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A review by sketchybooks
The Amulet by Michael McDowell
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
This is my first Michael McDowell, and I'm now looking forward to reading some of his later works. I enjoyed his writing a lot, especially the descriptions of the town and how everything was interconnected. There are some great themes about the petty little things we hold against the people in our lives, taken to an extreme extent--and also the actual emotional abuse in households that goes unspoken. Being from a small southern town myself, Pine Cone feels like a real place and the people in it are people I've known.
Unfortunately, this book was REALLY brought down by the horrible fatphobia. It was constant and intense and difficult to read. It took me out of the story when a character who has MANY negative qualities as a person, things which she could control and improve, was instead insulted for being fat. There are also dehumanizing descriptions of someone with severe facial scarring and... I think that most of the race stuff is handled okay, but I would warn that there is some weirdness, like constantly describing Black people as "the black man" or "the black girl" in a way that was strange and othering at times. There is also a character who uses the n word, but she is portrayed as a loathsome person, as is another white woman who constantly accuses a Black woman of stealing for no reason. (Note: I am white, so I may have missed some other issues, too. From my perspective, though, the race discussions were surprisingly okay given when this was published.)
Unfortunately, this book was REALLY brought down by the horrible fatphobia. It was constant and intense and difficult to read. It took me out of the story when a character who has MANY negative qualities as a person, things which she could control and improve, was instead insulted for being fat. There are also dehumanizing descriptions of someone with severe facial scarring and... I think that most of the race stuff is handled okay, but I would warn that there is some weirdness, like constantly describing Black people as "the black man" or "the black girl" in a way that was strange and othering at times. There is also a character who uses the n word, but she is portrayed as a loathsome person, as is another white woman who constantly accuses a Black woman of stealing for no reason. (Note: I am white, so I may have missed some other issues, too. From my perspective, though, the race discussions were surprisingly okay given when this was published.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Racial slurs