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A review by godhateskeely
Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King
4.0
I honestly didn't expect to appreciate this book as much as I have the past few days. Throughout Everybody Sees the Ants, Lucky gains so much experience and understanding towards the motivations and emotions behind other characters, using his dreams of Harry and Vietnam to become more perceptive about these things. The hint of magical realism employed in these dream sequences (and with the manifestation of objects from the jungle) were endlessly intriguing but also surprisingly education regarding the traps used at Vietnam POW camps and the political movements that arose following the war (POW/MIA).
King touched on so many important topics but namely, EStA deals with abuse, suicide, and rape culture. Though the idea of scars and manhood were clearly defined early in the novel, it was Ginny and The Vagina Monologues which allowed King to explore the role of women in society and the responsibility of men to not be bystanders, instead taking action to prevent people like Charlotte Dent from being taken advantage of. Initially I thought this would be another novel discussing how being a macho alpha male and beating down your bullies harder is the only proper solution but I was pleasantly surprised at the take King had on masculinity and the role of father figures in contributing to the development of either toxic or positive masculine behaviour.
King touched on so many important topics but namely, EStA deals with abuse, suicide, and rape culture. Though the idea of scars and manhood were clearly defined early in the novel, it was Ginny and The Vagina Monologues which allowed King to explore the role of women in society and the responsibility of men to not be bystanders, instead taking action to prevent people like Charlotte Dent from being taken advantage of. Initially I thought this would be another novel discussing how being a macho alpha male and beating down your bullies harder is the only proper solution but I was pleasantly surprised at the take King had on masculinity and the role of father figures in contributing to the development of either toxic or positive masculine behaviour.