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bandysbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I recently listened to House of Cotton on audiobook. I didn't know much about the book going into it, but the summary sounded amazing and the cover was really calling my attention. Maybe I should've done a bit more research because this was quite the surprise.
This book follows a young woman who is struggling to get by and is approached by the eccentric owner of a mortuary who offers her a job modeling. While she initially assumes that it will be a standard modeling job, she finds that it requires quite a bit more than she bargained for. As she works for him, things get stranger and stranger and soon she is imitating dead people.
I don't really know where exactly to start with this review. The summary does not really adequately prepare the reader for what is going to happen. This book touches on a lot of difficult topics. Some parts felt like sharp social critique and other parts felt like they were added in just for shock value. Perhaps some of it went over my head, but I felt like some of the messaging might've been lost within the graphic and uncomfortable content.
Our main character is a tough character. She's clearly lived a hard life and seen some of the worst that society has to offer. No one has ever given her anything and she's really had to struggle to survive. That said, I'm not sure how I feel about her. I understand some of the choices she makes. The weird things she's being asked to do offer her a semblance of financial freedom, but they come with some pretty heavy strings attached.. It was also pretty hard reading about the way she approaches sex. Ultimately, I don't dislike her character, but I don't exactly like her either. I felt sad for her and angry for her too, but she was just not an easy character to read.
One thing that I did really appreciate about this story was the beautiful description. The author really did an excellent job of setting the scene. I could easily imagine what was going on and where it was happening which is part of what made this book so visceral and uncomfortable at times.
I will say that overall I found this book to be a very confusing experience. In some ways, I think that that might be intentional, but in other ways I wonder if the message would've been better understood had the story been a bit more tightly woven. The flashes between reality and dreams or hallucinations were sometimes hard to follow and all of the chaos made for a disorienting experience.
All in all, I'm not sure who to recommend this book to, but if you decide to read it, make sure you read the trigger warnings as there is a lot of dark stuff in this book.
As for the audiobook, I felt that the narrator did a good job. I was able to understand her and I felt she suited the story. It was easy to tell who the different characters were and I thought her pace worked well.
TW: Rape, Sexual Content, Illusions to Necrophilia, Drugs, Racism, Homelessness, False Imprisonment
This book follows a young woman who is struggling to get by and is approached by the eccentric owner of a mortuary who offers her a job modeling. While she initially assumes that it will be a standard modeling job, she finds that it requires quite a bit more than she bargained for. As she works for him, things get stranger and stranger and soon she is imitating dead people.
I don't really know where exactly to start with this review. The summary does not really adequately prepare the reader for what is going to happen. This book touches on a lot of difficult topics. Some parts felt like sharp social critique and other parts felt like they were added in just for shock value. Perhaps some of it went over my head, but I felt like some of the messaging might've been lost within the graphic and uncomfortable content.
Our main character is a tough character. She's clearly lived a hard life and seen some of the worst that society has to offer. No one has ever given her anything and she's really had to struggle to survive. That said, I'm not sure how I feel about her. I understand some of the choices she makes. The weird things she's being asked to do offer her a semblance of financial freedom, but they come with some pretty heavy strings attached.. It was also pretty hard reading about the way she approaches sex. Ultimately, I don't dislike her character, but I don't exactly like her either. I felt sad for her and angry for her too, but she was just not an easy character to read.
One thing that I did really appreciate about this story was the beautiful description. The author really did an excellent job of setting the scene. I could easily imagine what was going on and where it was happening which is part of what made this book so visceral and uncomfortable at times.
I will say that overall I found this book to be a very confusing experience. In some ways, I think that that might be intentional, but in other ways I wonder if the message would've been better understood had the story been a bit more tightly woven. The flashes between reality and dreams or hallucinations were sometimes hard to follow and all of the chaos made for a disorienting experience.
All in all, I'm not sure who to recommend this book to, but if you decide to read it, make sure you read the trigger warnings as there is a lot of dark stuff in this book.
As for the audiobook, I felt that the narrator did a good job. I was able to understand her and I felt she suited the story. It was easy to tell who the different characters were and I thought her pace worked well.
TW: Rape, Sexual Content, Illusions to Necrophilia, Drugs, Racism, Homelessness, False Imprisonment
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Abortion, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
fadedbookmarks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Grief, and Abortion
amobrien's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Magnolia is dealing with grief from her grandmother's death and struggling to keep her house on her income from working at the gas station, so when a mysterious man comes into her work and offers her a "modeling" job, she accepts it. While the job is lucrative, it isn't exactly what she was expecting, and Magnolia finds that her problems are not going away with her new wealth. While the story is well-written, it's also filled to the brim with trauma, which made it a difficult read (though that is the point). I don't think this is a read for everyone, and I don't even think it was necessarily a read for me, but I think people interested in dark southern gothic literature would enjoy this, especially because it covers really interesting topics like race, class, and grief.
Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.
Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Grief, and Abortion
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
Minor: Child abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault
annastasia_will's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Abortion
Moderate: Rape
swbowers's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I received an ARC from Flat Iron books as part of a giveaway. This was a lot darker and creepier than I expected. Trauma, trauma, trauma everywhere. It definitely felt like southern gothic with a touch of Jesmyn Ward crossed with an episode of Twin Peaks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, and Abortion
meganpbell's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
In this gritty, ghostly Affrilachian gothic debut, Magnolia, in the wake of her grandmother’s death and possibly pregnant, takes an offer to “model” as the late beloveds of the rich at a funeral home run by the strange Mr. Cotton. The voice and the VIBES are all there, and this book has a lot to say about grief, death, race, class, and sex in the Bible Belt South, but the plot was about as substantial as its ghosts and the ending was abrupt and unsatisfying. Still, the writing is strong and beautiful—a writer to watch.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault
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