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A review by literaryintersections
All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
PSA: don’t sleep on S.A. Cosby and All the Sinners Bleed. Cuz this book (frankly all his books) are solid gold.
I picked up Blacktop Wasteland earlier this year - I had it on my shelf for a minute and was in a book slump. Lord. Lord. Lord. I finished it in 2 days, reeling with visions of car chases, people catching on fire, and small southern towns complexly created with racism, community, poverty, booze, and car grease.
The second I saw ATSB I preordered it. Then waited too many days for B&N to deliver it (lol). And was once again blown away. Cosby’s use of language is unmatched: descriptive and clear, vividly crafting a story that is lush and inventive. The characters jump off the page and feel like real life - Titus especially felt 3D. Racism and misogyny, homophobia and poverty, the bastardization of religion, all intertwined with love and family, Black man vulnerability and community. The violence is horrible but you can’t look away, turning page after page to try to get a glimpse of the antagonist - to understand what would make a person do such horrible things.
No one comes out unscathed in this book. And it left me thinking about these complexities far longer after I closed the cover. Do yourself a favor. Read ATSB. Then read Blacktop Wasteland. And join me on this journey as an absolute fan of Cosby’s work.
I picked up Blacktop Wasteland earlier this year - I had it on my shelf for a minute and was in a book slump. Lord. Lord. Lord. I finished it in 2 days, reeling with visions of car chases, people catching on fire, and small southern towns complexly created with racism, community, poverty, booze, and car grease.
The second I saw ATSB I preordered it. Then waited too many days for B&N to deliver it (lol). And was once again blown away. Cosby’s use of language is unmatched: descriptive and clear, vividly crafting a story that is lush and inventive. The characters jump off the page and feel like real life - Titus especially felt 3D. Racism and misogyny, homophobia and poverty, the bastardization of religion, all intertwined with love and family, Black man vulnerability and community. The violence is horrible but you can’t look away, turning page after page to try to get a glimpse of the antagonist - to understand what would make a person do such horrible things.
No one comes out unscathed in this book. And it left me thinking about these complexities far longer after I closed the cover. Do yourself a favor. Read ATSB. Then read Blacktop Wasteland. And join me on this journey as an absolute fan of Cosby’s work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Child death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, and Death