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A review by gilroi
My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Jones is kind of a messy writer, and I've come to expect that. I like his writing, I like his ideas and the way he gets them across, but pacing is his weakest skill, and occasionally the plot feels tied together in chunks rather than one coherent narrative. On these scores, My Heart Is A Chainsaw is head and shoulders above The Only Good Indians, but it still has its twitchy vestigial failings that feel like a few more run-throughs with an editor could have fixed.
Whatever, though? Conceptually, this book is excellent. I really liked The Final Girl Support Group, but this one blows it out of the water. I try not to compare books that don't have much to do with each other, but TFGSG and MHIAC are made from the same stuff. They're both about women and trauma, how we conceptualize media, what a 'final girl' means, but MHIAC feels more honest and authentic in ways I find difficult to pinpoint. Maybe it's because there's no layer of leery judgement, or no power of female friendship Hail Mary. Who knows. Maybe Jones is just a cleaner writer thematically. The book is awesome, though, that's what I'm saying. I loved Jade, and I can't wait to read more about her.
Whatever, though? Conceptually, this book is excellent. I really liked The Final Girl Support Group, but this one blows it out of the water. I try not to compare books that don't have much to do with each other, but TFGSG and MHIAC are made from the same stuff. They're both about women and trauma, how we conceptualize media, what a 'final girl' means, but MHIAC feels more honest and authentic in ways I find difficult to pinpoint. Maybe it's because there's no layer of leery judgement, or no power of female friendship Hail Mary. Who knows. Maybe Jones is just a cleaner writer thematically. The book is awesome, though, that's what I'm saying. I loved Jade, and I can't wait to read more about her.