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A review by rowan27
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It's so hard to write a review of this book, but I felt it necessary. This book doesn't feel good to read. It's hard. It's heavy. One of the heaviest and most difficult books I've ever read. It's a lot. It took me a long time to get through.
If anything, I'd say this book is about humanity and the effects of trauma and abuse through generations. It's about how morals can change and become blurred in different circumstances. About the difference in ethics and morality depending on those circumstances.
And it's about what can happen if people just turn a blind eye and don't intervene when they should and what can happen if they intervene too late or not at all.
This book was so well written. It felt real. It made my heart ache, and there were so many points I wanted to stop reading, but I needed some sort of conclusion. I'm glad I finished it, but even at the conclusion, it left me feeling hollow and empty.
I felt the author dealt with extremely heavy subject matter in a very real way, from the viewpoints of multiple parties involved. Even though the author didn't stray away from any of the subjects involved, I could tell that they were careful about how they told the story. It didn't stray from crossing those hard lines, but made it clear how difficult those lines were to cross. It felt like reading a true story, one that I'm sure, unfortunately, several people could relate to. One that ended in a real way, with unresolved issues entangling the lives of the characters. Complicated and messy.
Some can argue that it romanticizes horrible circumstances. That it glorifies the relationship of these characters. I can see that argument. But beneath it all and more than that, to me, it felt more like a retelling of someone's life. The things that make people messy and human. It's complicated, and I think that's the point.
I can't recommend this book to anyone because of what it deals with. There is no way I would insist anyone should read it. But I can say that it is very good.
If anything, I'd say this book is about humanity and the effects of trauma and abuse through generations. It's about how morals can change and become blurred in different circumstances. About the difference in ethics and morality depending on those circumstances.
And it's about what can happen if people just turn a blind eye and don't intervene when they should and what can happen if they intervene too late or not at all.
This book was so well written. It felt real. It made my heart ache, and there were so many points I wanted to stop reading, but I needed some sort of conclusion. I'm glad I finished it, but even at the conclusion, it left me feeling hollow and empty.
I felt the author dealt with extremely heavy subject matter in a very real way, from the viewpoints of multiple parties involved. Even though the author didn't stray away from any of the subjects involved, I could tell that they were careful about how they told the story. It didn't stray from crossing those hard lines, but made it clear how difficult those lines were to cross. It felt like reading a true story, one that I'm sure, unfortunately, several people could relate to. One that ended in a real way, with unresolved issues entangling the lives of the characters. Complicated and messy.
Some can argue that it romanticizes horrible circumstances. That it glorifies the relationship of these characters. I can see that argument. But beneath it all and more than that, to me, it felt more like a retelling of someone's life. The things that make people messy and human. It's complicated, and I think that's the point.
I can't recommend this book to anyone because of what it deals with. There is no way I would insist anyone should read it. But I can say that it is very good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicide and Vomit