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kuritsahreads's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I won this book in a giveaway. Below is a spoiler-free review.
First, let's address the story because this book left me utterly perplexed. I don't understand why the book's description tries to portray it as a tale of love. James and Sybil appear to despise each other, to the point of resorting to physical violence. Additionally, what was the purpose of introducing the character Cam? It only added to the confusion in the ending.
Similarly, it made no sense to me that 'the woman' would make advances towards James (andrape him !). What was that all about?! In fact, overall, certain sections of this book read like an incel reddit post. Either the author holds a misogynistic view of women's roles in society, or they wrote this purely for shock value.
The story is evidently influenced by George Orwell's novel '1984' (this author is even mentioned in the afterword). The only reason I persevered to finish the book was in the hope of discovering something new. Indeed, around the halfway point, the narrative delves into the crazy origins of New Haven, only to never mention it again. It had absolutely no impact on the rest of the story.
Now, onto the format and writing style, which proved to be the most off-putting aspect of this book. There is an unacceptable number of typos and punctuation errors, such as using 'were' instead of 'we're,' inserting commas unnecessarily while omitting them where they are needed, or missing quotation marks. It felt as though I was reading a preliminary version of the book.
Certain parts of the story read more like a screenplay for a short film rather than a novel. While I appreciate innovation in the format of a novel, I quickly grew annoyed with the frequent use of 'BOOM's and 'BANG's. When you have them at every second chapter, they lose their impact pretty quickly.
Lastly, the text is riddled with tedious exposition. It seems as if the author couldn't be bothered to describe the situations more subtly and thus allowing readers to deduce for themselves. Let me provide an example from the first chapter when we meet Sybil:
“Sybil and James’s relationship has been rocky for quite some time but especially over the last few months. James is growing tired of Sybils attachment issues and finds her clinginess a nuisance. Sybil is beginning to resent James for his lack of emotional capacity to meaningfully participate in their marriage.”
This paragraph resembles a SparkNotes summary of their relationship. We didn't need this section, as moments later, Sybil confides in Cam about her situation. With a few well-placed details, the author could have shown these underlying marital issues instead of telling us so plainly.
First, let's address the story because this book left me utterly perplexed. I don't understand why the book's description tries to portray it as a tale of love. James and Sybil appear to despise each other, to the point of resorting to physical violence. Additionally, what was the purpose of introducing the character Cam? It only added to the confusion in the ending.
Similarly, it made no sense to me that 'the woman' would make advances towards James (and
The story is evidently influenced by George Orwell's novel '1984' (this author is even mentioned in the afterword). The only reason I persevered to finish the book was in the hope of discovering something new. Indeed, around the halfway point, the narrative delves into the crazy origins of New Haven, only to never mention it again. It had absolutely no impact on the rest of the story.
Now, onto the format and writing style, which proved to be the most off-putting aspect of this book. There is an unacceptable number of typos and punctuation errors, such as using 'were' instead of 'we're,' inserting commas unnecessarily while omitting them where they are needed, or missing quotation marks. It felt as though I was reading a preliminary version of the book.
Certain parts of the story read more like a screenplay for a short film rather than a novel. While I appreciate innovation in the format of a novel, I quickly grew annoyed with the frequent use of 'BOOM's and 'BANG's. When you have them at every second chapter, they lose their impact pretty quickly.
Lastly, the text is riddled with tedious exposition. It seems as if the author couldn't be bothered to describe the situations more subtly and thus allowing readers to deduce for themselves. Let me provide an example from the first chapter when we meet Sybil:
“Sybil and James’s relationship has been rocky for quite some time but especially over the last few months. James is growing tired of Sybils attachment issues and finds her clinginess a nuisance. Sybil is beginning to resent James for his lack of emotional capacity to meaningfully participate in their marriage.”
This paragraph resembles a SparkNotes summary of their relationship. We didn't need this section, as moments later, Sybil confides in Cam about her situation. With a few well-placed details, the author could have shown these underlying marital issues instead of telling us so plainly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Gore and Rape
Minor: Infidelity