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A review by foxfic
The Lamb by Lucy Rose
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This is a sapphic folk horror about a mother and her 11 year old daughter who live together in a cabin in the woods. Their slight isolation from the nearby town and prevalence of hiking trails allow them to prey on and cannibalize ‘strays,’ which is how they refer to hikers and other people who come to their door seeking help.
This book does not shy away from gore and graphic descriptions of butchered human bodies and their consumption. It also offers a look at what this situation long-term would do to the brain and perspective of a child. The latter is especially true once the mother falls in love with a stray, whose status is elevated to step-parent startlingly fast. The resulting dynamic, as well as the daughter’s interactions with classmates and her school bus driver are the main focuses — all things which come to a boiling point when familial bonds are stretched too thin.
The prose is descriptive and, yes, disgusting, but it manages to stick the landing on also being poetic and, at times, beautiful. The characters are fully realized in a way that truly feels like they’re being observed by a child. It was really well done, I’ll definitely read more by this author in the future.
This book does not shy away from gore and graphic descriptions of butchered human bodies and their consumption. It also offers a look at what this situation long-term would do to the brain and perspective of a child. The latter is especially true once the mother falls in love with a stray, whose status is elevated to step-parent startlingly fast. The resulting dynamic, as well as the daughter’s interactions with classmates and her school bus driver are the main focuses — all things which come to a boiling point when familial bonds are stretched too thin.
The prose is descriptive and, yes, disgusting, but it manages to stick the landing on also being poetic and, at times, beautiful. The characters are fully realized in a way that truly feels like they’re being observed by a child. It was really well done, I’ll definitely read more by this author in the future.