A review by inuklilacdiesel
Black Ambrosia (Paperbacks from Hell) by Elizabeth Engstrom
4.0
tw: sexual assault, sexual violence, child death, violence, mental illness
I'm still working on exactly how I feel about this novel, and what I would rate it. My rating will likely change, especially upon rereading.
My thoughts, after just finishing it, are... uh, holy fuck. This book was a lot.
The writing style was impeccable. I love a good unreliable narrator, I liked how personal it felt, she was baring her soul to us, trying to explain her story, and why she did the horrible (terrifying) things she did. Murder, that is, this girl KILLS.
My main problems with the text surrounded some of the triggers I listed, namely that sexual assault plays a very prominent role in this book that I'm unsure how to feel about as a survivor. There isn't a ton of detail, in fact, a perk of this book for me is that even the gore and horror of what she does to these people is kind of brushed over and explained away with lofty romantic language. Her kills are contextualized as Angelina's adoration for Her, the voice of the being that she's trying to please with these murders. Mental illness, as a theme, is another element of this book that I'm still trying to grapple with my own thoughts on.
I'll reread it again, soon, and try to focus more on what it is that makes me so... I dunno. These are supposed to be scenes that cause discomfort, obviously, but ultimately what matters is how the text handles these moments and I'm not sure if these were handled in a way that I would want to recommend this book to people I know.
I liked this book! Don't get me wrong! I think I just need more time to formulate a stronger sense of what it is that got under my skin on this read-through. The language of the novel was beautiful, the plot was compelling, I saw a few reviews that said it was slow in the middle, but I personally felt that the way that the novel was structured was perfect for me. Each chapter ends with an italicized section from either another character or Boyd's perspective, which I think added so much to my understanding of the novel's events and the speed at which I read each chapter.
Anyways, I'll update this later, lol.
I'm still working on exactly how I feel about this novel, and what I would rate it. My rating will likely change, especially upon rereading.
My thoughts, after just finishing it, are... uh, holy fuck. This book was a lot.
The writing style was impeccable. I love a good unreliable narrator, I liked how personal it felt, she was baring her soul to us, trying to explain her story, and why she did the horrible (terrifying) things she did. Murder, that is, this girl KILLS.
My main problems with the text surrounded some of the triggers I listed, namely that sexual assault plays a very prominent role in this book that I'm unsure how to feel about as a survivor. There isn't a ton of detail, in fact, a perk of this book for me is that even the gore and horror of what she does to these people is kind of brushed over and explained away with lofty romantic language. Her kills are contextualized as Angelina's adoration for Her, the voice of the being that she's trying to please with these murders. Mental illness, as a theme, is another element of this book that I'm still trying to grapple with my own thoughts on.
I'll reread it again, soon, and try to focus more on what it is that makes me so... I dunno. These are supposed to be scenes that cause discomfort, obviously, but ultimately what matters is how the text handles these moments and I'm not sure if these were handled in a way that I would want to recommend this book to people I know.
I liked this book! Don't get me wrong! I think I just need more time to formulate a stronger sense of what it is that got under my skin on this read-through. The language of the novel was beautiful, the plot was compelling, I saw a few reviews that said it was slow in the middle, but I personally felt that the way that the novel was structured was perfect for me. Each chapter ends with an italicized section from either another character or Boyd's perspective, which I think added so much to my understanding of the novel's events and the speed at which I read each chapter.
Anyways, I'll update this later, lol.