conspystery's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I listened to the audiobook version of this and could not stop listening to it until I finished it. The narrator’s performance was incredible; she suited Lucy so well and gave voice to her story in a chillingly genuine way.
This story is one that’s difficult to describe: domestic and casual on the surface, which gives way to unease and a sense of morbid curiosity as it goes on. I loved the slow descent into disquieted routine it took with Lucy as she grappled with her husband’s actions and her instinct to respond, her discomfort with her own tendency towards darkness and yet a building pressure to act. The book’s writing style itself elucidated Lucy’s character, analytical with a haunting kind of detached, melodic beauty-- I felt like the writing evoked images of the harpy that is the novel’s namesake, especially towards the end.
The narrative pushed Lucy towards a kind of tragic double-bind: if she wanted to preserve her relationship, she had to further her attachment to the harpy and the violence she feared lived within her, but if she didn’t, she would remain growingly preoccupied with the dissatisfaction of her life, risking her family and herself and possibly even furthering her fixation on the harpy in the process. Her internal struggle with having no good option built up a tangible, urgent pressure in this book that gave Lucy’s character depth and set up the climax and ending of the story in a truly tense yet detached way, matching the writing style of disinterested detail as it went.
Speaking of which: the ending!
Spoiler
I adored how this book ended. I loved how the realm of the figurative and literal blended along Lucy’s rational understanding of her emotions and detachment from reality until they were indistinguishable. Lucy’s transformation defines this novel, in the best possible way. Her character arc was at first a fall-- a situation out of her control, trying to avoid her intense feelings in favor of the expectations she’s absorbed into her life-- and then an active leap, pushing herself forward to take autonomy even in darkness. The narrative thread about her fixation on the harpy as a creature of myth stitched itself into her character as the book ended. Inseparability was a theme throughout this book, or I thought so: marriages that wouldn’t split, society’s perceptions of motherhood and womanhood and wifehood that Lucy struggled so valiantly to shake, Lucy and the harpy in the end. It was exceptional, and the writing itself was just as artfully intense and powerful as the story needed to deliver its final blows.Overall, I loved this story and Lucy’s telling of it, loved her character and the spiral of her actions, loved the writing and the mythology and everything else happening here. I sat in stunned silence for a while after finishing this book; it leaves that kind of an impact. Rich and dark and eerily satisfying, The Harpy is definitely a story that’ll stick with its audience. I loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/injury detail, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Sexual harassment
peeshy's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Blood, and Domestic abuse
kleine_elster_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Infidelity
Moderate: Alcohol and Sexual content
rebeccajost's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Death of parent, Blood, and Medical content
coriblake's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Vomit, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, and Suicide
savvylit's review against another edition
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Megan Hunter writes absolutely beautiful and compelling prose. All two and a half stars belong to the high quality of Hunter's words. Also, the concept of this book? So enticing. If I see the words "dark fairytale" and "female rage" used to describe a book, it's an insta-read. Unfortunately, though, the execution of The Harpy let me down. There is a whole lot of build-up in this book, all working towards an ending that I found frankly disappointing. Without spoiling too much, Lucy only rarely harnesses her rage. Not only that, but magical realism is another insta-read descriptor of mine that was used by reviewers to describe The Harpy. Honestly, I would barely categorize this as magical realism. There is literally ONE scene that could be described in that way.
How would I summarize this book? Beautifully written but ultimately a lackluster portrait of a sad woman in a sad marriage.
How would I summarize this book? Beautifully written but ultimately a lackluster portrait of a sad woman in a sad marriage.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Domestic abuse, Injury/injury detail, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Suicide and Sexual assault
paperbackinmybackpack's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Blood, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
blakethebookeater's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book...was an experience.
It was so short that it didn't overstay its welcome, which I appreciated, but at the same time I wish there had been a little more meat on its bones.
Lucy discovers her husband is cheating on her and in return, he allows her to hurt him three times (hence the title, the vengeful Harpy coming to dole out her justice). And honestly this novel did not get as dark or intense as I wanted it to. There were moments when it came close, but then it shied away; and while the prose was beautiful and concise, it kept me at too much of a distance from the characters that I honestly didn't really care about them at all.
Lucy's thoughts and emotions are what binds this book together, but that's mostly all that's there. The actual events of the book could take place over a 30 min episode of TV, fully contained. And I'd be lying if I didn't say I wanted to see more of the drama, more of the Harpy coming out in Lucy's actions and in that sense I was slightly disappointed. I do feel that this book is worth a read though, because it does have some pretty great passages in it, and is short enough to be read in a single sitting!
It was so short that it didn't overstay its welcome, which I appreciated, but at the same time I wish there had been a little more meat on its bones.
Lucy discovers her husband is cheating on her and in return, he allows her to hurt him three times (hence the title, the vengeful Harpy coming to dole out her justice). And honestly this novel did not get as dark or intense as I wanted it to. There were moments when it came close, but then it shied away; and while the prose was beautiful and concise, it kept me at too much of a distance from the characters that I honestly didn't really care about them at all.
Lucy's thoughts and emotions are what binds this book together, but that's mostly all that's there. The actual events of the book could take place over a 30 min episode of TV, fully contained. And I'd be lying if I didn't say I wanted to see more of the drama, more of the Harpy coming out in Lucy's actions and in that sense I was slightly disappointed. I do feel that this book is worth a read though, because it does have some pretty great passages in it, and is short enough to be read in a single sitting!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Violence, and Eating disorder
Minor: Death of parent and Sexual assault
liliput3532's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Infidelity
Minor: Blood
definebookish's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Trigger warnings for my review, let alone the book itself: violence, abuse, blood, vomit.
A deep purple bruise of a book. Lucy’s husband Jake has an affair with a colleague. In the aftermath, he offers her a means of retribution: she can hurt him three times, physically or otherwise. Obsessed with the harpies of Greek mythology since childhood, Lucy agrees.
I knew this would be an intense read, but I wasn’t quite prepared for its viscerality. Hunter’s prose skates the edge of poetry, sparse and specific and seething. It reminded me a little of Michele Roberts; the blend of contemporary and mythology, the blood-red tang of it, the rustlike aftertaste.
We know from the first chapter that Jake’s third punishment will involve cutting. The first two are equally disturbing, in different ways. So much made me furious on Lucy’s behalf – the way the humiliation of Jake’s infidelity is set at her feet rather than his, the way he makes it clear she’s powerless to make him feel the kind of betrayal he’s inflicted upon her. He’s a smug, casually cruel character, but there’s no satisfaction in seeing him made victim. At times I couldn’t bear reading about it.
The word ‘recommend’ seems irrelevant here. Also the word ‘enjoy’. Writing my thoughts down feels like reviewing the snails at a Michelin-starred restaurant, or the jellied pigeon – they may be objectively exquisite, but I tasted bile. The ending is a little too open for my taste; it felt like petering out, but the rest of it is powerful and intimate and painful. It is exquisite. I didn’t enjoy it. I’d recommend that you make your own mind up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Vomit, Blood, and Domestic abuse