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A review by akeila91
Cows by Matthew Stokoe
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The good points of this book is the author is clearly an amazing writer, the book is so well written. The main reason I finished this book was because of how well written it was. It delivers what it says it’s going to. It makes you uncomfortable, anything “dark” you think you’ve read before it completely obliterates.
The bad points is I think the story and character development fell short for me. I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters, bar a marginal pang of sympathy for his torturous life. But that didn’t grip me enough to become emotionally invested. The only character I felt any kind of draw to was dog. I feel like had the gore and disgust been turned down just a touch and the story and characters developed a little further, this could have been a 5 star read for me. But I understand what the author was trying to do. Anyone wanting to read please heed the TW’s as there is some very serious shit in this book.
The bad points is I think the story and character development fell short for me. I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters, bar a marginal pang of sympathy for his torturous life. But that didn’t grip me enough to become emotionally invested. The only character I felt any kind of draw to was dog. I feel like had the gore and disgust been turned down just a touch and the story and characters developed a little further, this could have been a 5 star read for me. But I understand what the author was trying to do. Anyone wanting to read please heed the TW’s as there is some very serious shit in this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit