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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I've never read anything like this. It broke my heart again and again and again. It reminded me of some difficult truths pur culture likes to pretend don't exist. It's a slap in the face, a kick to the gut, but a necessary read. I couldn't put it down. I had to put it down tho in order to process the emotions I felt. Read this with an open mind and heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood
Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Trigger warnings for sexual violence--
This book blends poetry and prose seamlessly, and the narrative is propulsive and electrifying. I felt so many emotions while reading this!
A woman known only as "Maude" is stalking, raping, and maiming men. The first victim/survivor (the book uses both terms) is Donald, who is found passed out in an alley behind the bar where he had been drinking with a friend the previous night. Donald is suffering from PTSD and can barely function. It doesn't help when the police who are supposed to be looking for his attacker turn on Donald, asking him why he wasn't home with his wife, why he was drinking in the first place, what he was wearing that might have led to his being picked out as an easy target. Over the years, Maude attacks more men, and eventually these men tell their stories to each other, banding together through their horrifying shared experience. This book does a gender swap of the most common sexual assault narratives and I think the effect is to create a strong sense of outrage and (hopefully) sympathy in its readers. Incredibly powerful book that should be required reading for all adults.
This book blends poetry and prose seamlessly, and the narrative is propulsive and electrifying. I felt so many emotions while reading this!
A woman known only as "Maude" is stalking, raping, and maiming men. The first victim/survivor (the book uses both terms) is Donald, who is found passed out in an alley behind the bar where he had been drinking with a friend the previous night. Donald is suffering from PTSD and can barely function. It doesn't help when the police who are supposed to be looking for his attacker turn on Donald, asking him why he wasn't home with his wife, why he was drinking in the first place, what he was wearing that might have led to his being picked out as an easy target. Over the years, Maude attacks more men, and eventually these men tell their stories to each other, banding together through their horrifying shared experience. This book does a gender swap of the most common sexual assault narratives and I think the effect is to create a strong sense of outrage and (hopefully) sympathy in its readers. Incredibly powerful book that should be required reading for all adults.
So... I don't know what to make of this. Random thoughts:
1. This does make me want to read some of Tamblyn's poetry, this book was VERY poetic... almost in a way where it was a little discombobulated as a whole a$$ novel for me.
2. I'm trying to make sense of why she decided to flip the gender roles here. Anyone's perspective on what you think the rationale is, I'm all ears!! Like, was it an effort to fight the erasure of male sexual assault? Was it because we think men can't empathize with what is largely seen as a "woman's issue" unless they can envision it happening to themselves? Both/neither?
3. This is not a horror lol. Sure, a graphic drama, I may even give you thriller. But at no point did I feel like her objective was instilling fear in us as a reader - most of the sexual assaults that occur in the book we actually don't witness, we're mostly witnessing the psychological aftermath. I do feel like my rating may be slightly in response to feeling duped on the book genre. It's spooky season, I was looking for SCARY!
1. This does make me want to read some of Tamblyn's poetry, this book was VERY poetic... almost in a way where it was a little discombobulated as a whole a$$ novel for me.
2. I'm trying to make sense of why she decided to flip the gender roles here. Anyone's perspective on what you think the rationale is, I'm all ears!! Like, was it an effort to fight the erasure of male sexual assault? Was it because we think men can't empathize with what is largely seen as a "woman's issue" unless they can envision it happening to themselves? Both/neither?
3. This is not a horror lol. Sure, a graphic drama, I may even give you thriller. But at no point did I feel like her objective was instilling fear in us as a reader - most of the sexual assaults that occur in the book we actually don't witness, we're mostly witnessing the psychological aftermath. I do feel like my rating may be slightly in response to feeling duped on the book genre. It's spooky season, I was looking for SCARY!
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence
I listened to this book in one sitting. SO GOOD but really hard topic and major trigger warnings. I recommend the audiobook
Reading Vlog: https://youtu.be/GtUcKV4GJio
Not only is this the best book I've read in 2023, it's one of the best books I've read in my L I F E.
Warning for anyone unaware - this is extremely triggering content. I had to set the book down at least a dozen times and walk away. It messed me up in more ways than one. But it's also one of the most stunningly written and expertly told books I've ever come across.
This needs way more hype. It was written in 2018 and I just saw it for the first time a few months ago. That's a crime in my opinion. I have shoved this book down so many people's throats and I only finished it last week. It's currently on loan to a coworker.
