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challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I started reading this as upset of the Storygraph onboarding challenge under the "out of my comfort zone" prompt and it sure was. Also I need to double check content warnings before reading a book, as much as I like not knowing what I'm getting in to.
This book was hard to read and a bit of a slog to get through. I did actually even get the audiobook and listened to some of it that way which helped me get into it more as I could hear more of the cadence in the writing. The writing is a lot of long sentences or paragraphs that feel like they go on forever but it's all meant to really evoke the feelings and thoughts of the characters.
I will say I hate the lack of quotation marks and found it very difficult to pick up when dialogue started and ended and who was saying what at times.
However I also got to a point and went "oh no this book is gonna hit something emotional for me". Then a later point where I realised I should have checked the content warnings, because surprise incest. And then the last 2 pages had me sobbing.
I do recommend giving this a try but definitely check content warnings. It is weird, and slow.
This book was hard to read and a bit of a slog to get through. I did actually even get the audiobook and listened to some of it that way which helped me get into it more as I could hear more of the cadence in the writing. The writing is a lot of long sentences or paragraphs that feel like they go on forever but it's all meant to really evoke the feelings and thoughts of the characters.
I will say I hate the lack of quotation marks and found it very difficult to pick up when dialogue started and ended and who was saying what at times.
However I also got to a point and went "oh no this book is gonna hit something emotional for me". Then a later point where I realised I should have checked the content warnings, because surprise incest. And then the last 2 pages had me sobbing.
I do recommend giving this a try but definitely check content warnings. It is weird, and slow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Incest, Mental illness, Suicide, Dementia, Death of parent
Moderate: Deadnaming, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am glad I read it but will probably stick to Johnson's short stories moving forward. An oedipal retelling in 20th/21st century England. A beautifully written but difficult book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Dementia, Abandonment
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Everything Under is a book in which the setting is the most key feature. The river Isis and its community of drifters make up the bulk of this ethereal story. Johnson effortlessly invokes the rhythms of river-living in a way that transports.
The mother-daughter dynamics in this book are well-explored and devastating. Gretel's perspective in particular is heart-wrenching and challenging. Johnson gives the book a mysterious element as we wonder alongside Gretel: who was Marcus and why did he change the trajectory of their life?
Overall, this is a lovely and genderfluid retelling of a classic myth. The characters and the setting were so real-seeming. My only complaint would be that something in the structure felt a little too confusing; it was o
The mother-daughter dynamics in this book are well-explored and devastating. Gretel's perspective in particular is heart-wrenching and challenging. Johnson gives the book a mysterious element as we wonder alongside Gretel: who was Marcus and why did he change the trajectory of their life?
Overall, this is a lovely and genderfluid retelling of a classic myth. The characters and the setting were so real-seeming. My only complaint would be that something in the structure felt a little too confusing; it was o
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Deadnaming, Death, Incest, Violence, Murder, Abandonment
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cancer, Deadnaming, Death, Incest, Infertility, Self harm, Suicide, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, Dysphoria
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Suicide
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Child death, Eating disorder, Self harm
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Going in knowing this book is based on the myth of Oedipus helped inure me to the creepiness of the plot elements which are drawn directly from the source material, so that I could focus on the beautiful lyrical language, the evocative setting (somewhat gothic in its power over plot and characters), and the deep emotional intricacies of the central mother-daughter relationship. Manifests the theme of inevitability from Oedipus in interesting ways.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Abandonment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Incest
dark
emotional
mysterious
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Suicide, Abandonment