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tashmoustache_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, and Child abuse
katerinatroyanovich's review
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Brutes had so much going for it but, in addition to the sometimes pretentious prose, it didn’t stick the landing. I didn’t have any expectations that the character speaking in the first person plural narrative would be revealed, but when we find out it is Jody speaking it doesn’t really matter. It could have been any of the girls. Maybe that is the point - the traumatizing moment when she becomes separate and even isolated from the group is when the narrative style changes. However, I’m not sure that really came across after the girls come back together and escape into the wilds. The chapters that jump to the group as adults were more engaging to me, but didn’t amount to anything except a portrait of present day. There was nothing about them that drove the story or characters forward except Christian’s chapter. The story ends abruptly and, although I am usually fine with a vague ending, I was confused rather than contemplative. I really wanted to like this book but it just didn’t work for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
madtheimpaler's review
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Dizz Tate believes her readers are smart. She doesn't over-explain, she doesn't add so many details it buries her meanings, and she doesn't spoon feed anyone. Instead, she lets her story speak for itself. A time jump in the right moment and magical realism in the right place. Brutes is full of meaning and words that fill your mind with crisp and sometimes ugly pictures, but most of all, it captures the intenseness of the end of girlhood or maybe that beginning of womanhood. She reminds readers that at 12, the world seems so much bigger than it really is, and our emotions are more debilitating than they have to be, and friendships are deeper than they can ever be again. Then, in the same breath, she warns us of the dangers of being so young. How, if the adults in our lives take something from us so young, we might get stuck in that place forever.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
racheltrow_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Pedophilia
wykirsty's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Classism, Death of parent, Rape, Pedophilia, Trafficking, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
seventhswan's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
4.5
I've seen other reviewers describe this as a "no plot, just vibes" book, but I thought there was actually a very clear storyline! It was creative and nuanced, reminding me of Stewart O'Nan's Ocean State and, as was clearly intended, The Virgin Suicides. That's not to say the vibes weren't immaculate - a sort of "pretty horror" - and Tate is an extremely talented descriptive writer who made my skin crawl at times with her imagery. I thought the shared narration worked extremely well throughout, but especially in making the conclusion of the novel extremely impactful. I cried multiple times.
This would have been the perfect book for me, ticking all the boxes - well-written, evocative, personally meaningful, distinctive characters - had it not then relied onthe existence of an actual monster at the end... magical realism strikes again. Sex traffickers and child neglect are monstrous enough! Introducing fantastical elements cheapened these very real issues a little for me.
This would have been the perfect book for me, ticking all the boxes - well-written, evocative, personally meaningful, distinctive characters - had it not then relied on
Content Warnings
Graphic: Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Alcohol, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Body shaming, Toxic friendship, and Body horror
carabovaird's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
sonnyygrayy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Remember when we would beg our moms to let us audition for that totally real and not-at-all sketchy talent agency, but they refused and we got mad? Dizz Tate portrays the scary reality of adults preying on children’s desire for stardom and attention in this southern gothic, somewhat surrealist horror novel.
If you like Ethel Cain’s album Preacher’s Daughter, you will love this book. Sammy is a televangelist’s daughter, constantly being exploited by her father for religious gain. When she finally meets a friend, Mia, the exploitation continues. As I was reading, I was reminded a lot of Cain’s songs Family Tree, Gibson Girl, and Ptolemaea.
Many people were confused by the ending of this book, but I think I got it. It’s a metaphor for the trauma these girls endured at the hands of Stone. Jody is perpetually stuck in that day, searching for the “monster in the lake” when there probably wasn’t one to begin with. The monster was Stone.
If you like Ethel Cain’s album Preacher’s Daughter, you will love this book. Sammy is a televangelist’s daughter, constantly being exploited by her father for religious gain. When she finally meets a friend, Mia, the exploitation continues. As I was reading, I was reminded a lot of Cain’s songs Family Tree, Gibson Girl, and Ptolemaea.
Many people were confused by the ending of this book, but I think I got it. It’s a metaphor for the trauma these girls endured at the hands of Stone. Jody is perpetually stuck in that day, searching for the “monster in the lake” when there probably wasn’t one to begin with. The monster was Stone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Child abuse
orlagal's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Excrement, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Classism, Death, Racism, Sexual assault, Vomit, Alcohol, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Stalking, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Chronic illness, Pedophilia, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
savannnah_reads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-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
3.75
This was a strange read because I simultaneously enjoyed the way the author describes girlhood and the experiences that seem to transcend location and background, yet I still spent most of this book very ready for it to be over.
The story being written in first-person plural was really interesting. I’ve never read a book that utilizes that style, but it made the narrative more interesting to hear chunks of the plot from the POV of “we” and then swap to individual POVs set in the future. I think it really embodied the experience of being a young girl terrified of standing out in a bad way; just wanting to belong.
You should read this book if you are fascinated by girlhood, repressed memories from childhood/moments from childhood we didn’t understand at the time and are still left wondering about, & tense and slightly manipulative relationships with moms. Oh, and if you enjoyed books like Bunny and Ripe.
//
“Eddie’s torso is a miracle to us. And we don’t even believe in miracles”
“We would not be born out of sweetness. We would be born out of rage.”
“We think of our mothers when we love them the most. Which is always just after we hate them the most”
“Now I think the only way some men know how to love a woman is to humiliate her”
“People seem to see warmth in me, even when I offer none. Maybe if I was thinner, it would be easier. But it seems to me sometimes that a woman with flesh is a woman who must always be grateful. People don’t hesitate around me. I’m always being asked for favors, and causing offense when I say no.”
“Our mothers call us brutes when they want us to feel bad. It is what they call men they do not like, like our dads”
“We felt foul and fatherly and afraid of ourselves. We tried to make ourselves small. We were coiled up, but we were not broken. And we knew our mothers’ idea of goodness was not measured by morals, but by how much noise we made. And we quickly grew tired of trying to be good in their way.”
“Leaving was glorious until I realized there was no one left to talk to about it”
“He looks like someone returning for a dinner they will not have to clean up”
The story being written in first-person plural was really interesting. I’ve never read a book that utilizes that style, but it made the narrative more interesting to hear chunks of the plot from the POV of “we” and then swap to individual POVs set in the future. I think it really embodied the experience of being a young girl terrified of standing out in a bad way; just wanting to belong.
You should read this book if you are fascinated by girlhood, repressed memories from childhood/moments from childhood we didn’t understand at the time and are still left wondering about, & tense and slightly manipulative relationships with moms. Oh, and if you enjoyed books like Bunny and Ripe.
//
“Eddie’s torso is a miracle to us. And we don’t even believe in miracles”
“We would not be born out of sweetness. We would be born out of rage.”
“We think of our mothers when we love them the most. Which is always just after we hate them the most”
“Now I think the only way some men know how to love a woman is to humiliate her”
“People seem to see warmth in me, even when I offer none. Maybe if I was thinner, it would be easier. But it seems to me sometimes that a woman with flesh is a woman who must always be grateful. People don’t hesitate around me. I’m always being asked for favors, and causing offense when I say no.”
“Our mothers call us brutes when they want us to feel bad. It is what they call men they do not like, like our dads”
“We felt foul and fatherly and afraid of ourselves. We tried to make ourselves small. We were coiled up, but we were not broken. And we knew our mothers’ idea of goodness was not measured by morals, but by how much noise we made. And we quickly grew tired of trying to be good in their way.”
“Leaving was glorious until I realized there was no one left to talk to about it”
“He looks like someone returning for a dinner they will not have to clean up”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Bullying
Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Fatphobia, Child abuse, and Cursing