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A review by bwandungi
Creatures of Want and Ruin, Volume 2 by Molly Tanzer
3.0
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
What is this book about?
---------------------------
Ellie is a bootlegger, selling liquor to people up and down the south bay in Amityville. During a heavy storm, a man (who is known to her) seems high on some rainbow stuff (it's dribbling down his chin) and tries to kill her.
Fin is in a marriage that is souring and she's watching it slowly circle the drain into nothingness.
Both women are drawn into an unlikely friendship where together with a band of non-whites (and one person of Polish descent) they will uncover a plot to return Amityville back to the "good middle days".
Overall impression
---------------------
The author is a skilled writer, weaving a tale with vivid descriptions that draw you all the way into these characters and their lives. The only drawback is that the story was SOOOOOOOO slow. I kept skipping ahead and then turning back because I was impatient to find out what happened.
Who will love this book
--------------------------
1. People who enjoy seeing the good guys win.
2. Those who are interested in complex characters.
3. Those who've ever tried to defend their homes from "invading forces".
I have more thoughts down below!
↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓
***** SPOILERS AHEAD *****
*******SPOILERS BEGINNING - Watch out! ******
↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓
Stuff liked
-----------
1. This book was very well written with tons of interesting descriptions (which I'm stealing) and large as life characters who were mostly well developed.
2. Bravo for trying to tackle issues we're all dealing with right now that show how sometimes things change and sometimes things just really stay the same.
Stuff that made me go hmmm
---------------------------------
1. I couldn't figure Ellie out. Her character was quite unlike any other I've come across and on the whole quite unlikeable. I couldn't pin her down. One would imagine that a bootlegger isn't so concerned about how people consume their alcohol.
2. Her relationship with Gabriel. Hmmmmm. I'd be better convinced if it weren't quite so wholesome on the surface when all this cuckhold business is boiling just underneath the surface.
3. Very "white saviour-y". But then again we know that xenophobic white people listen better to their own people so... dunno. Made me a little uncomfortable.
Stuff I didn't like
------------------
1. Jones the Cuban uses the word Polack, but other people are bigots?
2. Right after Lester and Ellie fight (after she was almost killed by crazy-rainbow-drooler), there was dissolving into giggles. It seemed oddly out of place. AND it wasn't indicative of "conversation without words". Felt rushed into their familial happy feelings instead of letting the heat of their anger and disappointment take their course.
3. So, the hunter sisters look alike. Why would that elicit disgust? Are twins disgusting? Triplets? Any multiples that make anyone cringe. That was weird.
I think all these were just to highlight how strange and weird the shifting emotions in these characters were. Dissolving into giggles (Ellie giggled a LOT, which is hard to take from anyone who isn't 6 years old. I just realized I'm a curmudgeon).
Would have been 5 stars coz the writing was truly excellent, but MC was too weird and my emotions were being rushed, and yet the action was sooooo achingly slow. I can truly say I've never felt like this reading any book. I'll be looking out for other works from this author.
What is this book about?
---------------------------
Ellie is a bootlegger, selling liquor to people up and down the south bay in Amityville. During a heavy storm, a man (who is known to her) seems high on some rainbow stuff (it's dribbling down his chin) and tries to kill her.
Fin is in a marriage that is souring and she's watching it slowly circle the drain into nothingness.
Both women are drawn into an unlikely friendship where together with a band of non-whites (and one person of Polish descent) they will uncover a plot to return Amityville back to the "good middle days".
Overall impression
---------------------
The author is a skilled writer, weaving a tale with vivid descriptions that draw you all the way into these characters and their lives. The only drawback is that the story was SOOOOOOOO slow. I kept skipping ahead and then turning back because I was impatient to find out what happened.
Who will love this book
--------------------------
1. People who enjoy seeing the good guys win.
2. Those who are interested in complex characters.
3. Those who've ever tried to defend their homes from "invading forces".
I have more thoughts down below!
↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓
***** SPOILERS AHEAD *****
*******SPOILERS BEGINNING - Watch out! ******
↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓
Stuff liked
-----------
1. This book was very well written with tons of interesting descriptions (which I'm stealing) and large as life characters who were mostly well developed.
2. Bravo for trying to tackle issues we're all dealing with right now that show how sometimes things change and sometimes things just really stay the same.
Stuff that made me go hmmm
---------------------------------
1. I couldn't figure Ellie out. Her character was quite unlike any other I've come across and on the whole quite unlikeable. I couldn't pin her down. One would imagine that a bootlegger isn't so concerned about how people consume their alcohol.
2. Her relationship with Gabriel. Hmmmmm. I'd be better convinced if it weren't quite so wholesome on the surface when all this cuckhold business is boiling just underneath the surface.
3. Very "white saviour-y". But then again we know that xenophobic white people listen better to their own people so... dunno. Made me a little uncomfortable.
Stuff I didn't like
------------------
1. Jones the Cuban uses the word Polack, but other people are bigots?
2. Right after Lester and Ellie fight (after she was almost killed by crazy-rainbow-drooler), there was dissolving into giggles. It seemed oddly out of place. AND it wasn't indicative of "conversation without words". Felt rushed into their familial happy feelings instead of letting the heat of their anger and disappointment take their course.
3. So, the hunter sisters look alike. Why would that elicit disgust? Are twins disgusting? Triplets? Any multiples that make anyone cringe. That was weird.
I think all these were just to highlight how strange and weird the shifting emotions in these characters were. Dissolving into giggles (Ellie giggled a LOT, which is hard to take from anyone who isn't 6 years old. I just realized I'm a curmudgeon).
Would have been 5 stars coz the writing was truly excellent, but MC was too weird and my emotions were being rushed, and yet the action was sooooo achingly slow. I can truly say I've never felt like this reading any book. I'll be looking out for other works from this author.