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goodbye_alex's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.0
bookish_kirst's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Set in Australia, we follow heavily pregnant Alice and her partner Pete as they move out of the busy city to a small town in the mountains for a fresh start. Alice is plagued with anxiety over toxins, wildfires and the new disease Cutis that is quickly spreading and makes excess skin grow over people's orifices, effectively sealing them in their bodies and causing some gruesome deaths.
A very quick read, I managed to finish it in 2 sittings. Not much happens in the first 3 quarters, we basically just get to know Alice and Pete and watch how Alice's anxiety and obsessiveness over Cutis effects their daily lives. The last quarter is when things really start happening but at the same time it wasn't quite enough, I wanted more. More gruesomeness, more details on Cutis, just more.
I normally hate books that just end without any closure or anything, but for this book it kind of made sense. I would have loved to have read more about how Alice is going to deal with everything that happened.
A very quick read, I managed to finish it in 2 sittings. Not much happens in the first 3 quarters, we basically just get to know Alice and Pete and watch how Alice's anxiety and obsessiveness over Cutis effects their daily lives. The last quarter is when things really start happening but at the same time it wasn't quite enough, I wanted more. More gruesomeness, more details on Cutis, just more.
I normally hate books that just end without any closure or anything, but for this book it kind of made sense. I would have loved to have read more about how Alice is going to deal with everything that happened.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Pregnancy
allitsch's review against another edition
4.0
Very good read. Eco- horror I guess. Themes of motherhood and the toxins of the world.
stilljennifer's review against another edition
3.0
I'm admittedly torn on this one. I loved the concept, but the execution left so much to be desired at times that I found myself feeling more indifferent than anything else. Billed as a dystopian eco-horror, the only real exciting moments were kept to the final 20 pages. In a book that spans only 170, there needed to be more happening that was less obvious. I don't particularly feel like a book that's so short should go the route of being character- rather than plot-driven, but that is what Booth went with. Did she succeed? Perhaps; I felt Alice and Pete were well-rounded enough, I just... didn't really care about them enough. If the novel was longer, I may have become more invested, but for some reason I just don't think so.
The idea of a mysterious illness, known as cutis, resulting from how terribly we treat the earth was interesting - I'm all about how terrifying the future is if we don't get our acts together as a human race - but I also felt like the anvils abounded and instead of illustrating what got us to this point in a real, connectable way, there were just mentions of forest fires possibly causing the illness (???) and regular mentions of how shitty things had gotten since we messed up the planet. I don't necessarily have ideas as to how this could have been better handled, but again, it felt hard to really feel much of anything about.
The other main bugaboo, which another reviewer mentioned, was the inauthentic Australian setting. I don't believe you have to be from a place to write about it, but I do feel like if you're not 150% immersed and comfortable with something, it probably shouldn't be so central to your novel. I'm not Australian and even I was cringing at the try-hard constant usage of local Aussie slang. I'm shocked she didn't fit a few "bogan"s in there somewhere! This story could as easily have been set in North Yorkshire with the same effect and fewer uncomfortable moments that resulted from Booth's insistence on stereotyping her Australian characters.
All in all, this one left me feeling pretty blah, to be honest. Shame, but the idea was better than the execution.
The idea of a mysterious illness, known as cutis, resulting from how terribly we treat the earth was interesting - I'm all about how terrifying the future is if we don't get our acts together as a human race - but I also felt like the anvils abounded and instead of illustrating what got us to this point in a real, connectable way, there were just mentions of forest fires possibly causing the illness (???) and regular mentions of how shitty things had gotten since we messed up the planet. I don't necessarily have ideas as to how this could have been better handled, but again, it felt hard to really feel much of anything about.
The other main bugaboo, which another reviewer mentioned, was the inauthentic Australian setting. I don't believe you have to be from a place to write about it, but I do feel like if you're not 150% immersed and comfortable with something, it probably shouldn't be so central to your novel. I'm not Australian and even I was cringing at the try-hard constant usage of local Aussie slang. I'm shocked she didn't fit a few "bogan"s in there somewhere! This story could as easily have been set in North Yorkshire with the same effect and fewer uncomfortable moments that resulted from Booth's insistence on stereotyping her Australian characters.
