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A review by daja
Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
When I started this book, I didn't know much about what this story was about. I knew a woman was trapped inside of a body that wasn't hers and I knew that there was a lot of commentary on the policing of women's bodies. The beginning of this story really plays into these ideas that I had. A lot of it built up the world and the relationship between the main character and her husband to really question just how it is like to be a woman in this world. For lack of a better word, I "enjoyed" the speculation part of this part of the story. It was very slow but I did not mind the questions that it brought up about women's autonomy.
Then we get to the 25-30% mark of this story and everything takes a drastic twist. Instead of being a slow, thought-provoking story, it becomes a horror/thriller. The drastic shift in the tone/mood of the story took me away from enjoying it for the next 10% of the story. The crazy thing is that if I would have read the description of the book, I would have known that this is what the book promised to be; the ghost of the girl she killed and buried coming back to haunt her for revenge. However, it's not the content that made me have an issue with this second part of the story. The shift just felt disjointed from the first part of the story so that they almost felt like two completely different books. I did make myself continue the story, though, and eventually, I began enjoying the horror/thriller aspects. The reveals were great and I still enjoyed exploring this messed up society.
Another part of this book that kind of detracted from my enjoyment of the book is the characters. I enjoyed the inner monologue of the MC but it just started to be a little too much. In the beginning, it was really used to set up just who this character is and explain the world. But almost every single time she would have some kind of thought, I felt that it would go on for too long. And then when you get to the second part of this story, the inner monologue still meandered in the middle of this thrilling scene. I just started getting sick of her, especially because she is an unlikable narrator. None of the characters are particularly likable, and while I love unlikable protagonists, this character just kept being so annoying. Her "side-piece" as the description calls him, does nothing but be there for her and she treats him terribly. Again, none of them are blameless in this society and it's not like she acted like she was above him, but I hated how dirty she kept doing him when all he wanted was to help her at all costs.
Overall, I enjoyed the story and I think I would try more from the author. I just needed a little less experimentation with genre and better pacing and I probably would have enjoyed this more. Again, I don't think a lot of people are going to like this story, but I'm hopeful that it will find its audience.
Then we get to the 25-30% mark of this story and everything takes a drastic twist. Instead of being a slow, thought-provoking story, it becomes a horror/thriller. The drastic shift in the tone/mood of the story took me away from enjoying it for the next 10% of the story. The crazy thing is that if I would have read the description of the book, I would have known that this is what the book promised to be; the ghost of the girl she killed and buried coming back to haunt her for revenge. However, it's not the content that made me have an issue with this second part of the story. The shift just felt disjointed from the first part of the story so that they almost felt like two completely different books. I did make myself continue the story, though, and eventually, I began enjoying the horror/thriller aspects. The reveals were great and I still enjoyed exploring this messed up society.
Another part of this book that kind of detracted from my enjoyment of the book is the characters. I enjoyed the inner monologue of the MC but it just started to be a little too much. In the beginning, it was really used to set up just who this character is and explain the world. But almost every single time she would have some kind of thought, I felt that it would go on for too long. And then when you get to the second part of this story, the inner monologue still meandered in the middle of this thrilling scene. I just started getting sick of her, especially because she is an unlikable narrator. None of the characters are particularly likable, and while I love unlikable protagonists, this character just kept being so annoying. Her "side-piece" as the description calls him, does nothing but be there for her and she treats him terribly. Again, none of them are blameless in this society and it's not like she acted like she was above him, but I hated how dirty she kept doing him when all he wanted was to help her at all costs.
Overall, I enjoyed the story and I think I would try more from the author. I just needed a little less experimentation with genre and better pacing and I probably would have enjoyed this more. Again, I don't think a lot of people are going to like this story, but I'm hopeful that it will find its audience.