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poops_harding's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This gave me a lot to think about. I never quite knew what to expect
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Blood, Grief, and Murder
sourcherrysyrup's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A story about stories, abour urban myths, and abour the people behind them. Who gets the sympathy in a true story, who deserves it? Who decides?
This book kept changing, the back cover said it would but I didn’t realize to what extent. I love John Darnielle’s music and both his songwriting and prose has a haunting quality that is just itching to tell you about the deeper theme in the work. His care and his voice bleeds through all he does, resulting in a tense and fragile feeling. He is incredible at creating worlds, at drawing you into them, and snapping the strings that hold them up, dropping you into the void.
This book kept changing, the back cover said it would but I didn’t realize to what extent. I love John Darnielle’s music and both his songwriting and prose has a haunting quality that is just itching to tell you about the deeper theme in the work. His care and his voice bleeds through all he does, resulting in a tense and fragile feeling. He is incredible at creating worlds, at drawing you into them, and snapping the strings that hold them up, dropping you into the void.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Police brutality
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
whofilets's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
1.0
Read by the author, in a slow and detached voice. Jumps around with narrators and situations. I was invested though, and wanted to find out the mystery of the killer... In the end it was a total letdown. I would have been happier if it ended a couple chapters early and the main writer-character just had to wrestle with his actions after being called out by the victims family member, and never knowing who the 'real killer' was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Murder, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Vomit
kthealey's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Drug abuse
Minor: Sexism, Xenophobia, and Vomit
rystonlentil43's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I started reading in digital format and I'd already passed the section in the different font before switching to the paperback, but it does look like it would've been pretty hard to make out in that font. That aside, its presence exemplifies what I love about this book (and is crucial to the themes!). There's such a variety of textures working together to build strong, interesting ideas. (I see from the other reviews that this was misleadingly marketed as horror, like Universal Harvester... I wish that would stop happening. It's sad that people are disappointed by these great books because they were expecting something different.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, and Domestic abuse
waffel113's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse
cinnamonsweetpotatofries's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Not horror but not bad. Decent writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
mayajade1701's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-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
I saw someone describe this book as 'ambitious' and I agree. I was excited about this book, as I liked the others I have read by this author and the subject of this one sounded intriguing and right up my alley. However I was ultimately let down by it - i think due to some of this 'ambitious-ness' which lead me to feel like maybe I just didn't get it?
The book is not very straightforward. And therefor not an easy read. I struggled with the way the narrative is set up and the way it jumps between stories and POVs.
For the first 3/4ths of the book I found I really didn't want to stick with it and I just wanted to finish it and move on to something else.
However in the last 4th I really enjoyed the shift in the narrative. I was confused at first but liked that feeling. However the realizations at the end unfolded so quickly and from an unexpected angle it felt rushed when the rest of the book was slow and creeping.
I think that there were possible a few too many points trying to be made in this book, from bad landlords to the ethics of true crime and even a chapter written in an old english font which made it psychically hard for me to read as well. The story is tied back several times to Arthurian legends which as a metaphor didn't totally connect for me. I felt like I was reading it too fast to make the deeper meaningful connections the author wanted me to make beyond the surface level of our 'protagonists' feeling like their own 'knights' and creating their own legend.
The book is not very straightforward. And therefor not an easy read. I struggled with the way the narrative is set up and the way it jumps between stories and POVs.
For the first 3/4ths of the book I found I really didn't want to stick with it and I just wanted to finish it and move on to something else.
However in the last 4th I really enjoyed the shift in the narrative. I was confused at first but liked that feeling. However the realizations at the end unfolded so quickly and from an unexpected angle it felt rushed when the rest of the book was slow and creeping.
I think that there were possible a few too many points trying to be made in this book, from bad landlords to the ethics of true crime and even a chapter written in an old english font which made it psychically hard for me to read as well. The story is tied back several times to Arthurian legends which as a metaphor didn't totally connect for me. I felt like I was reading it too fast to make the deeper meaningful connections the author wanted me to make beyond the surface level of our 'protagonists' feeling like their own 'knights' and creating their own legend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Blood
slime_retro's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
defeating_my_demons's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, and Murder