A review by paperknotbooks
The Discomfort of Evening by Lucas Rijneveld

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I think this will throw off my reader friend who’ve all rated this book 1-3/5 ⭐️s from the disturbing content. Yes, there is a lot of “ick,”  perversion, and animal cruelty, but I was charmed by Rijneveld’s writing and submerged in the story.  I loved the narrative voice: obviously young and naive, but with literary aptitude for quiet details. Probably will bumpy this up to a 5-⭐️ if it truest borrows itself into my memory.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Grief, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Incest, Sexual assault, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Mental illness

Moderate: Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Gore, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Torture, and Self harm