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blyn234's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
rocketiza's review against another edition
4.0
One of the book jacket quotes put it best - stephen king crossed with Grimm's fairy tales. Enough of twist put on each tale that even though you knew something bad was going to happen, it turns out worst than you thought.
amn028's review against another edition
2.0
The translation seems to have stripped away the flow of the story. More of a quick and easy read between other books than a must read.
megancrusante's review against another edition
3.0
2.5, rounded up for the very cool message in the cover
sausome's review against another edition
2.0
Like many folks said, not as creepy as I expected it to be, but decent. I mean, kids come with a certain amount of ingrained creepiness, I think, meh. Still gonna give his other book a try.
linseypinsey's review against another edition
3.0
Random and a bit disturbing, but interesting and easy to read
tcgarback's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-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
3.5
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Critical Score: B+
Personal Score: B
This is more of a novel in stories. I think it would have benefited from being marketed as such, and with unique chapter titles instead of just the respective POV character’s name.
Other reviewers have complained that the characters aren’t likeable and that the novel basically reads as repetitive acts of senseless violence without much resolution or meaning.
While I do feel I missed a few implied conclusions, and the episodic nature of the book left me feeling slightly unfulfilled, I do largely disagree with those complaints, or else think that they’re invalid points for this meshing of genre.
This is well written dark literary fiction. The setting is splendid. The plotting is complex. The first few stories are especially rich and surprising. Once you catch onto the rhythm of violence, though, the stories may lack bite, yet they (ironically, maybe) maintain their soul. My only concern with the themes at play here is that the novel does perpetuate the stereotype that isolated villages are full of depravity, more so than in cities. Like…people are people everywhere, so people can be nasty anywhere.
I personally wish this didn’t go over into fantasy in the few parts that it does, and that instead the magical elements were red herrings explained by plot twists. But maybe there is no real fantasy in here and I missed something? On a similar note, I found it tricky to keep track of all the characters. But that’s more of a personal issue than a critical one.
In summary, this was quite different from what I was expecting, a slower and more thoughtful read than I was in the mood for. It’s not super F’d up, but it’s F’d up enough.
Evocative, mature, and engaging.
Critical Score: B+
Personal Score: B
This is more of a novel in stories. I think it would have benefited from being marketed as such, and with unique chapter titles instead of just the respective POV character’s name.
Other reviewers have complained that the characters aren’t likeable and that the novel basically reads as repetitive acts of senseless violence without much resolution or meaning.
While I do feel I missed a few implied conclusions, and the episodic nature of the book left me feeling slightly unfulfilled, I do largely disagree with those complaints, or else think that they’re invalid points for this meshing of genre.
This is well written dark literary fiction. The setting is splendid. The plotting is complex. The first few stories are especially rich and surprising. Once you catch onto the rhythm of violence, though, the stories may lack bite, yet they (ironically, maybe) maintain their soul. My only concern with the themes at play here is that the novel does perpetuate the stereotype that isolated villages are full of depravity, more so than in cities. Like…people are people everywhere, so people can be nasty anywhere.
I personally wish this didn’t go over into fantasy in the few parts that it does, and that instead the magical elements were red herrings explained by plot twists. But maybe there is no real fantasy in here and I missed something? On a similar note, I found it tricky to keep track of all the characters. But that’s more of a personal issue than a critical one.
In summary, this was quite different from what I was expecting, a slower and more thoughtful read than I was in the mood for. It’s not super F’d up, but it’s F’d up enough.
Evocative, mature, and engaging.
tobyyy's review against another edition
3.0
Okay, so... if you've been following me awhile, you'll know that this isn't the sort of book I generally read. I'm not entirely sure why I picked it up at the library, to be honest, because I'm really, really, really not a fan of horror of any sort. (My rationale is that I have enough nightmares on my own, I really don't need a book to help me create more shit to cause more restless horrible nights!)
Pardon the language, but the best way I can describe this book is creepyass. Some folks who've reviewed it didn't feel The Creepiness of it when they read it. But I did. It's a peculiar, particular brand of creepiness. It's not like boogeymen jumping out of the shadows in the middle of the night to eat you.
