Reviews with content warning for Child death - The Country Will Bring Us No Peace

I think it's a mistake to call this a horror book. However, it's still a pretty good story. I was left with some questions and uncertainty at the end, which I don't mind, but some things could have had a bit more to them.

Content Warnings

jyb's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

2.25

Before I start complaining, let me first state what I enjoyed about this book.

One of the things I really did like was the vibes of this book. It was lonely, melancholy, and haunting, and it gave the story a good edge where it needed it. It really echoed the meaning of the title. I also like that the characters have plenty (plenty) of flaws. I came into this book kind of expecting it to be a psychological horror-esque story where an innocent couple has bad shit happen to them in the country, or whatever, but no! Very much not that, and I'm glad my expectations were subverted. I also liked that a good amount of the characters and the characters' reactions/interactions were pretty unpredictable and kept me on my toes

Now, onto the stuff I wasn't a fan of.

First off all, this book was painfully hard to keep reading. Initially, it wasn't exactly boring. It was the strange issue of "I'm not bored when I'm reading it, but if I put it down I can't bring myself to pick it up again." Eventually, it did kind of get hard to push through it because the plot just dragged, but that was what I felt for a solid chunk of the book. This was a short story that could've taken me a couple days to finish if I was actually really interesting, but instead it took me an annoying ten days. The book was filled with nice prose, but when it felt like nothing was happening and we just kept getting weird scenes (I'll get there) and unexplained reactions from the main characters, I was just like can we hurry this up already? God.

I did talk about how I liked that the characters have flaws, but honestly, the main characters were so flawed that they just felt kind of insufferable. There were some sweet moments between them, but at times they felt so asshole-ish that I didn't really want to keep reading from their point of view. Honestly, they really only got interesting when it's revealed that

their kid died

. And even then, we just got continuous monologues about them mourning that – which is the point – but it also means nothing is happening. Just another thing that frustrated me while reading.

Regarding the "weird scenes" I mentioned... I'm wondering if it's just a different culture or something (I noticed this was translated from French) because... there's scenes where this guy,

Fisher, just... kisses the wife of the main couple in the story? On the LIPS? In a public bar?? And she does absolutely nothing, and so does her husband?? I was sitting there baffled while reading that – and the husband does punch Fisher later, but I was still sitting there like what?? And then Fisher kisses her (albeit on the forehead) AGAIN! And she barely does anything! Only once he sexually assaults/gropes her does she physically react. Genuinely baffling scenes and made me utterly confused about what was going on.

As for another scene... I usually don't read trigger warnings or anything of the sort, and to be honest, it isn't treated as something fine, but seeing an abrupt basically

rape scene because the wife forces her husband to have sex with her?? (It is, thankfully, quick.) What?? And it's not treated as a good thing but it feels like it's kind of there then gone, and I'm sitting there like what the actual hell?

I don't know, it's less of the lack of a trigger warning and moreso how jarring it is to have and then sort of brushed off... it was just really weird.

And then the ending itself (which was actually spoiled in the beginning, which I originally wasn't a huge fan of) feels like it comes out of nowhere.

Them wanting to join their kid or whatever, yeah, but... there's almost nothing in the book that's supernatural? Are they hallucinating?? I honestly expected them to fight, or something, because that'd feel more natural than what this ended with.

Truthfully, I think it narratively works, but it honestly feels out of the blue.

There also this random thing about an antenna being a huge deal in the town, but I never really understood it. I've talked a lot, so I won't really get into it, but it was honestly kind of confusing that it was so important in the story. Maybe just a me thing – I'm not from the country.

Overall, interesting vibes and characters, bogged down mostly by an incredibly slow plot. With extra tidbits such as insufferable characters, weird scenes, and baffling story decisions, I'm giving this 2.25 stars. The vibes were decent, and I liked the

dead kid thing

and how doomed the couple was, but man. This book was hard to keep reading.

Content Warnings

oversherin's review

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

3.5

This book was intriguing and moody. I really enjoyed the first half and was really spooked by the eerie town. Simard does a good job portraying the couple’s complex love. Overall, it didn’t blow me away but it was a great fast read with an intriguing progression.

