A review by sarahb919
The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

 Very well-written but also very slow-paced. Towards the middle I started to get bored and was wondering if the plot would ever reappear. But I stuck around because I wanted my suspicions about the main character confirmed. Was happy they were confirmed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism