A review by promisesatsundown
Cows by Matthew Stokoe

challenging dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I gave into the hype that is so frequently mentioned in my favorite horror subreddits about this book. I’ve read a decent amount of extreme horror and knew somewhat of what I was getting into. 

I found the parts about Steven’s daily life far more interesting than the actual cow part of the story. That part I just could not take seriously and it bordered on comical. 

But then I started to think, Steven has been horribly abused his whole life and has had no real exposure to the outside world- what’s to say that anything in the book is truly happening? Maybe he’s just sitting on his bed, the TV on and nothing is real. 

It’s gross and shocking for sure, if you can’t stomach gore, bodily waste, beastiality, or animal abuse, skip this one. But if you can realize it’s just a book and try and analyze what the underlying themes are (isolation, mental illness, the need for human affection) it’s not completely devoid of merit. Three starts for what (I think) the author was trying to say and for the prose itself, which was quite good considering the subject matter. All in all, at least I can say I read it. 
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