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robinlovesrain 's review for:
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
by Stuart Turton
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is my second read of this book - such a different experience on rereading. Because I knew what was happening, I was able to pick out clues and see the foreshadowing, which is always really fun, but because I wasn't devouring the book in "I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS" mode I wasn't able to ignore my one big gripe with this book - the fatphobia and ableism. Because this book is dancing between scifi and mystery and horror, I think the author was trying to elicit feelings of body horror with several of the characters. Unfortunately he does that by describing very real very normal human experiences (being fat, having burn scars) as horrific or disgusting. There are so many better ways the author could have explored body horror in this book, and also many ways to describe the discomfort of living in a disabled body that doesn't dehumanize.
THAT BEING SAID. The story is good. It's really good. And the ending, something a lot of people found disappointing, I actually found to be much more satisfying and make much more sense on my second read. So I recommend this book with a grain of salt, and a hope that the author has done better in his newer books.
THAT BEING SAID. The story is good. It's really good. And the ending, something a lot of people found disappointing, I actually found to be much more satisfying and make much more sense on my second read. So I recommend this book with a grain of salt, and a hope that the author has done better in his newer books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Abortion, Sexual harassment