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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-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
Beautifully written - read it in one go, in just a few hours. I kept thinking it was going one way but then it went another; but maybe it went all the ways in the end, because while it is beautiful and engaging, it is still confusing. It is vague and very sad. It shows a lot while also showing not much at all. One of the more beautiful books I’ve read lately and definitely worth a read if you’re into vague endings that match vague beginnings and even vaguer middles. Think this would warrant a reread to iron out some wrinkles of confusion.
Unclear to me whether this is a magical realism situation or a mental illness situation or a trauma/grief response, or all of the above combined.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, War
Deep dark waters here — a seemingly-simple story of a family run down by life in a dead end town, but with all the layers of grief and pain and loss and communication struggles of a very non-Disney little mermaid tale. Resonated with me more than I yet have found words to explain.
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
fan-fucking-tastic. no words. just read this book, please!
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
Well this was certainly a book! A lot of it read like a fever dream to be totally honest. It's one of those books that's written deliberately to be confusing and hazy and you're definitely not supposed to know what's going on at least half the time. I don't read or enjoy books like this often so I didn't know what was going on even less than half the time. I didn't hate it, but I don't think I really got anything out of it either?
If you took a step back and looked at it in the broad strokes, this book is commenting on how living in a small town and being stuck in a stagnant life can rob you of all passion and drive. You get stuck in one role and lose yourself to it entirely until you're something completely different. It could also be a commentary on how that particular brand of loneliness can lead you to being desperate for any form of attention or affection, no matter how bad for you it is. Still, I don't think this was a book written for me.
C.A.P.E Rating:
Characters - 3/5
Atmosphere - 4/5
Plot - 2/5
Enjoyment - 3/5
If you took a step back and looked at it in the broad strokes, this book is commenting on how living in a small town and being stuck in a stagnant life can rob you of all passion and drive. You get stuck in one role and lose yourself to it entirely until you're something completely different. It could also be a commentary on how that particular brand of loneliness can lead you to being desperate for any form of attention or affection, no matter how bad for you it is. Still, I don't think this was a book written for me.
C.A.P.E Rating:
Characters - 3/5
Atmosphere - 4/5
Plot - 2/5
Enjoyment - 3/5
Let me explain the 3 stars for a critically acclaimed novel, it's just because I like a well-developed plot. The only pop of excitement in regards to the plot happened on page 146 of 193 pages. So, the book flows through the inside voice of the main character experiencing little to no action (or some things that are perhaps just in her head). Other than that I have to admit it is a literary heavy hitter and a figurative language gold mine. Where the plot is lacking it over performs in everything else dynamic themes, thoughtful motifs, complex and connected metaphors and analogies, allusions that provoke thinking, the setting as a force and so much more. I would recommend reading but this hit home because I swear I'm a mermaid.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
This strange elegy of madness, loss, and great love filled me up and hollowed me out with a longing so specific, so cutting and nostalgic, I’ve never seen it articulated by anyone but Samantha Hunt.
The exploration of the multiplicities within language, words, and etymology is not only thematic; it anchors the story in myriad interpretations that can exist simultaneously, slipping and defying expectations just as the narrator strains to transcend small town life, familial trauma, and, ultimately, herself. It’s archetypal, yes, but so deeply embodied that the characters’ aches become the reader’s own.
Essentially, the novel asks: What if your most tender, magical truth were treated as madness? And answers: It would still be true. But it might destroy you anyway.
Like language, myth exists to codify what feels larger than life—and yet in mortal hands, it falters. Lore reaches skyward, through the waves, but remains bound to the punishments of the sea and the tragedies of dry land, as the narrator, herself an outcast, discovers firsthand, a scientist to the uncanny.
A brilliant, melancholic book that encloses the heart like a cluster of barnacles or a swath of seaweed—even when the plot twist leaves it beating on the floor in a puddle. I was enveloped in its briny fog and never want to escape. I have been happily destroyed.
The exploration of the multiplicities within language, words, and etymology is not only thematic; it anchors the story in myriad interpretations that can exist simultaneously, slipping and defying expectations just as the narrator strains to transcend small town life, familial trauma, and, ultimately, herself. It’s archetypal, yes, but so deeply embodied that the characters’ aches become the reader’s own.
Essentially, the novel asks: What if your most tender, magical truth were treated as madness? And answers: It would still be true. But it might destroy you anyway.
Like language, myth exists to codify what feels larger than life—and yet in mortal hands, it falters. Lore reaches skyward, through the waves, but remains bound to the punishments of the sea and the tragedies of dry land, as the narrator, herself an outcast, discovers firsthand, a scientist to the uncanny.
A brilliant, melancholic book that encloses the heart like a cluster of barnacles or a swath of seaweed—even when the plot twist leaves it beating on the floor in a puddle. I was enveloped in its briny fog and never want to escape. I have been happily destroyed.