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barefootmegz's review against another edition
4.0
FULL REVIEW WITH PICTURES AND QUOTES ON MY BLOG.
Lauren Beukes is pretty much on my auto-buy list (I mean, if I had the means to have an auto-buy list). I own most of her books, including her out-of-print Maverick, and Broken Monsters will soon be added.
Granted, I first read Beukes’ Zoo City (my review) because she is a great South African author and because her South African fiction is just out of this world. But just as she crosses the boundaries of genres and mashes together concepts that other authors can’t successfully do, she is crossing the boundaries of description.
The Shining Girls and now Broken Monsters have proven her mettle as a writer. They say “write what you know” – Beukes is from neither Chicago nor Detroit, but in both cases she did her research so well that the places became tangible. Her twitter followers are also pretty familiar with her escapades to the settings of her books – I seem to remember her once tweeting about shadowing a Detroit undertaker for a day. (This BookD podcast with Beukes is totally worth the listen – do it!)
As for the story: I’ll admit that I was unsure at first that I would read it. As I repeatedly say, I’m a major scaredy-cat. Anyway, I read it. After the description of the first victim – right at the beginning of the book – I was a little spooked. I decided then that I would only read the book in the daylight. (That helped.) But then, the book is not really thaaaaaat scary. It is touted as a thriller, but the killer is revealed pretty early on in the plot (and it is done purposefully).
So what you should know about Broken Monsters is that you cannot take it at face value. Beukes is a genius, and everything she writes about has a purpose – and the purpose is not confined to “being thrilling”. As fantastic as her writing is – honest, tangible, raw – it is also a commentary. Commentary on technology, on art and artists, on the evil that can grow from our dreams. Commentary on the power an audience gives to a creation – a hope, a desire.
The disturbing imagery is not confined to bodies (but I will leave you to discover that yourself). Despite that – or perhaps because of it – I think this would be a fantastic book to discuss in an undergrad class. I feel the need to read this again, with guidance from and discussion with other readers. It is incredible reading it for “just reading”, but I get the feeling there is even more waiting beneath the surface.
Of course, I should warn that it might upset sensitive readers – but you’ll know from the full blurb whether you can handle it. What I appreciate is that Beukes approaches the gruesomeness with a lot of respect. You don’t get the sense of some kind of macabre pleasure that one sometimes sees in horror/thriller type books. As somebody who has lost loved ones to violence, that distinction means a lot.
Like many of Beukes’ books, Broken Monsters is told in multiple POVs. Not first-person POVs though, and this “deviation” gives it a distinct atmosphere. The characterisation is great, so there is no confusion, but I must admit that I didn’t feel as attracted to these characters as in previous books. Of course, it is a myth that a good character must be a likable one!
As for the covers… I feel kind of meh about the USA and UK covers. The SA cover (up top) is the best of the lot for me – detailed and artsy and me likey.
Overall, I found this to be a gripping and disturbing read – for more reasons than the obvious.
I received an eARC of this book via Netgalley and Mulholland Books in exchange for an honest review. This has not biased my review.
Lauren Beukes is pretty much on my auto-buy list (I mean, if I had the means to have an auto-buy list). I own most of her books, including her out-of-print Maverick, and Broken Monsters will soon be added.
Granted, I first read Beukes’ Zoo City (my review) because she is a great South African author and because her South African fiction is just out of this world. But just as she crosses the boundaries of genres and mashes together concepts that other authors can’t successfully do, she is crossing the boundaries of description.
The Shining Girls and now Broken Monsters have proven her mettle as a writer. They say “write what you know” – Beukes is from neither Chicago nor Detroit, but in both cases she did her research so well that the places became tangible. Her twitter followers are also pretty familiar with her escapades to the settings of her books – I seem to remember her once tweeting about shadowing a Detroit undertaker for a day. (This BookD podcast with Beukes is totally worth the listen – do it!)
As for the story: I’ll admit that I was unsure at first that I would read it. As I repeatedly say, I’m a major scaredy-cat. Anyway, I read it. After the description of the first victim – right at the beginning of the book – I was a little spooked. I decided then that I would only read the book in the daylight. (That helped.) But then, the book is not really thaaaaaat scary. It is touted as a thriller, but the killer is revealed pretty early on in the plot (and it is done purposefully).
So what you should know about Broken Monsters is that you cannot take it at face value. Beukes is a genius, and everything she writes about has a purpose – and the purpose is not confined to “being thrilling”. As fantastic as her writing is – honest, tangible, raw – it is also a commentary. Commentary on technology, on art and artists, on the evil that can grow from our dreams. Commentary on the power an audience gives to a creation – a hope, a desire.