It's impossible for me to quantify the importance of this book. It's a must read. If you have a book club, choose this as an option. It begs to be discussed at length and in a group setting. It's harrowing and gut wrenching but also relevant and necessary and eye opening. A true shock to the system.
Here are some quotes that really slapped me in the face...
"I do not tell her that I tried to stop it. Because I can't remember if I did."
"I know despair. Known it for years. I've introduced it to my family and spent holidays with it. I argue with it about how to load the dishwasher. I go for long walks at dusk and let it spew it's foul thoughts in my ears. I take it to the doctor when it's not feeling well. I ride home with it after every show I do. Especially the good ones. That's when despair really likes to be there for me. To remind me it was just a fluke I thank despair for keeping me honest, for never lying to me. I take it to my place and offer it a nightcap. I fuck it feel better. I wake up a bitter man."
"The bell above the bar door jingles. I look over my shoulder to yell at Louis. But it's a woman. Alone. Jimmy changes the channel. I lock eyes with him in the mirror. I push my scotch away and take a sip of water instead."
“Let me be emphatically clear - They. Don't. Care. About. Us. People who live through sexual assault are a crash on the side of the road and the American media is nothing more than cars slowing down just long enough to take a peak, just long enough to take a picture before speeding off to their next fatality. A country that says 'Innocent until proven guilty' even though the proving of assault is nearly impossible. Tell me how you prove coercion? How you prove the difference between being hit on and being hunted? How you prove your arms were held down? Your body was touched? Your life was threatened if you ever told anyone? For people who have suffered violent sexual crimes, proof—the very act of proving—is more than just a burden. It is boundless bearing. An eternity of futility.”
“How can you go on living when you’re now being lived in? When you’ve been invaded?"
“I am in a body. It is not the one I came here with, but it is the one I’ll leave here in. I will take care of it. It belongs to me now. My pain, I will take care of it. It belongs to me now. My heart, I will take care of it. It belongs to me now. My story, I will take care of it. It belongs to me now.”
Not only is this the best book I've read in 2023, it's one of the best books I've read in my L I F E.
Warning for anyone unaware - this is extremely triggering content. I had to set the book down at least a dozen times and walk away. It messed me up in more ways than one. But it's also one of the most stunningly written and expertly told books I've ever come across.
This needs way more hype. It was written in 2018 and I just saw it for the first time a few months ago. That's a crime in my opinion. I have shoved this book down so many people's throats and I only finished it last week. It's currently on loan to a coworker.
It's impossible for me to quantify the importance of this book. It's a must read. If you have a book club, choose this as an option. It begs to be discussed at length and in a group setting. It's harrowing and gut wrenching but also relevant and necessary and eye opening. A true shock to the system.
Here are some quotes that really slapped me in the face...
"I do not tell her that I tried to stop it. Because I can't remember if I did."
"I know despair. Known it for years. I've introduced it to my family and spent holidays with it. I argue with it about how to load the dishwasher. I go for long walks at dusk and let it spew it's foul thoughts in my ears. I take it to the doctor when it's not feeling well. I ride home with it after every show I do. Especially the good ones. That's when despair really likes to be there for me. To remind me it was just a fluke I thank despair for keeping me honest, for never lying to me. I take it to my place and offer it a nightcap. I fuck it feel better. I wake up a bitter man."
"The bell above the bar door jingles. I look over my shoulder to yell at Louis. But it's a woman. Alone. Jimmy changes the channel. I lock eyes with him in the mirror. I push my scotch away and take a sip of water instead."
“Let me be emphatically clear - They. Don't. Care. About. Us. People who live through sexual assault are a crash on the side of the road and the American media is nothing more than cars slowing down just long enough to take a peak, just long enough to take a picture before speeding off to their next fatality. A country that says 'Innocent until proven guilty' even though the proving of assault is nearly impossible. Tell me how you prove coercion? How you prove the difference between being hit on and being hunted? How you prove your arms were held down? Your body was touched? Your life was threatened if you ever told anyone? For people who have suffered violent sexual crimes, proof—the very act of proving—is more than just a burden. It is boundless bearing. An eternity of futility.”
“How can you go on living when you’re now being lived in? When you’ve been invaded?"
“I am in a body. It is not the one I came here with, but it is the one I’ll leave here in. I will take care of it. It belongs to me now. My pain, I will take care of it. It belongs to me now. My heart, I will take care of it. It belongs to me now. My story, I will take care of it. It belongs to me now.”
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes