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A review by inthelunaseas
Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett
2.0
For the life of me I can't figure out why I decided to read this book. Did someone recommend it to me? Did I finally throw my hands up in the air and go 'fuck it' after seeing it in all my typical bookshops? It looks like something I'd enjoy- taxidermy! queer!- but the family drama side of it made me hesitate.
Secondly, I can't decide if I enjoy it or not. I'm erring on the side of 'badly advertised'. The reviews promise this to be funny and quirky, but it's not. It's more like the US version of Shameless in that it's a very bleak premise and it the humour is more happenstance.
I kept perusing the reviews on Goodreads while I was reading the book this week but nothing really answered the questions that kept bouncing around in my head. Namely, did anyone else think the relationship between Jessa, Brynn and Milo was completely fucked up? And what was Brynn's deal? And did anyone else expect the father to actually have AIDS and have a sordid sexual history?
The answers to the questions this book poses aren't ever answered, and I don't expect they're meant to be. That's not the point of the book. Rather, it's about the moments that tie the family together. It's about the relationships between the characters, and not their history.
But still. I'd like some questions answered.
Secondly, I can't decide if I enjoy it or not. I'm erring on the side of 'badly advertised'. The reviews promise this to be funny and quirky, but it's not. It's more like the US version of Shameless in that it's a very bleak premise and it the humour is more happenstance.
I kept perusing the reviews on Goodreads while I was reading the book this week but nothing really answered the questions that kept bouncing around in my head. Namely, did anyone else think the relationship between Jessa, Brynn and Milo was completely fucked up? And what was Brynn's deal? And did anyone else expect the father to actually have AIDS and have a sordid sexual history?
The answers to the questions this book poses aren't ever answered, and I don't expect they're meant to be. That's not the point of the book. Rather, it's about the moments that tie the family together. It's about the relationships between the characters, and not their history.
But still. I'd like some questions answered.