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mariball's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
This was one of the most surreal books I’ve read in some time, maybe ever. If you’re looking for a traditional story format with plot, you’re not going to get it here. This is an experimental treatise that focuses on art, Black Metal music, magic, witchcraft, religion, nonconformity, and writing. The prose is powerful, direct, gross, and, well, hateful. It’s my favorite aspect of this book.
However, I think this book is too experimental for my tastes. There are some scenes where I question the necessity of its inclusion (besides shock). I feel that at least 50 or so pages could have been shaven off and nothing major would have been lost. I’m also deeply disappointed
In the end, my expectations were too high.
Graphic: Body horror, Excrement, and Vomit
Moderate: Blood
musical_alex's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Sexual content
owenwilsonbaby's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This had some extremely interesting theory, such as the witches-as-a-threat-to-the-establishment passage, but ultimately I think it was too theoretical in its overall approach to character and narrative. Admittedly I don’t think Hval was going for something conventional here and I do think her writing is very clever and imaginative. Ultimately this wasn’t an excellent choice to help me get out of my reading slump - but hey, that’s on me!
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Homophobia, Excrement, and Vomit
joellemariel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, and Murder
macodi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Blood, and Vomit
Minor: Animal death
librarymouse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I could read this novel a dozen more times and still have trouble categorizing it. It is angsty, lyrical, and shows the process of decontaminating oneself of the harshly imposed shame Christianity often ascribed to difference while avoiding the pitfalls of textual shame - the avoidance or curation of language. Hval writes this novel viscerally, with bodies, their parts, their fluids, and the conceptualization and actualization of sins being given true names and tangible descriptors. The struggle between the individual and externally oppressive religion is relatably detailed, and through that lens, this novel has the same impact when consumed as stained glass church windows divorced from their context.
So many readers who came of age on the internet were first introduced to the concept of a queer tenderness or queerness treated like literary fiction rather than something inherently pornographic, through the realm of fanfiction or short stories written to Tumblr prompts, as was very common in the 2010s. Rather than pulling me out of the story, despite how tenuous my grasp on the continuity of this book was, the narrator intermittently addressing the reader directly as "you" harkens back to that very specific reader insert fanfiction feeling, and the love expressed by the narrator for the reader creates that gorgeous, fluid, and velvety sense of adoration. This is an effect that I remember keenly feeling and craving at the young age of the girl in the puberty portrait that is so often brought up in this novel. I don't know that I can claim this specific tone to be authorial intent, but the mood created for the reader by the form and language of this book, with specific focus on the intersection between naturalism and internet subcultures, intertwines beautifully with the content.
I really don't know if I can recommend this novel to others. It is a lot, but it is also gorgeous.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Xenophobia, and War
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, and Antisemitism
cyruspapyrus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Body horror, Excrement, and Vomit