alexasalwaysreading 's review for:

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

2.0

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Here is the thing - he tried to escape the trashy horror genre (even making fun of it), but he didn't escape it. The novel only has its plot going for it and I will admit, its a good plot, very fast paced and easy to read. There is also some brilliant, gory description, but there are so many issues. There are societal issues such as sexism, abuse, and racism all brought up but never addressed, at least not in a meaningful way. He only writes the black characters in service jobs and gives them little power in the story, mentioning racism, but not addressing it in any meaningful or nuanced way. It is also very apparent that the women are written by a man. Their conversations are shallow and what men think women talk about. He also makes the narrator comment on her body and appearance repeatedly (which is part of the idea of being desired within the novel), but it is excessive. It had so much potential and the first page was so good, but moments to linger on important themes were rushed through. Her suicide attempt is never addressed and fades to the background, same with the destruction of an entire black community by a development, and the abuse one of the women endures at the hands of her husband.