The disturbing imagery is not confined to bodies (but I will leave you to discover that yourself). Despite that – or perhaps because of it – I think this would be a fantastic book to discuss in an undergrad class. I feel the need to read this again, with guidance from and discussion with other readers. It is incredible reading it for “just reading”, but I get the feeling there is even more waiting beneath the surface.
Of course, I should warn that it might upset sensitive readers – but you’ll know from the full blurb whether you can handle it. What I appreciate is that Beukes approaches the gruesomeness with a lot of respect. You don’t get the sense of some kind of macabre pleasure that one sometimes sees in horror/thriller type books. As somebody who has lost loved ones to violence, that distinction means a lot.
Like many of Beukes’ books, Broken Monsters is told in multiple POVs. Not first-person POVs though, and this “deviation” gives it a distinct atmosphere. The characterisation is great, so there is no confusion, but I must admit that I didn’t feel as attracted to these characters as in previous books. Of course, it is a myth that a good character must be a likable one!
As for the covers… I feel kind of meh about the USA and UK covers. The SA cover (up top) is the best of the lot for me – detailed and artsy and me likey.
Overall, I found this to be a gripping and disturbing read – for more reasons than the obvious.
I received an eARC of this book via Netgalley and Mulholland Books in exchange for an honest review. This has not biased my review.
justjussy__'s review against another edition
Already lost in less than twenty pages. No thanks.
alexandrabree's review against another edition
5.0
This is probably one of the coolest novels I have read in a very long time.
I wasn't sure what to think going into this, I had read the rave reviews and it has come up on my recommended shelf a few times; it was Stephen Kings review that gave me the final nudge into reading the book though!
Original, thrilling, beautiful, haunting
A must read novel for sure
I wasn't sure what to think going into this, I had read the rave reviews and it has come up on my recommended shelf a few times; it was Stephen Kings review that gave me the final nudge into reading the book though!
Original, thrilling, beautiful, haunting
A must read novel for sure
11corvus11's review against another edition
3.0
This book was heavily reviewed already so I won't reinvent the wheel with a long one. I listened to the audiobook that had multiple narrators which was pretty cool. The story itself was not really my bag and I wish she introduced the spooky stuff earlier as most of it reads like a mediocre crime/mystery novel which wasn't what I was hoping for. Entertaining enough though.
cosmith2015's review against another edition
DNF page 100. Writing wasn’t for me and I was hoping it would be a supernatural story
melissagallant_'s review against another edition
4.0
Lauren Beukes has a stunning gift. Her characters feel so incredibly real. She is to the point and direct, but still imbues heavy emotion and imagery with her descriptions. I can't say enough about how talented this woman is. I will be reading her other books.
The story here is ambitious - there are five different points of view, which was confusing at first, but was handled well and I didn't feel that there was too much jumping around. Interspersed with the characters' viewpoints, glimpses of social media reactions are shown. These are true-to-life and reference actual events that have come up on these various sites.
Issues regarding the internet, privacy, and the dangers of social media are paramount to this story. They are shown in different ways: the exploitation of victims, the perils of catfishing, paying for a lie. The lightning fast dissemination of viral videos that can force a family to change their daughter's name and move to a new city. The lure of a good story or the chance at fame overcoming safety or morality.
The climax of the book I found a bit disappointing.
In all, an impressive and compelling work that I would read again.
The story here is ambitious - there are five different points of view, which was confusing at first, but was handled well and I didn't feel that there was too much jumping around. Interspersed with the characters' viewpoints, glimpses of social media reactions are shown. These are true-to-life and reference actual events that have come up on these various sites.
Issues regarding the internet, privacy, and the dangers of social media are paramount to this story. They are shown in different ways: the exploitation of victims, the perils of catfishing, paying for a lie. The lightning fast dissemination of viral videos that can force a family to change their daughter's name and move to a new city. The lure of a good story or the chance at fame overcoming safety or morality.
The climax of the book I found a bit disappointing.
