A review by moonilism
The Discomfort of Evening by Lucas Rijneveld

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

Basically: another depressing literary fiction novel exploring grief.
What sets it apart though is how (I don't think "gross" or "fucked up" are the correct terms) depraved it is.
Told through the voice of Jas, a 10-to-12-year-old who, to put it lightly, lets her intrusive thoughts win for almost 300 pages, we are taken through the aftermath of a family tragedy. It is pretty heartbreaking that the death of her older brother (not a spoiler) is what sets off the chain of her family structure falling apart. Harsh winters, overbearing religion, lack of affection from her grieving parents and another cruel brother do not make for a pleasant life on their remote Dutch cattle farm. I was just taken aback by how all of this led to

a <i>lot</i> of animal cruelty and death, sexual experimentation with siblings and the rather shocking sexual abuse of the main character's friend by her brother

. This book must have resonated with many people for it to have won the Booker Prize, but I wasn't sure what to make of it, really. Sometimes it just felt like it was being overly dismal for the sake of it. I think that if we maybe got to experience more of the family's life before Matthies' death in the first chapter I would have felt a bit more of a connection to the grief and what was lost. The writing was good, but not enough to make me like the book or move me. More thoughts that I'll just leave under spoilers:

- Her frequently mentioned belief that there were Jewish people living in their basement... I just.. why??
- Those poor fucking toads.
- The ending was honestly a long time coming and I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner.