Reviews

The Gulf by Rachel Cochran

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nekopersona's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

brooke_city's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book indeed has a very slow start. The first half establishes characters and relationships. You start to wonder where it's going, what's the point. The halfway mark is where the mystery actually begins.

While the read was frustrating, I saw the bigger picture that the author was creating. Many themes of the Vietnam War U.S. were present: religious fervor/cults emerging, feminism and radical feminism (there is a difference), mental illness and the lack of care, plus racism and queerphobia.

Lou is a hard character to root for. She spent her entire life coveting what someone else had, when she already had that love and support at home.

Spoiler

I believe there was some internalized racism in her blaming Cece for them being town pariahs. And everyone kept so many secrets from her, shielded her, when she didn't deserve it. She grew up thinking her shit didn't stink, which informed the choices she made.

I would've liked to know more of why Heather carried a grudge against Danny. Was it jealousy? Did she really believe Danny "attacked" Robby? Or did she suspect Robby had feelings for him? Ironic since she hopped between brother and sister.

No one is a good person. Parson wasn't a good town.

Content Warnings

samreadz's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

kb13's review

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Whoa. This book definitely left me with a 'what did I just read?' feeling. There is so much going on in this book - so much! A secretive group of women rescuing other women from abusive relationships with men? Incredible. A complicated but honestly depicted lesbian relationship in the 70s? I'm in - tell me more. But also there's been a murder....? If you can keep up there's a lot to keep you engaged. I really enjoyed this story but definitely had to pause a few times and make sure I was tracking the plot accurately.