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baekchen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I honestly don't know where to begin with all the praise I have for this absolutely stunning debut.
Everything in Build Your House Around My Body is deeply lush and alive, but most of all haunted; the land, the animals, the people, their homes. Violet Kupersmith brings the Vietnam of past and present to life with such vivid and magical imagery, it felt like I was right in the middle of it all—right there with Winnie and Binh, through everything they experienced to the final resolutions of their stories. I loved them both so incredibly much, they're so deeply flawed and felt so tangible, Binh so fiery and Winnie so ghostly. Really, I loved all the women in this book with all my heart, and I hated most, if not all, male characters with such a passion.. I wanted them all to perish! They filled me with so much rage!
All the different timelines and povs fit right where they were and made sense in the flow of the story. They're interwoven so skilfully and seamlessly, and it was so incredibly satisfying and rewarding seeing it all click into place while reading.side note: I love how there is so much braiding in the book when the book itself is one big plait with all of the strands of the story coming together. That just feels so right. It is a slow burn and pretty dark, but it is also gripping and entertaining, and that ending was so cathartic and lovely.
In other words, I loved this so so so much! It's only January, but I can still confidently say this will be one of my favourites of the year (and of all time), and I want and need everyone to read it!!
I think this is the perfect book for you if you like stories about women freeing themselves and each other told with beautiful, descriptive prose, a big serving of ghosts, revenge, folklore, snakes, and a side of history and nature.
Everything in Build Your House Around My Body is deeply lush and alive, but most of all haunted; the land, the animals, the people, their homes. Violet Kupersmith brings the Vietnam of past and present to life with such vivid and magical imagery, it felt like I was right in the middle of it all—right there with Winnie and Binh, through everything they experienced to the final resolutions of their stories. I loved them both so incredibly much, they're so deeply flawed and felt so tangible, Binh so fiery and Winnie so ghostly. Really, I loved all the women in this book with all my heart, and I hated most, if not all, male characters with such a passion.. I wanted them all to perish! They filled me with so much rage!
All the different timelines and povs fit right where they were and made sense in the flow of the story. They're interwoven so skilfully and seamlessly, and it was so incredibly satisfying and rewarding seeing it all click into place while reading.
In other words, I loved this so so so much! It's only January, but I can still confidently say this will be one of my favourites of the year (and of all time), and I want and need everyone to read it!!
I think this is the perfect book for you if you like stories about women freeing themselves and each other told with beautiful, descriptive prose, a big serving of ghosts, revenge, folklore, snakes, and a side of history and nature.
Graphic: Body horror and Drug abuse
Moderate: Incest, Sexual assault, Misogyny, and Rape
Minor: Eating disorder
dauphine's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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
4.0
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Sexual assault and Incest
Minor: Eating disorder
anxiousnachos's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5 stars. This was so good, it was like a jigsaw puzzle of a book, full of so many different stories that all came together at the end to make sense of the mystery. It’s a horror, ghost story based on Vietnamese folklore, and these elements were so fascinating. There was also big emphasis on the impact colonisation has had on Vietnam, identity (particularly that of being a biracial Vietnamese American), mental health, and female rage, alongside the ghostly elements. Winnie and Binh’s characters were both absolutely brilliant, so brutally raw at times, I felt particularly drawn to Winnie, the biracial character in modern day Vietnam who is deeply depressed and wants to disappear. I thought this was a really fantastic debut, if you like slow, puzzle-like books, then definitely check this one out!
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Murder
regal_leaves's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
4.0
Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith is a a creepy, fever dream of a novel about two young women who go missing decades apart, both are fearless and lost. And they will both have their revenge.
Right off the bat – this book is like nothing I’ve read before and in all honestly I don’t know how to describe the experience of reading it. There’s magical realism, ghosts, two headed serpents and so much more that will have you on the edge of your seat while reading.
For the most part we’re trying to piece together Winnie’s story as we learn of her disappearance in the first chapter. There are a handful of intertwined timelines that all drop breadcrumbs of information, building to build a complex puzzle of anguish and horror set over several decades.
- READ FULL REVIEW AT https://wp.me/pbWTXv-74 -
- READ FULL REVIEW AT https://wp.me/pbWTXv-74 -
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Cursing, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, and Sexism
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