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A review by leonidskies
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I was provided with an advanced copy of this book for review (ahead of it being published in the UK, I believe) through NetGalley.
This book is WONDERFUL. As a general rule, I'm a fantasy guy over a horror guy, but this is a fantastic blend of the two. The fantasy elements at play are simple but effective, with no complicated magic system or anything that necessitated too much explanation. I understood what was going on, both in the context of things the narrator knew and didn't feel the need to explain and also the things he didn't understand but the reader was meant to.
That leads me onto representation, which is just... I've been trying to put this into words when discussing this book with friends and I haven't been able to yet, but it goes something like this: I've always believed that representation is important, but I've never quite found things that represent me to this degree before. As someone who's transmasc and autistic, the way this book sets out some of the very complicated ways I relate to the world made me feel like the author had crawled into my brain. It was immensely gratifying.
This book is dark - it covers topics that I know would cause a lot of people to hesitate when recommending this book to its target audience. It handles these topics not delicately but with a surgeon's scalpel - cutting deeply and precisely, laying all the most important parts out for readers to see. It's absolutely fantastic work surrounding issues that are presented in a historical fiction context but their modern relevance is blatantly obvious.
This was a solid 4-4.5 when I got to the final couple of chapters of the book - and then the author pulled out more from the narrative and the book rocketed into incredible. This is a beautifully, painstakingly constructed book and it's very special.
This book is WONDERFUL. As a general rule, I'm a fantasy guy over a horror guy, but this is a fantastic blend of the two. The fantasy elements at play are simple but effective, with no complicated magic system or anything that necessitated too much explanation. I understood what was going on, both in the context of things the narrator knew and didn't feel the need to explain and also the things he didn't understand but the reader was meant to.
That leads me onto representation, which is just... I've been trying to put this into words when discussing this book with friends and I haven't been able to yet, but it goes something like this: I've always believed that representation is important, but I've never quite found things that represent me to this degree before. As someone who's transmasc and autistic, the way this book sets out some of the very complicated ways I relate to the world made me feel like the author had crawled into my brain. It was immensely gratifying.
This book is dark - it covers topics that I know would cause a lot of people to hesitate when recommending this book to its target audience. It handles these topics not delicately but with a surgeon's scalpel - cutting deeply and precisely, laying all the most important parts out for readers to see. It's absolutely fantastic work surrounding issues that are presented in a historical fiction context but their modern relevance is blatantly obvious.
This was a solid 4-4.5 when I got to the final couple of chapters of the book - and then the author pulled out more from the narrative and the book rocketed into incredible. This is a beautifully, painstakingly constructed book and it's very special.