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A review by kaiyakaiyo
Private Rites by Julia Armfield
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
what an epic waste of my time! this was like if a shitty white soap opera and a poorly written Netflix film about a cult were smashed together. with a side of kardashian tv family dynamics
the sentences feel nice on the brain bc armfield has quite the way with words, but so many of said words are deeply irrelevant to any of the book’s events. whole 10 page sections of this book could go without impact. many passages were so internal they bordered on unrealistic. there’s a point where the book makes fun of a character for reading “miserabilist literature”… the call is coming from inside the house.
describing this book as “speculative” is like calling a tomato a fruit. technically true but completely useless to consumers. anyways I’m probs going to steer clear of Julia considering all of her books feel like the La Croix version of something I’d actually like reading
the sentences feel nice on the brain bc armfield has quite the way with words, but so many of said words are deeply irrelevant to any of the book’s events. whole 10 page sections of this book could go without impact. many passages were so internal they bordered on unrealistic. there’s a point where the book makes fun of a character for reading “miserabilist literature”… the call is coming from inside the house.
describing this book as “speculative” is like calling a tomato a fruit. technically true but completely useless to consumers. anyways I’m probs going to steer clear of Julia considering all of her books feel like the La Croix version of something I’d actually like reading
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abandonment