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A review by thecolourblue
Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Woooow okay. No pulling punches with this one huh.
Three friends go into a haunted house. Only two leave. The two that do leave both remember very different - but equally terrible - thing happening to them in the house. Now, figuratively and literally scarred, both as stuck in their current lives. Alice is doing online sex worker for trans chasers and Ila has become a poster-child of the TERF movement. In order to finally move on (and finally stop hurting each other and themselves) they need to go back and face the house.
This is body horror meets queerness meets The Haunting of Hill House meets a no-hold-bars attack of British fascism (both historical and current). This is a story that doesn't hold back from showing you the worst of it's main characters - both the worst that has been done to them and the worst they are capable of doing to each other. There is a lot of transphobia and racism and sxeual violence depicted in this book, but it doesn't feel like it's there for shock value (well, not just there for that), it feels like it's there as an honest visceral expression of the author and her story.
In terms of writing, this definitely has the feeling of a debut. There are passages in this book that are beautifully written and compelling (I really loved the whole motif with the Morrissey poster, that really stuck with me) and there are others that feel messier, like the writer is in a mad rush to get what's in her head down on the page. There's nothing subtle in Rumfitt's story here. The alogories are pretty in-your-face(literal swastika made of a girl's body. not subtle!) , and while I don't mind that particularly, I do feel like Rumfitt has room to grow and refine her technique as an author - and I really look forward to reading where she goes in the future.
Three friends go into a haunted house. Only two leave. The two that do leave both remember very different - but equally terrible - thing happening to them in the house. Now, figuratively and literally scarred, both as stuck in their current lives. Alice is doing online sex worker for trans chasers and Ila has become a poster-child of the TERF movement. In order to finally move on (and finally stop hurting each other and themselves) they need to go back and face the house.
This is body horror meets queerness meets The Haunting of Hill House meets a no-hold-bars attack of British fascism (both historical and current). This is a story that doesn't hold back from showing you the worst of it's main characters - both the worst that has been done to them and the worst they are capable of doing to each other. There is a lot of transphobia and racism and sxeual violence depicted in this book, but it doesn't feel like it's there for shock value (well, not just there for that), it feels like it's there as an honest visceral expression of the author and her story.
In terms of writing, this definitely has the feeling of a debut. There are passages in this book that are beautifully written and compelling (I really loved the whole motif with the Morrissey poster, that really stuck with me) and there are others that feel messier, like the writer is in a mad rush to get what's in her head down on the page. There's nothing subtle in Rumfitt's story here. The alogories are pretty in-your-face
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Rape, and Racism