Scan barcode
filemanager's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars - the beginning and the end didn't make sense, and the writing style was... Foggy. The middle of the book seems clearer.
I enjoyed the dry humour though.
I enjoyed the dry humour though.
jujia's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
vegantrav's review against another edition
4.0
In Normal, we are presented with a rather unsavory narrator and protagonist: a serial killer who keeps women locked in a cage in a basement and who eats them.
I'm not sure if it's Graeme Cameron's imaginative genius or just our tendency to identify with and sympathize with the person who's telling us a story, but we readers really do come to like our nameless narrator. Yes, he does awful thing--horrible, terrible, despicable things. But he's also--apart from the murdering and cannibalizing and kidnapping--just a really nice guy.
And then he falls in love with a woman he meets at the grocery store, Rachel. And at the same time, he starts to sympathize with his current prisoner, Erica, starts to even like her, starts to question whether he'll be able to kill her. As he's undergoing these weird--for him--experiences, the police identify him as a suspect in the disappearance of Kerry, a prostitute--and for good reason: he actually did kidnap and eventually kill Kerry.
As the story progresses, our narrator's carefully crafted world starts to fall apart as he becomes more and more like a normal human and less and less like a psychopath. But his move towards reforming his ways is not helping his efforts to steer clear of trouble with the authorities.
From beginning to end, this is an extremely readable and highly entertaining book. I would have given it five stars instead of four but for one problem:
As we're almost to summer (June is just a few weeks away), if you are looking for a great beach or hammock read, grab this book. You will be entertained. And you'll also kind of hate yourself for liking a murderer.
I'm not sure if it's Graeme Cameron's imaginative genius or just our tendency to identify with and sympathize with the person who's telling us a story, but we readers really do come to like our nameless narrator. Yes, he does awful thing--horrible, terrible, despicable things. But he's also--apart from the murdering and cannibalizing and kidnapping--just a really nice guy.
And then he falls in love with a woman he meets at the grocery store, Rachel. And at the same time, he starts to sympathize with his current prisoner, Erica, starts to even like her, starts to question whether he'll be able to kill her. As he's undergoing these weird--for him--experiences, the police identify him as a suspect in the disappearance of Kerry, a prostitute--and for good reason: he actually did kidnap and eventually kill Kerry.
As the story progresses, our narrator's carefully crafted world starts to fall apart as he becomes more and more like a normal human and less and less like a psychopath. But his move towards reforming his ways is not helping his efforts to steer clear of trouble with the authorities.
From beginning to end, this is an extremely readable and highly entertaining book. I would have given it five stars instead of four but for one problem:
Spoiler
the ending left us hanging a bit. Yes, it seems likely that he won't be able to lie himself out of the bloody, royal mess he finds himself in and escape the police. But he's proven himself resourceful in the past. Maybe he can spin a web of lies that, with Erica dead and unable to contradict him, will allow him to escape prison. However, that seems very unlikely: the police have discovered his basement dungeon. While there is no one currently in it, there will probably be some forensic evidence in it to tie him to his past crimes. It's almost certain that he's going to prison for the rest of his life. And that just doesn't sit well--narratively speaking, that is; of course, it's great that a murderer should get his just desserts, but it doesn't sit well with the overall flow of the story. He should either die in an escape attempt or die by suicide--with his death described in an epilogue by Detective Green or a 3rd-person narrator--or he should somehow escape. No, he doesn't deserve to escape, but an ending with him going to prison just seems too easy, even trite, and prison almost certainly is his fate. And that's why this is a four-star instead of a five-star novel.As we're almost to summer (June is just a few weeks away), if you are looking for a great beach or hammock read, grab this book. You will be entertained. And you'll also kind of hate yourself for liking a murderer.
zarrixtale's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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
2.5
2.5 ⭐
This book was an interesting perspective on what the thoughts and actions of a killer would be like. It was slow in some parts and other areas seemed a bit irrelevant in my opinion.
It was definitely a different book with a great conception but I felt that it could have been portrayed a lot better.
1 🌶️spice level
This book was an interesting perspective on what the thoughts and actions of a killer would be like. It was slow in some parts and other areas seemed a bit irrelevant in my opinion.
It was definitely a different book with a great conception but I felt that it could have been portrayed a lot better.
1 🌶️spice level
mpleffler's review against another edition
5.0
"The truth is I hurt people. It's what I do. It's all I ever do. It's all I've ever done."
LOVED this book! I will probably never sleep again but I literally couldn't put it down! Told from the pov of a serial killer I was immediately hooked from the first page. There comes a point in the story where you almost question why you're so into a deranged twisted story! If you're into thrillers this is one you will be sure to enjoy!
LOVED this book! I will probably never sleep again but I literally couldn't put it down! Told from the pov of a serial killer I was immediately hooked from the first page. There comes a point in the story where you almost question why you're so into a deranged twisted story! If you're into thrillers this is one you will be sure to enjoy!
kle105's review against another edition
4.0
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Wow, just wow. This story is told from the point of view of a serial killer. It begins with him killing one woman and kidnapping another. His desires override all other emotions, until he meets a cashier. He begins to get a conscience for the woman he kidnapped and put in a cage in his basement. The story twists and turns in multiple directions, and the buildup to the ending was intense. There were a few spots that were a little confusing but overall intensely dark and twisting, similar to an episode of Dexter.
kates28's review against another edition
4.0
I suspect this is one you love or you hate. I loved it.
maniikoi's review against another edition
5.0
CW: Abduction, murder, physical abuse, mentions of rape
I really liked the pace of this novel. The story puts you in the front row seat of the inner workings of a psychopathic, serial murderer who abducts young girls and keeps them locked in a cage in his basement until one day something remarkable happens to him — he falls in love and starts to crave compassion and friendship.
He no longer finds satisfaction in killing women and tries to change despite his inner voice and cravings for violence but he makes one monumental mistake — he chose the wrong girl to abduct and she now stands in the way of his happiness because while he is trying to change who he is, she is still locked his cage.
Erica Shaw took my by surprise! She seemed to behave like you would typically expect someone who's been kidnapped and held hostage to react until things slowly start to change. I suspected Stockholm syndrom but no, her kidnapper unlocked something in her and in the end she makes him regret ever abducting her.
I am CRAZY about this story! The blurb sounded interesting but this was everything and more that I hoped for going into this book. It was so good I didn't want it to end!
P.S — I don't know why in the beginning of chapter 3 it drastically switches from the murderer killing(?) his father to the author suddenly giving us a recipe for Sarà l'orange but I'll take it
I really liked the pace of this novel. The story puts you in the front row seat of the inner workings of a psychopathic, serial murderer who abducts young girls and keeps them locked in a cage in his basement until one day something remarkable happens to him — he falls in love and starts to crave compassion and friendship.
He no longer finds satisfaction in killing women and tries to change despite his inner voice and cravings for violence but he makes one monumental mistake — he chose the wrong girl to abduct and she now stands in the way of his happiness because while he is trying to change who he is, she is still locked his cage.
Erica Shaw took my by surprise! She seemed to behave like you would typically expect someone who's been kidnapped and held hostage to react until things slowly start to change. I suspected Stockholm syndrom but no, her kidnapper unlocked something in her and in the end she makes him regret ever abducting her.
I am CRAZY about this story! The blurb sounded interesting but this was everything and more that I hoped for going into this book. It was so good I didn't want it to end!
P.S — I don't know why in the beginning of chapter 3 it drastically switches from the murderer killing(?) his father to the author suddenly giving us a recipe for Sarà l'orange but I'll take it