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A review by impressionblend
Bones & All by Camille DeAngelis
3.0
7 out of 10
To be honest, I'm torn, even thought I'm strongly leaning positive. On one hand, I really enjoyed the writing and the tone of the novel, and it started off really strong. On the other hand, it the type of book that slowly makes you wonder whether it's actually going anywhere, and while there is some development in here, it doesn't really arrive at any groundbreaking conclusion or anywhere too satisfying. And I suppose that's fine, not every story needs an insane arc to be good, but if that's the case - deeper character work is necessary. Without spoiling anything, while the final third of the novel does deliver to an extent because of a certain storyline, the final resolution seems off to me.
In a way, this felt like a novel about accepting yourself, but the author had this to say: "when people who know I’m vegan hear I’ve written a book about cannibals… they think it’s bizarre, hilarious, or both. The short version is that I believe the world would be a far safer place if we, as individuals and as a society, took a hard, honest look at our practice of flesh eating along with its environmental and spiritual consequences." To be completely honest, this statement confuses me even more because none of that came through in the novel, and if that's the message she was trying to communicate - I did not pick up on it. This isn't to say that a book needs to have a message, or to hit you over the head with it - my point is that, since the author believes that's what the point of the book was, it illustrates even further how muddled the experience of reading it is.
What approach will the film adaptation take? I can't wait to find out.
To be honest, I'm torn, even thought I'm strongly leaning positive. On one hand, I really enjoyed the writing and the tone of the novel, and it started off really strong. On the other hand, it the type of book that slowly makes you wonder whether it's actually going anywhere, and while there is some development in here, it doesn't really arrive at any groundbreaking conclusion or anywhere too satisfying. And I suppose that's fine, not every story needs an insane arc to be good, but if that's the case - deeper character work is necessary. Without spoiling anything, while the final third of the novel does deliver to an extent because of a certain storyline, the final resolution seems off to me.
In a way, this felt like a novel about accepting yourself, but the author had this to say: "when people who know I’m vegan hear I’ve written a book about cannibals… they think it’s bizarre, hilarious, or both. The short version is that I believe the world would be a far safer place if we, as individuals and as a society, took a hard, honest look at our practice of flesh eating along with its environmental and spiritual consequences." To be completely honest, this statement confuses me even more because none of that came through in the novel, and if that's the message she was trying to communicate - I did not pick up on it. This isn't to say that a book needs to have a message, or to hit you over the head with it - my point is that, since the author believes that's what the point of the book was, it illustrates even further how muddled the experience of reading it is.
What approach will the film adaptation take? I can't wait to find out.