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abbie_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-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? Yes
Sealed is an eco-horror novel set in a near future where environmental issues have worsened dramatically and a new skin-sealing epidemic is sweeping the globe. Heavily pregnant Alice and her partner flee the city to escape the smog, with Alice also trying to leave behind her obsession with recording the pandemic.
I really do NOT recommend this book if you’re currently pregnant or are sensitive to pregnancy stuff in books. But if you love eco-horror and grisly accounts of motherhood then by all means! My face the entire book was basically 😬😦😐😶😬 This is one of those cases where ‘enjoy’ doesn’t really cut it, but I did think it was good, super visceral and playing on some of my very real fears, also further confirming that I never ever want to be pregnant.
I didn’t think the prose was as fluid as in Booth’s latest, Exit Management, but that’s forgivable since this is an earlier novel. But I also took slight issue with the setting - it was supposedly Australia but I kept forgetting until some Australian slang was thrown in again. I guess the setting isn’t too crucial, but then why bother to set it elsewhere? If environmental problems had been worsening the world over, it could have still just been set in the UK and the increased temperatures would have made sense still 🤷♀️ But I digress!
It’s a good mix of gore and commentary, but again not quite as developed as Exit Management. Booth touches on the ways crises, whether they’re medical or environmental, have a more devastating impact on poor, rural and Indigenous communities. It’s a pretty taut narrative, only 170 pages, and you’ll read the last 20 pages in one breath through gritted teeth. Recommended with caution because of the content warnings!
I really do NOT recommend this book if you’re currently pregnant or are sensitive to pregnancy stuff in books. But if you love eco-horror and grisly accounts of motherhood then by all means! My face the entire book was basically 😬😦😐😶😬 This is one of those cases where ‘enjoy’ doesn’t really cut it, but I did think it was good, super visceral and playing on some of my very real fears, also further confirming that I never ever want to be pregnant.
I didn’t think the prose was as fluid as in Booth’s latest, Exit Management, but that’s forgivable since this is an earlier novel. But I also took slight issue with the setting - it was supposedly Australia but I kept forgetting until some Australian slang was thrown in again. I guess the setting isn’t too crucial, but then why bother to set it elsewhere? If environmental problems had been worsening the world over, it could have still just been set in the UK and the increased temperatures would have made sense still 🤷♀️ But I digress!
It’s a good mix of gore and commentary, but again not quite as developed as Exit Management. Booth touches on the ways crises, whether they’re medical or environmental, have a more devastating impact on poor, rural and Indigenous communities. It’s a pretty taut narrative, only 170 pages, and you’ll read the last 20 pages in one breath through gritted teeth. Recommended with caution because of the content warnings!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Excrement, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy
Pregnancy/birthing trauma