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A review by daisymaytwizell
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Turton describes in the author's note that he believes the book's genre is up to the reader - I definitely see that fluidity in the text itself, and I think it makes for a wonderful read. It helps to maintain that tension and confusion regarding the nature of the mystery, because the reader experiences the shifts in atmosphere just like the characters do.
He also does a fantastic job of making you root for objectively unlikeable characters. A theme in this book is the terrible things mankind is capable of and why we might choose to do them, so there's a great deal of unsavoury characters present, but Turton recognizes who he can humanise and who is beyond that attention, which really pays off in the reading experience.
Also, the thing that really tied this incredible book together for me: Turton writes good sentences. The novel is good and careful and well-paced, but that attention reflects in every sentence throughout. Genuinely a phenomenal piece of work, and I'm excited to aggressively recommend it to everyone in my life who likes reading.
He also does a fantastic job of making you root for objectively unlikeable characters. A theme in this book is the terrible things mankind is capable of and why we might choose to do them, so there's a great deal of unsavoury characters present, but Turton recognizes who he can humanise and who is beyond that attention, which really pays off in the reading experience.
Also, the thing that really tied this incredible book together for me: Turton writes good sentences. The novel is good and careful and well-paced, but that attention reflects in every sentence throughout. Genuinely a phenomenal piece of work, and I'm excited to aggressively recommend it to everyone in my life who likes reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Blood, Rape, and Sexism
Minor: Animal death, Sexual harassment, and Excrement
None of the above is gratuitous; everything is included either because of its relation to the ship's evil or its contextual presence on a long-haul 1600s ship.