A review by violetturtledove
Starve Acre by Andrew Michael Hurley

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This one actually unsettled me. I thought the set up seemed very familiar (grieving parents, spooky countryside, hanging tree legend) and I had my doubts about the chapterless layout (it's just parts 1 and 2). But it soon had some original and unnerving images in my brain and the layout meant that I read this in a few eager (but uncomfortable) sittings. 

There's a sort of madness, or maybe more a portrayal of madness that has always made me feel uneasy in fiction. When the characters needs, wants or beliefs are undeniably unreasonable, and yet so keenly and earnestly felt. It's a worrying place to be, between something very alien and unknown, and yet at the same time so familiar. You can see how easy it would be to slip over into a different way of thinking and have a desperate need for something thar cannot be. 

That's the sort of madness described in this book and that's the lingering feeling I have after reading it.