A review by justsayfit
The Discomfort of Evening by Lucas Rijneveld

dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This is such a well written but highly traumatic book. It deals with family death, depression, eating disorders, abuse, religion and suicide. It is impossible to say that it is a joy to read. In the beginning, it is almost charming to read the ideas of a young girl and her outlook on the world even while she is trying to deal with the death of her brother which she thinks that she is responsible for. The whole family spirals into depression and she tries so hard to make her sense of it. Because her mother in now anorectic and probably a closet alcoholic who drinks in the Celler, the child somehow thinks that the mother is hiding Jews in the cellar and is giving them the food that she herself is not eating. There numbers of such strange thoughts. The child longs so much for consolation and warmth, that she would do just about anything to get any, but her parents are too distracted with their own sorrow and are a bit too “Protestant” to give warmth. Only work gives solace. So many things occur that made me physically and viscerally ill. In the end, I just wanted it all to be over with and, I guess, that was the goal. The reader has no choice but to totally empathise with the child and agree to the only solution that she could devise. It does not end well. 
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