katiedoodle's review
3.0
This book was well written with a distinctive voice and interesting prose. The narrator came across as unreliable and capricious, and it was difficult to fully understand his perspective, even as he explained it. This is not a flaw, I think, but a feature. Who can truly understand such a mind?
The subject matter was highly disturbing, and while I think this is in itself acceptable, I expected the book to shed fresh light on the making and/or treatment of child predators, the differences between treatment of male and female abusers and victims, the prison system.... and while the main character complains about prison, and tries to indicate that he is not different from those on the outside, I don't think this was carried through in a meaningful way.
The final reveal about what happened to Alice felt like it was supposed to be shocking, supposed to be a surprise. And it was a little bit, only because it felt unearned and unbelievable. I assume this might be because of the unreliable narration, but it felt 1. like it happened out of nowhere and 2. not like much of a shock compared to everything else that happened in the story.
The girl's story also seemed to end abruptly without really exploring fully what had happened.
This book had a lot of potential, but if I have to read graphic scenes where children are raped and scenes about people eating scabs for fun, I expect to get something more out of it than just disgust. This author writes well and I think she is capable of that. It just didn't quite work for me here.
The subject matter was highly disturbing, and while I think this is in itself acceptable, I expected the book to shed fresh light on the making and/or treatment of child predators, the differences between treatment of male and female abusers and victims, the prison system.... and while the main character complains about prison, and tries to indicate that he is not different from those on the outside, I don't think this was carried through in a meaningful way.
The final reveal about what happened to Alice felt like it was supposed to be shocking, supposed to be a surprise. And it was a little bit, only because it felt unearned and unbelievable. I assume this might be because of the unreliable narration, but it felt 1. like it happened out of nowhere and 2. not like much of a shock compared to everything else that happened in the story.
The girl's story also seemed to end abruptly without really exploring fully what had happened.
This book had a lot of potential, but if I have to read graphic scenes where children are raped and scenes about people eating scabs for fun, I expect to get something more out of it than just disgust. This author writes well and I think she is capable of that. It just didn't quite work for me here.
elliemcc11's review
4.0
Really difficult book to rate. I thought it was very well written, capturing the reader's attention and using characters and sub-characters to weave the plot. For that reason I've rated it 4 stars but the subject matter - the recollections of a prisoner, imprisoned because of his 'interest' in young girls - wasn't the easiest subject matter to rate and left me in quite a quandary. In the end I have opted to say I really liked the book because of the way it was written and because of the way the author weaved the different stories and because she was dealt with a difficult subject matter, well.
catell's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Rape, Child death, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Death of parent, Drug use, Self harm, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Suicide, Death, Blood, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gore, Incest, Grief, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence
mackenzie333's review
2.0
nuance is great and all but this was gross...
good writing but if graphic descriptions of assaulting (or another word that rhymes with "graping") young girls makes your stomach churn then maybe sit this one out
good writing but if graphic descriptions of assaulting (or another word that rhymes with "graping") young girls makes your stomach churn then maybe sit this one out
philipkbradbury's review
4.0
I’ve decided I’m going to start writing reviews again, be they long or short, so here we go.
As disturbing and depraved as the subject matter is, the prose in this is brilliant and honestly quite beautiful. Everything about this book kept me engaged and I love me some good disturbing fiction. Lots of the “disturbing” stuff I’ve been reading lately has been quite shallow and feels like the authors are writing shocking things for the sole purpose of shocking people, and the stories overall lack substance. But not this book! Or maybe I just feel that way because the writing is so good. Anyway, 4 big fat stars for this one!
As disturbing and depraved as the subject matter is, the prose in this is brilliant and honestly quite beautiful. Everything about this book kept me engaged and I love me some good disturbing fiction. Lots of the “disturbing” stuff I’ve been reading lately has been quite shallow and feels like the authors are writing shocking things for the sole purpose of shocking people, and the stories overall lack substance. But not this book! Or maybe I just feel that way because the writing is so good. Anyway, 4 big fat stars for this one!
dannealjemma's review
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5