All in all, this one left me feeling pretty blah, to be honest. Shame, but the idea was better than the execution.
mel_c_bell's review against another edition
4.0
Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Why? The author sets a tone that is reminiscent of the beginnings of a zombie or apocalypse movie; you know something is off, there are reports and conspiracies, but nobody has fully accepted it yet. It's a really unnerving feeling which is mixed with bouts of anxiety, paranoia, trauma etc so you're never really sure what is real, or what is all in the main character's head. So, on top of all of that fun - throw in being 36+ weeks pregnant, in a new home and away from everyone you know...oh yeah and no phone...
Why not 5 stars? I think some of the elements of this story felt rushed or haphazard, while others that were arguably not as important were drawn out. Also, some things were a bit too convenient - like if they just had signal or planned in advance to have the phone turned on I don't think we'd have a novel. Finally, this may be intentional, but I did not connect with any of the characters - if anything the more thrown at me from them just made me dislike them more. FMC is painfully neurotic, MMC is a tool, and the whole town does nothing to encourage anyone to travel outside of the cities in Australia.
With all that said, this is a super quick, fast paced read, with a ringer of an ending which I encourage horror readers to give a try.
Follow on Twitter @readwatchdnf
Why? The author sets a tone that is reminiscent of the beginnings of a zombie or apocalypse movie; you know something is off, there are reports and conspiracies, but nobody has fully accepted it yet. It's a really unnerving feeling which is mixed with bouts of anxiety, paranoia, trauma etc so you're never really sure what is real, or what is all in the main character's head. So, on top of all of that fun - throw in being 36+ weeks pregnant, in a new home and away from everyone you know...oh yeah and no phone...
Why not 5 stars? I think some of the elements of this story felt rushed or haphazard, while others that were arguably not as important were drawn out. Also, some things were a bit too convenient - like if they just had signal or planned in advance to have the phone turned on I don't think we'd have a novel. Finally, this may be intentional, but I did not connect with any of the characters - if anything the more thrown at me from them just made me dislike them more. FMC is painfully neurotic, MMC is a tool, and the whole town does nothing to encourage anyone to travel outside of the cities in Australia.
With all that said, this is a super quick, fast paced read, with a ringer of an ending which I encourage horror readers to give a try.
Follow on Twitter @readwatchdnf
wryneck's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
kitty_kat21's review against another edition
4.0
A short creepy and tragic read set in an Aussie backwoods. I really enjoyed the writing style, this book had incredible atmosphere and sense of dread. The ending was good too. Quite gross and gory too.
cmacnab's review against another edition
5.0
I've never written a review of anything I've read on goodreads but this book was so impactful. I don't know if this is a book for everyone since there are many themes and issues discussed in this book that are disturbing (disease, body horror, grief).
But WOW! What a book. If you like dystopian literature read this book. Especially since we are in the midst a global pandemic the main character's fears, and obsessions are mirrored in reality. Plus, the commentary on climate change and Australian wildfires are so pertinent.
I really did not want to stop reading this book. Recently I've been gravitating to nonfiction and fiction hasn't been keeping me interested but this book did that a million times more.
I really liked this book but at the same time should I lend it to friends? Will they ask why the hell I was so obsessed with this book? When it's dark and upsetting? Maybe the reason it is so disturbing is it holds a mirror up to our lives making us realize the fear of the present.
But WOW! What a book. If you like dystopian literature read this book. Especially since we are in the midst a global pandemic the main character's fears, and obsessions are mirrored in reality. Plus, the commentary on climate change and Australian wildfires are so pertinent.
I really did not want to stop reading this book. Recently I've been gravitating to nonfiction and fiction hasn't been keeping me interested but this book did that a million times more.
I really liked this book but at the same time should I lend it to friends? Will they ask why the hell I was so obsessed with this book? When it's dark and upsetting? Maybe the reason it is so disturbing is it holds a mirror up to our lives making us realize the fear of the present.
raforall's review against another edition
4.0
Review on blog and in the June 2019 issue of Booklist: https://raforall.blogspot.com/2019/06/what-im-reading-hungry-ghost-and-sealed.html
Three Words That Describe This Book: unrelenting tension, unreliable narrator, cli-fi
Three Words That Describe This Book: unrelenting tension, unreliable narrator, cli-fi