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ruthhelizabeth's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
Please read the content warnings before reading. In lieu of a plot, instead most of the book shows gratuitous trauma, violence and cruelty over and over again to seemingly only further a point that was bluntly shown in the first quarter of the book. The middle half of the book could be cut out entirely and it would barely affect the plot. The concept of someone who does not feel sounded intriguing, but instead of seeing things from their perspective, the protagonist stands listlessly around whilst seemingly unrelated traumas occur over and over again. The effect is that the book is remarkably dull. Very little is done with the historical setting, or with the character frankly. The moments of relief in this book come through when the story is shown through a different voice and towards the end, and I wished that the person who wrote those sections could have shown up for the rest.
The thing which really affronted me though, was the fact that the protagonist was characterised as what seemed to be an exaggerated, dated stereotype of an Autistic person. When you begin to read the book and all its horrors you realise how offensive this character is. As an Autistic person it was a pretty horrific read. Even after reading, I'm not sure what to do with the book as I'm not sure I even want it out there in the world for others to read such a jarring offensive caricature.
The thing which really affronted me though, was the fact that the protagonist was characterised as what seemed to be an exaggerated, dated stereotype of an Autistic person. When you begin to read the book and all its horrors you realise how offensive this character is. As an Autistic person it was a pretty horrific read. Even after reading, I'm not sure what to do with the book as I'm not sure I even want it out there in the world for others to read such a jarring offensive caricature.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use