Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by isabelleverdino
The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
5.0
4.75⭐️
This book was INSANE in the best way possible. I can’t even imagine the brainpower it took to write this book the plot and the mystery and the characters were SO complex. I could barely keep track of the moving pieces while reading it.
The only reason this book isn’t a full 5⭐️ is because I had heard that some of the narration was pretty fatphobic which kept me from reading it for a couple years. That rumor was pretty true- on pages 84 and 85 there are graphic descriptions of a fat body wrapped up in a lot of hateful language. It’s not important to the plot so I’d recommend skipping those two pages honestly.
And I will add (this is NOT a spoiler) the narrator seems to hate and admire all his hosts in equal measure and for different reasons. He does not vilify fatness any more than any other quality if that is a worry for you, but that small section was a lot. It really just could have been deleted and I think the book would be better for it.
Otherwise, this book surpassed my expectations. It is a complex conversation of morality. After working with attorneys advocating against the death penalty, I’ve been thinking about nature vs nurture and the ability of people to change. Our world hasn’t been able to decide if our prison system is designed to act as a punishment, as containment, or as rehabilitation. The worse the crime, the more people seek retribution. But does that search for vengeance not link us to those same crimes? I don’t believe that revenge benefits anyone. And I think that we need to believe people can change otherwise there is no point. And somehow the 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle takes steps towards having that conversation.
This book was INSANE in the best way possible. I can’t even imagine the brainpower it took to write this book the plot and the mystery and the characters were SO complex. I could barely keep track of the moving pieces while reading it.
The only reason this book isn’t a full 5⭐️ is because I had heard that some of the narration was pretty fatphobic which kept me from reading it for a couple years. That rumor was pretty true- on pages 84 and 85 there are graphic descriptions of a fat body wrapped up in a lot of hateful language. It’s not important to the plot so I’d recommend skipping those two pages honestly.
And I will add (this is NOT a spoiler) the narrator seems to hate and admire all his hosts in equal measure and for different reasons. He does not vilify fatness any more than any other quality if that is a worry for you, but that small section was a lot. It really just could have been deleted and I think the book would be better for it.
Otherwise, this book surpassed my expectations. It is a complex conversation of morality. After working with attorneys advocating against the death penalty, I’ve been thinking about nature vs nurture and the ability of people to change. Our world hasn’t been able to decide if our prison system is designed to act as a punishment, as containment, or as rehabilitation. The worse the crime, the more people seek retribution. But does that search for vengeance not link us to those same crimes? I don’t believe that revenge benefits anyone. And I think that we need to believe people can change otherwise there is no point. And somehow the 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle takes steps towards having that conversation.