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scribblinginthemargins's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Just so unnecessarily weird. Very slow going and lacking in plot then after the big reveal the main character doesn't seem to act consistently with her values at all leaving the whole thing feeling unresolved and ruptured.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, and Sexual harassment
izzyvb023's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I think more people need to be worried about prions diseases.
I liked this book well enough. It was paced pretty slowly, but the reveal was good. The narrator was unreliable and oftentimes even unlikeable, but I still wanted her to succeed.
There was also some very thoughtful commentary about translation, colonialism, and feminism. I was especially interested in the way the author described the act of translation and compared it to prayer.
The ‘meta’ bit at the end was good. It definitely achieved its goal and had me questioning the author and her lived experiences.
Overall, it was a good mild horror read. I’d recommend it if you’re looking for any of the following:
- dark academia
- plot twists
- mild body horror
- unreliable narrator
- meta
- translation/linguistics/language learning
I liked this book well enough. It was paced pretty slowly, but the reveal was good. The narrator was unreliable and oftentimes even unlikeable, but I still wanted her to succeed.
There was also some very thoughtful commentary about translation, colonialism, and feminism. I was especially interested in the way the author described the act of translation and compared it to prayer.
The ‘meta’ bit at the end was good. It definitely achieved its goal and had me questioning the author and her lived experiences.
Overall, it was a good mild horror read. I’d recommend it if you’re looking for any of the following:
- dark academia
- plot twists
- mild body horror
- unreliable narrator
- meta
- translation/linguistics/language learning
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism
philosophicellie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was an amazing read. I've highlighted more than I ever thought because it kept making me think, or laugh.
While no character is particularly lovable I think that is sort of the point, they feel realistically flawed which helps the story to flow in the right way
While no character is particularly lovable I think that is sort of the point, they feel realistically flawed which helps the story to flow in the right way
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism
Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, and Classism
fearisthevibekiller's review
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia and Cannibalism
Moderate: Sexual assault
chucklesq's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Really enjoyed the premise and the book as a whole. I genuinely didn’t see the twist coming at all which I liked. However I feel like the ending was a bit lacklustre, like the author didn’t know where to go so just didn’t go anywhere.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cannibalism
cassielaj's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
At 20-30%, I kept reading because I thought it might eventually go somewhere.
At 50%, I thought we were finally getting to something decent.
By 75%, I was finishing this out of spite.
This book is all kinds of confused about the story it’s telling. The majority of it is just the story of a woman unhappy with her life and striving for more. There’s a whisper of a “thriller,” until it smacks you across the face at about 85% and then ends so abruptly and with such an obvious cop-out that I feel nothing but annoyed that I spent the day reading this. And frustrated that it really could’ve done something. Take out everything about her weird ex (who is set up to be way more important than he is) and her best friend’s business and relationship (which is probably the best-developed content but totally irrelevant) and you have a 20-page short horror story with a decent premise, a wild twist, and an obvious ending. I’m annoyed that this book tried to do so many things (cultural critique, class & colonization discussion, womanhood, etc.) that could’ve been good but did them so poorly.
At 50%, I thought we were finally getting to something decent.
By 75%, I was finishing this out of spite.
This book is all kinds of confused about the story it’s telling. The majority of it is just the story of a woman unhappy with her life and striving for more. There’s a whisper of a “thriller,” until it smacks you across the face at about 85% and then ends so abruptly and with such an obvious cop-out that I feel nothing but annoyed that I spent the day reading this. And frustrated that it really could’ve done something. Take out everything about her weird ex (who is set up to be way more important than he is) and her best friend’s business and relationship (which is probably the best-developed content but totally irrelevant) and you have a 20-page short horror story with a decent premise, a wild twist, and an obvious ending. I’m annoyed that this book tried to do so many things (cultural critique, class & colonization discussion, womanhood, etc.) that could’ve been good but did them so poorly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual content
pkinzw's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Cannibalism
dexkit10's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism and Classism
Moderate: Death and Racism
Minor: Sexual content
anditsreal'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Absolutely loved it. Only disappointment was the misrepresentation of Tantra as a sexual practice (that's the Western appropriation of it, traditional Tantra has absolutely nothing to do with sex).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
brookebatesratesbooks's review
I think I had about one and a half hours left when I decided to just DNF it. I went into the story thinking it was going to be more of a thriller/suspense story. Maybe even horror. Only the reveal was really interesting to me. Everything else that happened in this book, I found it rather boring. And the see sexual scene between the main character and her new friends uncle was just nasty and I wish I could erase it from my brain.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Cannibalism