appear. Some of them are little more than animals, others are cunning. One apparently survived for years at the bottom of a cesspit, yet was still strong enough to kill both her parents, one of whom was a farmer and the other a trained government agent. (This was the only point in the novel where I thought the plot really failed).
What is this story trying to tell us? On one had I thought that it was about infertility, that what so many women take for granted, the ability to give birth, is not something that is easy or even possible for all. Yet I also felt it was about the callousness Molly had for her offshoots, so is this message about abortion?
I want to find out more what other women feel about this book, as well as men. Were men horrified by the fate of the men who had sex with Molly, were they disgusted by the description of Molly's menstrual cycle, what did they think of the entire concept?
Also, if this condition is the result of a government experiment, why did the author choose a woman to be the bearer of this monstrous thing? I wonder to myself also what it means that the author is a man. What research did he do, what was his process in imaging a character with this particular disability, how did he imagine a woman would feel in this position? I think that he did do a good job in writing this character, but I also feel that there is an argument about authenticity that could be made here, or whenever an author from one gender identity writes from the perspective of a character with a different gender identity.
There is much to discuss in this short novella, it would be a good choice for a book club, but I would keep in mind it may bring with it some potential for arguments and sexist stances.
MY RATING⇢ 4 STARS | GRADE B+
FEATURING⇢
Creep-tastic & Weird AF
WTF did I just read?
First Half of A Complete Story
Duology (of Short Stories)
Horror-if-ic
Sort of Science Fiction &
Sort of Fantasy
MY THOUGHTS⇢
I got this free from tor.com and on the one hand, it's cool that I got a book for free...but on the other hand, I have to buy the second book for $3.99 and it's barely over 100 pages. Under-handed is what that is. You sucked me in...and I caved, I needed the ending to this wholly unique experience that I had with this book. Well done TOR
FEATURING⇢
Creep-tastic & Weird AF
WTF did I just read?
First Half of A Complete Story
Duology (of Short Stories)
Horror-if-ic
Sort of Science Fiction &
Sort of Fantasy
MY THOUGHTS⇢
I got this free from tor.com and on the one hand, it's cool that I got a book for free...but on the other hand, I have to buy the second book for $3.99 and it's barely over 100 pages. Under-handed is what that is. You sucked me in...and I caved, I needed the ending to this wholly unique experience that I had with this book. Well done TOR
This review and others can be found on BW Book Reviews.
So, this is the first read I've completed for my Yule bingo! And, it wasn't a bad start, either. I talked about this book in our last First Lines Friday, and if you guys read the opening lines, you'd see why it's so interesting.
It held my attention the whole time, despite watching various movies or documentaries while I was reading. I was impressed by this book, too. It's small, just over 100 pages, but packs a punch. I kept wondering what was going on as this unnamed narrator tells us the story of Molly Southbourne, her kidnapper.
Other than that, I can't go into more detail. Since it's so small things happen quickly and I'd end up spoiling everything.
There are a couple cons that I'd like to bring up for the book, though. Despite my interest, I felt rather detached from the action. It was sort of like watching a movie that really interests you, but you can't exactly get into it and emotionally connect with the characters. Which isn't a great thing because there are quite a few emotional events in the book. I just never connected. Maybe that was the point the author had with the style he chose, but it also made me wish I got attached to people.
Another con is the very sudden twist at the end. It wasn't eased in at all, just suddenly there's a bunch of information that explains Molly and how she is and all of that. It felt very sudden and like a load of info-dumping that made me more detached from the reveal.
Other than those two things, I highly recommend this book. It's weird and freaky, but intriguing at the same time.
So, this is the first read I've completed for my Yule bingo! And, it wasn't a bad start, either. I talked about this book in our last First Lines Friday, and if you guys read the opening lines, you'd see why it's so interesting.
It held my attention the whole time, despite watching various movies or documentaries while I was reading. I was impressed by this book, too. It's small, just over 100 pages, but packs a punch. I kept wondering what was going on as this unnamed narrator tells us the story of Molly Southbourne, her kidnapper.
Other than that, I can't go into more detail. Since it's so small things happen quickly and I'd end up spoiling everything.
There are a couple cons that I'd like to bring up for the book, though. Despite my interest, I felt rather detached from the action. It was sort of like watching a movie that really interests you, but you can't exactly get into it and emotionally connect with the characters. Which isn't a great thing because there are quite a few emotional events in the book. I just never connected. Maybe that was the point the author had with the style he chose, but it also made me wish I got attached to people.
Another con is the very sudden twist at the end. It wasn't eased in at all, just suddenly there's a bunch of information that explains Molly and how she is and all of that. It felt very sudden and like a load of info-dumping that made me more detached from the reveal.
Other than those two things, I highly recommend this book. It's weird and freaky, but intriguing at the same time.
This was weird and highly readable, and I like that... there were two main instances where the male author aspect really jumped out (why have the last two books written by men that I’ve read perpetuated misinformation about women ? Can someone like tell them?) but otherwise a Ride. only other critique id make is the answers at the end aren’t foreshadowed till like the middle of the book and there was a great opportunity to thread that needle earlier on that wasn’t taken but alas