It's about kids being kids... but kids being CREEPYASS KIDS. Let's take the first few chapters (and keep in mind that 90% of this book takes place in rural post-WWII Germany -- not in medieval times). What happens in them?
So yes. But that's not just what's creepy. The creepiest part is that it's treated like normal. Like "oh okay they're just being kids." There's never any worries about ruining futures or anything, because most of the people who lives in Hemmersmoor never leave. And those that do generally don't come back -- or if they do, they come to unfortunate ends.
Kind of like Sarah Addison Allen's Garden Spells, there is a sort of magic at play in the village. But it is the total opposite of the magic in Garden Spells. It's dark, it's horrible, and the disturbing things that are done in Hemmersmoor are treated like they're normal.
I'm not entirely sure if I would recommend this, but I'm definitely not telling you to definitely not read this. It was a step out of my comfort zone and I'm glad I read it (I guess?) but I don't particularly want to read any more books like this one anytime soon.
A sampling of some of the creepy as shit lines:
Pardon the language, but the best way I can describe this book is creepyass. Some folks who've reviewed it didn't feel The Creepiness of it when they read it. But I did. It's a peculiar, particular brand of creepiness. It's not like boogeymen jumping out of the shadows in the middle of the night to eat you.
It's about kids being kids... but kids being CREEPYASS KIDS. Let's take the first few chapters (and keep in mind that 90% of this book takes place in rural post-WWII Germany -- not in medieval times). What happens in them?
Spoiler
A newcomer to the village -- and her 5 children -- get stoned to death. A brother murders his younger sister. Jealousy and bitterness from a wife to her husband cause, in some mysterious way, the woman that is suspected of cheating with the husband to die a horrible death -- with her son.So yes. But that's not just what's creepy. The creepiest part is that it's treated like normal. Like "oh okay they're just being kids." There's never any worries about ruining futures or anything, because most of the people who lives in Hemmersmoor never leave. And those that do generally don't come back -- or if they do, they come to unfortunate ends.
Kind of like Sarah Addison Allen's Garden Spells, there is a sort of magic at play in the village. But it is the total opposite of the magic in Garden Spells. It's dark, it's horrible, and the disturbing things that are done in Hemmersmoor are treated like they're normal.
I'm not entirely sure if I would recommend this, but I'm definitely not telling you to definitely not read this. It was a step out of my comfort zone and I'm glad I read it (I guess?) but I don't particularly want to read any more books like this one anytime soon.
A sampling of some of the creepy as shit lines:
- "Come tonight after midnight. If you do, and if you do me a favor, I will take you through hell" (p. 23).
- "Our game required that boys outnumber girls, but no one wanted to play the Black Miller because he couldn't take part in the raping" (p. 95).
- "Others saw cows, colts, and cats visit houses and farms after dark, and animals were clubbed to death to exorcise the beggar woman's spirit" (p. 142).
groves1987's review against another edition
4.0
Woo-boy. This book is solidly not for everyone. We got some deaths of children, deaths of parents, rape, murder, intentional disfigurement, and some seriously dark, creepy, unsettling cruelty. I, apparently, am all about those things in my books.
trisha_thomas's review against another edition
3.0
"Here," he said. "You can look directly into hell." He pulled the large black cloth off the barrel and had me look inside. "It sits right above hell's entrance," Rico said. "Hell's entrance is in Hemmersmoor."
This was a very odd collection - stories from children as they start as children and end as adults and they tell of things that happened in town. But each chapter read more like an Urban Legend than an actual chapter in their lives. Things that seem so simple or average, like talking back or being smart with parents, is met with horrible beatings and death. There is more blood and gore brought by the children than the parents but both are at fault for the pain in the stories. It's a dark look at people and an old town living on it's own in the far rural area. They are definitely odd stories but a few will definitely stay with me.
This was a very odd collection - stories from children as they start as children and end as adults and they tell of things that happened in town. But each chapter read more like an Urban Legend than an actual chapter in their lives. Things that seem so simple or average, like talking back or being smart with parents, is met with horrible beatings and death. There is more blood and gore brought by the children than the parents but both are at fault for the pain in the stories. It's a dark look at people and an old town living on it's own in the far rural area. They are definitely odd stories but a few will definitely stay with me.