Spoiler
The addition of the paranormal, hallucinogenic Dream twisting reality weakened the impact of the story in my opinion. I much preferred the delusion.In all, an impressive and compelling work that I would read again.
chaosmavin's review against another edition
3.0
NYT put out a map around Halloween about the best horror stories around the US. I look at the ones from all the States I had lived in and have a few on hold but this one came up first and it is Illinois submission. I thought it sounded intriguing because it was a serial killer who created these art pieces with his victims by merging them with animals...it definitely sounded more intriguing then it was and it wasn't scary at all...it was creepy but also like had this weird subplot about the killer opening a portal to another dimension called the dream which was what caused him to kill people. There was some cool literary devices with embedding social media responses to things happening in the story. I feel like this would have been an awesome X-files episode but if you're looking for a heart racing scary story like the Shining this is definitely not it.
franuary's review against another edition
3.0
Lauren Beukes (The Shining Girls) adds a supernatural twist to the police procedural/serial killer genre in this paranormal crime-noir set in Detroit. Told from varying perspectives, including the killer’s point of view, Beukes deftly weaves together a complex narrative toward a conclusion that merges all storylines. Detective Gabi Versado is a divorced mother dealing with increased pressure at work (she’s chasing an exceptionally twisted killer who attaches his human kills to animal remains) and at home (her teenage daughter Layla is trying to entrap criminals of her own online). TK is a former criminal turned helper to the homeless, but he begins to sense something unnatural on the streets where he lives. Jonno, a recent New York City transplant, is desperate for his 15 minutes of fame, and he finds it by chronicling the recent killings on the internet. And there’s the artist, a man whose grip on reality and humanity is tested as he becomes possessed by a compulsion to kill.
I thought that Broken Monsters was beautifully written. Beukes does a fantastic job of telling varied, seemingly unrelated stories and making each one as exciting as the next. In books with this many points of view, I often find that there are at least one or two characters that aren’t fully fleshed out or draw the short end of the narrative, but Beukes was incredibly consistent. I was genuinely invested in each character.
My one gripe with Broken Monsters: it wasn’t clear from the description I read that this was a paranormal mystery. The paranormal elements didn’t appear in full until the end of the book, which, not knowing that supernatural elements were present, was incredibly confusing. There were some hints at the paranormal throughout, but I thought that the author was taking license with certain elements or was relating how madness was experienced by a character. Bascially, I was Scullying the entire book, coming up with logical solutions to explain the crazy (Hallucinogens! Photoshop! Undiagnosed brain tumor!). I wish I’d known that this wasn’t a standard thriller going in; I think that I would have enjoyed it even more that I did.
In many ways, the events of this book take place both in the real world and in the digital world. Sections of the book are told through texts, through online messages, and through a Reddit Q&A. One character live streams events online and covers the killings on his YouTube channel. Internet memes are also referenced frequently. While I wouldn’t say that this book is solely for digital natives, there are certainly parallels drawn between the version of reality we experience online and the version we experience in person, and this part of the story may be lost on readers who can’t tell Tumblr from Twitter. Still, Beukes’ writing and the unique story will captivate all readers interested in paranormal crime, and should convert many who are accustomed to more vanilla thrillers.
I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Mulholland Books and to NetGalley for the advance copy!
I thought that Broken Monsters was beautifully written. Beukes does a fantastic job of telling varied, seemingly unrelated stories and making each one as exciting as the next. In books with this many points of view, I often find that there are at least one or two characters that aren’t fully fleshed out or draw the short end of the narrative, but Beukes was incredibly consistent. I was genuinely invested in each character.
My one gripe with Broken Monsters: it wasn’t clear from the description I read that this was a paranormal mystery. The paranormal elements didn’t appear in full until the end of the book, which, not knowing that supernatural elements were present, was incredibly confusing. There were some hints at the paranormal throughout, but I thought that the author was taking license with certain elements or was relating how madness was experienced by a character. Bascially, I was Scullying the entire book, coming up with logical solutions to explain the crazy (Hallucinogens! Photoshop! Undiagnosed brain tumor!). I wish I’d known that this wasn’t a standard thriller going in; I think that I would have enjoyed it even more that I did.
In many ways, the events of this book take place both in the real world and in the digital world. Sections of the book are told through texts, through online messages, and through a Reddit Q&A. One character live streams events online and covers the killings on his YouTube channel. Internet memes are also referenced frequently. While I wouldn’t say that this book is solely for digital natives, there are certainly parallels drawn between the version of reality we experience online and the version we experience in person, and this part of the story may be lost on readers who can’t tell Tumblr from Twitter. Still, Beukes’ writing and the unique story will captivate all readers interested in paranormal crime, and should convert many who are accustomed to more vanilla thrillers.
I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Mulholland Books and to NetGalley for the advance copy!
tazgoda's review against another edition
4.0
a little all over the place, a lot of characters to keep track of, but really interesting concept and story.
srhhelm's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0