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A review by ariet
You've Lost a Lot of Blood by Eric LaRocca
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
While I enjoy LaRocca's work (well, enjoy is a bit strong, find myself mulling over them occasionally weeks later when I go to peel apples for pie is probably more accurate), I found myself having a more neutral feeling about this one.
Narrative-wise, we shift between transcripts, diary entries, and poetry, interspersed with a novella written by one of the main "real world" characters. While I enjoyed the novella, I really feel like the breaking up didn't work out as well as it possibly could have. I can see how in some circumstances you could see the reflection of worldview or narrative events, but it just fell kind of flat.
It was by no means terrible, and there were some great moments of body horror and narrative turns, but on the whole, it was just an alright experience. Worth reading if you come across it, but not going to haunt you for ages.
Narrative-wise, we shift between transcripts, diary entries, and poetry, interspersed with a novella written by one of the main "real world" characters. While I enjoyed the novella, I really feel like the breaking up didn't work out as well as it possibly could have. I can see how in some circumstances you could see the reflection of worldview or narrative events, but it just fell kind of flat.
It was by no means terrible, and there were some great moments of body horror and narrative turns, but on the whole, it was just an alright experience. Worth reading if you come across it, but not going to haunt you for ages.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Animal cruelty