Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - Orkansäsong

Maybe I just didn't "get" this book - but it wasn't for me. I have no idea what the point was in the end. Nothing was accomplished.
Maybe this is in part because of translation, but the rambling and cyclical nature of the prose was also not appealing to me. It initially struck me as stream of consciousness, but began to wear on me as the sentences dragged on. Sometimes full pages in length without a period to be seen. And circling back on themselves to repeat what had already been said, in the same way an anxiety-spiraling mind might make one rave on about the same topic. It did create an unease while reading, which maybe was part of the goal, but it was tedious.
Overall, not for me. Would not recommend.

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rissryann's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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thejellybeany's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Not quite sure what I learnt from this book. It kind of reminds me of that Plato quote, "only the dead have seen the end of war", because that's exactly what life is for the characters in this book: a never-ending war. Against society, against circumstances, against themselves, each one is constantly fighting a war that they know, but would never admit, they can't win.

But, as with the title, a perhaps more apt analogy would be that of a hurricane. The characters are trapped in its winds, sucked along by its currents. Perhaps they try to position themselves to go somewhere, choose something, but it looks no different to a windsock in the level of autonomy they really have.

The prose is unique in its style, used to perpetuate this hurricane feeling. Clauses are swept together, hardly room for sentence breaks, and whole events can pass in the blink of an eye, half a page, less than a sentence. It has the two-fold effect of almost forcing the reader to read at pace, but also of hastening the actions of the characters also. Everything feels rash and immediate when it happens in less than a sentence, thus showing us more how little freedom they really have, no room even for a second thought.

Ultimately there is little hope for these characters. They know little reprieve from their oppressive circumstances, and so must seek it in addiction, obsession, or whatever else they can find to stem the slow leech of life that is reality. And so by doing this they are further trapped in the hurricane, enlisted each in their own personal wars, to be finally put to rest only when they inevitably die some terrible death, as was always going to be the case.

Good book, marked down because although the level of sex, violence, gore, etc. was clearly a key part of the characterisation and story-telling, getting down to the nitty-gritty and whatnot, it still felt too gratuitous for me. Maybe I'm just a prude though idk.

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