beatrbl's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Suicide, Abortion, Death, and Excrement
Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Alcohol, and Drug use
whatellisreadnext's review
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes 👏👏👏👏👏👏
This had so many of my favourite elements thrown into one, a lonely and unreliable main protagonist doing a very normal job, a weirdly reliant and toxic friend group dynamic, and a building that comes across as somewhat sentient.
Children of Paradise documents "Holly" as she starts a new job at the Paradise cinema, there's a distinct weirdness to the place and the people that work there, but this only escalates once the cinema gets bought out by a big chain. This was one of the elements that I really enjoyed, I don't work in a cinema, but I highly related to the sense of ruin that comes with working for a big company at a lower level.
One of my favourite things about the narrative was Molly's matter of fact way of seeing everything, it was funny and dry and in some parts very disturbing. This story went to some dark and gross places, and the fact she was so pragmatic about these things gave them even more impact.
I can't fault this book, and I think if you love weird literary fiction with lonely protagonists then you should definitely give it a go 🥰
This had so many of my favourite elements thrown into one, a lonely and unreliable main protagonist doing a very normal job, a weirdly reliant and toxic friend group dynamic, and a building that comes across as somewhat sentient.
Children of Paradise documents "Holly" as she starts a new job at the Paradise cinema, there's a distinct weirdness to the place and the people that work there, but this only escalates once the cinema gets bought out by a big chain. This was one of the elements that I really enjoyed, I don't work in a cinema, but I highly related to the sense of ruin that comes with working for a big company at a lower level.
One of my favourite things about the narrative was Molly's matter of fact way of seeing everything, it was funny and dry and in some parts very disturbing. This story went to some dark and gross places, and the fact she was so pragmatic about these things gave them even more impact.
I can't fault this book, and I think if you love weird literary fiction with lonely protagonists then you should definitely give it a go 🥰
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Suicide, Violence, and Vomit
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