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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
Couldn't get into this one, no matter how much I tried.
As much I tried, I never really became invested in any of the characters’ stories. I loved the premise, but not the execution.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Moderate: Animal death
First of all, all these negative reviews are haters!
Continuing on, Catriona Ward has been my new literary crush since happening upon The Last House on Needless Street, and I am on a quest to read everything she's written. Seriously. She is one of the most brilliant writers out there today and an absolute master of first-person narrative voice, a story-telling device that is very easy to get wrong. My only complaint is that none of the characters in this book are sentient cats who call dogs bruhahas, read Bible verses, and then knock the Bible off the end table to teach their "ted" a lesson, but I guess Ward can't put that in all of her books.
The POV characters in Rawblood are many, but are all interconnected. Please take advantage of the family tree at the beginning of the book to keep them all straight! The Charles Danforth character in particular has a nineteenth-century diary-writing voice that is SPOT ON, and reminiscent of classic narrators like Dr. John Watson.
Another reviewer mentioned the importance of reading this book slowly, and I can't recommend that enough. Ward's writing, particularly as Iris, is rich and deep, with a lot going on underneath the surface. I'm probably going to re-read several chapters, especially at the beginning of the book, knowing what I now do at the end.
This is one of the best and most Gothic books I've ever read, echoing the theme of so many folkloric ghost stories -- ghosts are created when great injustice is done. This book has the creepy-old-house drama of Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, or Rebecca; the chilling existential dread of Shirley Jackson, and the Tolkien- or Gaiman-like sense of England's old, mysterious, pagan past that might not be buried as deep as we'd like to think.
Like Needless Street, I can't really even describe the plot of this book without giving away spoilers. Like Needless Street, Rawblood takes some well-worn tropes and recreates them in a way that will make you feel you've never encountered them before. It's trippy, it's creepy, it's epic, it's romantic, it's sad, it's condemning, it's unforgettable.
I will definitely be following Ward's career with great interest and will be checking out Little Eve or Sundial ASAP!
Continuing on, Catriona Ward has been my new literary crush since happening upon The Last House on Needless Street, and I am on a quest to read everything she's written. Seriously. She is one of the most brilliant writers out there today and an absolute master of first-person narrative voice, a story-telling device that is very easy to get wrong. My only complaint is that none of the characters in this book are sentient cats who call dogs bruhahas, read Bible verses, and then knock the Bible off the end table to teach their "ted" a lesson, but I guess Ward can't put that in all of her books.
The POV characters in Rawblood are many, but are all interconnected. Please take advantage of the family tree at the beginning of the book to keep them all straight! The Charles Danforth character in particular has a nineteenth-century diary-writing voice that is SPOT ON, and reminiscent of classic narrators like Dr. John Watson.
Another reviewer mentioned the importance of reading this book slowly, and I can't recommend that enough. Ward's writing, particularly as Iris, is rich and deep, with a lot going on underneath the surface. I'm probably going to re-read several chapters, especially at the beginning of the book, knowing what I now do at the end.
This is one of the best and most Gothic books I've ever read, echoing the theme of so many folkloric ghost stories -- ghosts are created when great injustice is done. This book has the creepy-old-house drama of Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, or Rebecca; the chilling existential dread of Shirley Jackson, and the Tolkien- or Gaiman-like sense of England's old, mysterious, pagan past that might not be buried as deep as we'd like to think.
Like Needless Street, I can't really even describe the plot of this book without giving away spoilers. Like Needless Street, Rawblood takes some well-worn tropes and recreates them in a way that will make you feel you've never encountered them before. It's trippy, it's creepy, it's epic, it's romantic, it's sad, it's condemning, it's unforgettable.
I will definitely be following Ward's career with great interest and will be checking out Little Eve or Sundial ASAP!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Definitely not Ward's strongest, but it's an alright debut novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Infidelity, Suicide, Pregnancy
Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Vomit, War