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A review by whatellisreadnext
Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵.
In 1986, a teenage girl gets lost in an abandoned rubber plantation, and is forever changed. 25 years later, an unhappy Vietnamese-American woman vanishes without a trace.
This book was fantastic. I read it a few months back, and have just been sitting with my feelings on it. Not quite being sure how to articulate them, but it's well deserved Women's Prize nomination felt like the perfect time to try. Build Your House Around My Body does so much. It is vast and winding and absolutely brilliant.
Part of the fun is going on this journey not knowing how it's all connected, just going with the flow of it, and getting that giddy feeling when a character from a past chapter pops into one of the other story lines. I loved how these characters were hidden throughout the narrative, how in one they'd be named and others just referred to as 'the medium' or 'the policeman', it made putting two and two together even more rewarding.
The only reason this wasn't a 4 star read, is because it took me a lot of time and brain power. Don't get me wrong I loved this, but it didn't have that effortless reading sparkle that makes me give a book 5 stars, but it came pretty damn close. It was empowering, and dark and chock-full of dry humour. Plus the ending, and how it all came together was brilliant. If you've been thinking about reading this, here's your push to do it, I very much doubt you'll regret it.
In 1986, a teenage girl gets lost in an abandoned rubber plantation, and is forever changed. 25 years later, an unhappy Vietnamese-American woman vanishes without a trace.
This book was fantastic. I read it a few months back, and have just been sitting with my feelings on it. Not quite being sure how to articulate them, but it's well deserved Women's Prize nomination felt like the perfect time to try. Build Your House Around My Body does so much. It is vast and winding and absolutely brilliant.
Part of the fun is going on this journey not knowing how it's all connected, just going with the flow of it, and getting that giddy feeling when a character from a past chapter pops into one of the other story lines. I loved how these characters were hidden throughout the narrative, how in one they'd be named and others just referred to as 'the medium' or 'the policeman', it made putting two and two together even more rewarding.
The only reason this wasn't a 4 star read, is because it took me a lot of time and brain power. Don't get me wrong I loved this, but it didn't have that effortless reading sparkle that makes me give a book 5 stars, but it came pretty damn close. It was empowering, and dark and chock-full of dry humour. Plus the ending, and how it all came together was brilliant. If you've been thinking about reading this, here's your push to do it, I very much doubt you'll regret it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Suicide, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence