Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - The Lost Village

This book wants to be Midsommar meets Blair Witch for a Roanoke-esque story so bad that it just… isn’t anything. They accomplished nothing. They don’t even film or document anything, the research that went into this project was half assed. Literally nothing is happening and when something does happen, it might as well had been nothing because Alice is going to two whoever will listen that they’re imagining it. Oh, and the cult vibe is underwhelming as hell. I wish there were any supernatural elements in this that could improve it. I liked the atmosphere, I love a good cold weather abandoned setting. That’s about it.

The mental health disorders and neurological disability being displayed in this was so insulting. I can see it being somewhat intentional with the “Oh it was back in the day, there wasn’t an understanding of autism then” but even that was done with no care in mind because then the literal abuse she endured wasn’t condemned at any other point. And depicting someone with a psychotic disorder as violent and murderous— all to be just a red herring? Groundbreaking, just absolutely innovative. Never been done. 🙄

Content Warnings

haileyhardcover's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The amount of time it takes me to finish a book isn’t always an indication as to how good it is, but in this case, it is. I could hardly put this book down! Not only does it continue to peak your curiosity, spurring you forward, desperate to figure out what is going on, but the end is genuinely surprising! I am one who typically solves the mysteries and figures out the twists early on, but this one really got me. Every time I thought I’d figured out what was going on, I was wrong. 🙃 Such a fun read and so engrossing!

This is also a really hard look into mental health struggles and how they are viewed and addressed, primarily in women. It’s a blunt look into how people who are struggling are treated. We see a full spectrum of response to women in various stages of recovery from feeling lonely & rejected to being demonized & persecuted, and it’s horrifying.

A blurb on the back of the book describes The Lost Village as “The Blair Witch Project meets Midsommar” and that’s honestly the perfect description. I would love to see this made into a movie! Then again, don’t we always say that and then end up disappointed when it’s never as good as the book? lol It seems like a lot of Swedish thrillers are being adapted lately, so I’ll keep my eye out for this one, but I definitely recommend it if you’re looking for a thriller/horror rec!

Content Warnings

castamere's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-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

3.0

Content Warnings

asmei's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

ozarkredwood's review

Go to review page

Depictions of mental illness were awful and I wish this book was much more than it was.

Content Warnings

misha_ali's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious 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

3.0

I enjoyed this well enough but found the ending deeply unsatisfying. I will give it props for making me emotional about one of the characters' fate.

I can't find a way to not be spoilery about it, but the main reason I kept reading instead of DNFing at 15% was to find out how 900 people vanished from this village and nobody in 60 years had an answer to that question. The conclusion was deeply unsatisfying to me, bordering on the nonsensical.

Content Warnings

sar_she_her's review

Go to review page

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

The writing is a mixed bag, nonetheless overshadowed by *atrociously* unredeemable representation of mental health and autism.

The use of those themes feels insensitive, exploitive, and gratuitous in a way that made me feel sick. Probably most painful portrayal of scapegoating I've ever read, just in very poor taste.

The great spooky mood-setting and abandoned/archival imagery could have been woven into a really good story, if only there had been better character development.

While the aforementioned poor decisions of representation were effective "shock-value" (at best a brutal commentary on exploitation of zealots and group-think) the storytelling could have been just as effective without the horrible representation.

Too bad, bc someone recommended it, and I was hoping to like it and recommend to my friends in Sweden. But now I certainly won't, especially with them being caring teachers and parents.

I'm truly surprised the mainstream was so enchanted by the good elements of her writing, and could so easily overlook and accept the horrendous facets.

What bugs me ultimately is having someone from a more privileged demographic sensationalize the exploitation of an underprivileged group. It's problematic and a form of misappropriation essentially having the credit go to, and focus be on, an artist who thinks something "would be a good idea" but at the cost of representing *others'* stories or trauma.

Content Warnings

More...