Reviews with content warning for Racism - Pew

i didn’t expect to enjoy this book as much as i did! the book feels very slow-paced but effectively gives suspense and builds up to the ritual however, i feel like the ritual/end was very anticlimactic

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rionstorm's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.

The vibe of town and claustrophobic atmosphere were really nicely created, and the rythmic cycle of meeting character after character and hearing their story/confession/opinions surprising didn't get old, as I expected it would.

I found it interesting to try and work out the pattern in

who Pew talked to. I think I've settled on it being outsiders, or possibly the people who didn't ask Pew to speak/explain themselves? But I'm not sure. Possibly based on vibes. </Spoilers> I also enjoyed hearing what each character felt important to share with Pew, and what they assumed about them. Very much filling in the gaps the other person leaves with your own experience.

There's some interesting themes touched on, including how limited our physical bodies are as a means to explain and understand our realities and experiences, the discomfort and quick jump to hostility when someone defies catagorisation, how much of identity is subjective and situational, and the interconnectedness of living creatures.

The ending

was a little bit of a let down for me, as I felt the tension leading up to the festival wasn't paid off as satisfyingly as it could have been, and the very last part was a bit confusing. I assume that the two of them became one of the disappeared like in the next county? But unsure. It went over my head a bit, I think

There's also, obviously, a trans/GNC/queer reading of the book. This is probably why I found it so difficult to refer to the main character as Pew, as it's a name that is given to them without any of their own input.

Overall really liked it. A lot of it is a bit meandering and philosophical, but it's also got wonderful, uncomfortable atmosphere building and some absolutely gorgeous writing. The most passages I've highlighted in a long time.

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lowercasekate's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Slow burn. Ending was elusive and above my head for this specific read. Maybe others will have more success.

Would be a good book to discuss with others.

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mmefish's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective slow-paced

5.0

Did everyone feel this vacillating, animal loneliness after removing clothes? How could I still be in this thing, answering to its endless needs and betrayals? The room was all white and gray and the air was warm and the air hung on me and I hung in this flesh that all those unknown centuries of blood that had brought into being. I had to tend to this flesh as if it were an honest gift, as if it had all been worth it. Why did living feel so invisibly brief and unbearably long at once?

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unhallowing's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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ameronie's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

this packs so much, especially a lot of philosophical questions that the text never actually answers. thereby it mostly reflects the reader's morals and ideas around identity, trauma, community, religion, gender, race, forgiveness etc. as the protagonist, pew, is an ambigious figure that does only engage in communication when it's urgently needed. by not being much more than that, pew functions as a disturbance to the day to day norm and therefore needs to be categorised, understood and made to want to assimilate. i'm sure there are plenty of contexts this can be applied to. and as interesting and hugely important as those discussions are, the book didn't add anything new though i enjoyed reading it. the ending felt anticlimatic and confusing, the way racism was explored lazy. also, i'm still not sure how intertwined the story actually is with 'the ones who walk away from omelas'.

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brianna_moye's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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vezreads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Super weird in a good way

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