Reviews

Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead by Barbara Comyns

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olosta's review against another edition

5.0

A witty, cynical little book that I'd position somewhere between Stella Gibbons's Cold Comfort Farm and Leonora Carrington's The Hearing Trumpet (though there are no supernatural elements as in the latter).

I'll definitely read more from Comyns.

isla_worm's review

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2.0

The blurb sounded so interesting but this book was such a let down. I didn't care about any of the characters and *SPOILERS* the explanation for the outbreak just didn't seem to make sense. It makes sense for the people that went mad/ill but what about the flood and the dead bird in the garden? how are they explained.

Overall, just disappointing but it was a nice quick read and at least the cover is pretty.

tfoster's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

blumbergler's review

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dark funny reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

amielizabeth's review against another edition

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3.0

Kind of like a surreal Agatha Christie.

schopflin's review

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dark tense 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? Yes

3.5

More dark fare from Comyns: weak humans and tragic events. Beautifully written but not a happy read.

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mysimas's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious fast-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

2.5

Maybe I just didn’t get the book. I appreciated its queerness, and some scenes were downright chilling — the butcher going mad on the bridge, the Frankenstein-like lynching, the progression of Dennis’ disease (‘we will wake you up if anything changes; you go on to sleep’)… Despite the few pages, the many characters of this story were all distinct and easy to tell apart. The writing was strong.

But then I really, really hated the ending. So what, everyone

was just waiting for the gran to die and now that she has, they can live happily ever after?

What kinda message is that? I haven’t felt like wanting to throw a book away in a long long time.

Content Warnings