Content Warnings

tunameggle's review

Go to review page

3.5

Content Warnings

alwaysactuallyanna's review

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

nomadrian's review

Go to review page

emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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? No

2.75

Forty years from now there will be nothing left of us. Our memory and the photographs and the recollections of those who disappeared will all be gone, like the notes from a cello in the ruins of an old house.

(I have never written in-depth reviews, forgive me if this is all over the place!)

A very quick read, not only due to the short page length but also due to the straight-forward and pragmatic diction. I picked up this book with no sort of expectations besides that it has ominous themes and I can certainly say that it's fulfilled. Reading this feels like walking through a fog (especially with all the descriptions about the forest and rain). I did not expect this to delve into the complicated grief from the loss of a child. I can empathize with the two main characters' rocky relationship from navigating through their own grief, supporting their partner, and carrying the weight of their secrets.

I do have a lot to say about the characters and plot. I would like to preface my critique by saying that I understand this book's intent of showcasing the effects of grief with all its flaws. I can accept when a character has flaws. Hell, I'm not the type of reader that expects a character to have growth at all. However, I don't like any of the main characters, Simon and Marie. I find that the author doesn't present their personalities well, nor does he make them different enough. I find them to be pretty similar so I didn't really get to see the varying perspectives on grief.

The following spoilers will be heavy spoilers. By heavy, I mean heavy.

Their deepest secret that they keep from each other just seem to be thrown out there without any effect nor reasoning. You could argue that Simon's secret (paralyzing his former bully by hitting him) shows the way he responds to anger which can later be seen when he punches Fisher, but that's about it. How does it affect his grief? Does he deny his anger at the situation (as he continually denies that he's an angry person) and it eventually bursts, causing him to harm Marie? Marie's secret being her abortion and the fact that she still keeps pieces of her past love with her, what is that supposed to signify? I thought that the story might go with the path of Marie struggling to move on and not actually loving Simon (especially with how Fisher is introduced in the story), but that's later shown to be untrue. The secrets just seem to be there just for the sake of it.
(Don't get me started on how Simon's rape is brushed off just like that. What the hell was that for?)

I tried to focus on the relationships between each character and how they're grouped: Simon, Marie and the Lavoies (both being outsiders, the Lavoies might be Simon and Marie's family in another life?), Simon and Alice (father and daughter perhaps), Marie and Fisher (both being sexual harassers, I guess), but I don't seem to find any relevancy to the plot which is a shame. I wish that the dynamics between each characters were explored even deeper.

I ended up feeling confused by the ending. I didn't know what to make of it. I will admit that emotionally, it got me right in the feels, but once I try to rationalize it... It all crumbles down. I am still trying to figure out what happened, let alone what this is all supposed to symbolize. This town is full of people who have lost somebody. Every time a person leaves, an antenna takes their place. When someone touches that antenna, they're overcome with memories of the past and a sense of relief. The ones who touched that antenna, aka the old man and Simon, are also the ones who discover the place beyond the river that eventually drives them to suicide. So, I guess that the antennas lure those with grief, haunt their minds with the past, drive them to suicide, and replace them with more antennas? Am I missing something? Am I just fucking stupid? I don't know. I thought they were going somewhere with the ominous antennas, unfriendly locals, and the whole "there are no secrets." Could've been a hive mind, perhaps... A Hot Fuzz situation, maybe? I'm going off the rails.

So, I wasn't a fan of the plot. It's so much more shallow than it tries to present itself as. I wish it dug deeper with all its concepts. Lean more into the otherworldly elements, flesh out the characters and relationships more. I enjoyed the writing, though, as I don't do very well with purple prose. I like the emotional rollercoaster it took me on with the twists that DID surprise me, even if I didn't like it. Many of the romantic scenes tugged on my heartstrings as well. The author (and translator) keeps the tense atmosphere up very well until the end. HOWEVER, I understand that the author wanted to have a full-circle conclusion... but I find the bulky repitition of the book's beginning corny as hell. Sorry. Keep it to a couple of lines next time.

Such a shame that this didn't live up to the hype, I really wanted this to be 5 stars!

Content Warnings

More...