Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

The Smell of Starving Boys by Edward Gauvin, Loo Hui Phang, Frederik Peeters

1 review

steveatwaywords's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

An intriguing mix of the supernatural, the Old West mythology, American capitalism/expansionism critiques, sexual mores (pedophilia? "boys" voiced instead of "men"), and . . . folk 'knacks.' What stands out in here is a sense of tension and mood of impending horror established through some beautiful graphics. 

Unfortunately, the book fails in its ambition
(deciding for a quick and unnecessary expositional unveiling of conspiracy we had long anticipated)
, settling for appearances of the unsettling to establish its story with little to no effort to find coherence, either in plotting or theme.  More, while no prude, I found the work's interest in dwelling upon the nudity of the single female character (vs. any of the other characters
beyond a pants-less surveyor played for grotesquerie
) disturbing for reasons apart from the storyline.

What's left is still a fairly unique imaginative concept, under-developed and under-realized, but a curiosity. 
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