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petealdin's review against another edition
dark
slow-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
4.0
In its way, a reasonably solid (and early) tale of post-apocalyptic survival. It's certainly dated, though not horrendously so.
SPOILERS:
The true horror is the predicament of the main character Ann. At 15/16 years old, she's certainly a resourceful and intelligent teenage girl, if the kind of naive I can imagine in 1970s rural settings. The horror comes not from the idea of living out a life alone in her pocket of environmental health. Rather it's from being at the "mercy" of a grown man who should be ready to protect her, but whose erratic behaviour becomes increasingly predatory.
I can't say I liked this story. It dragged (often) but its details around survivalism were interesting, as was Ann's capable and kind nature. And the ending felt right. But ... I don't know...it didn't really make me like it.
That said, this is a novella, not a novel. And it certainly served the early body of post-apocalyptic fiction well.
SPOILERS:
The true horror is the predicament of the main character Ann. At 15/16 years old, she's certainly a resourceful and intelligent teenage girl, if the kind of naive I can imagine in 1970s rural settings. The horror comes not from the idea of living out a life alone in her pocket of environmental health. Rather it's from being at the "mercy" of a grown man who should be ready to protect her, but whose erratic behaviour becomes increasingly predatory.
I can't say I liked this story. It dragged (often) but its details around survivalism were interesting, as was Ann's capable and kind nature. And the ending felt right. But ... I don't know...it didn't really make me like it.
That said, this is a novella, not a novel. And it certainly served the early body of post-apocalyptic fiction well.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment
susysstories's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-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? It's complicated
3.5
The story started slow but intrigued me immediately and became better and better, even though certain thoughts and actions of the MC didn’t always make sense to me. But the end ruined it a bit for me. So, there’s a guy who wants to shoot you. And what do you decide to do? To kill the DOG!?! I mean, I’m happy she didn’t and I can imagine that in ordinary life you would’ve had trouble killing another person. But this isn’t ordinary life and it’s all about instincts and survival, so her actions didn’t make sense to me at all. I felt disappointed by the last part and the end of the story, so therefore I could not round my rating up to 4 stars.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment
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