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A review by jaredt
Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
"I would trade a lot of money for you not to be here but this is where we are. Fucking meet me halfway."
"If it helps, I wish you weren't here either."
I loved this in reverse. I've read a couple novellas before, but this one was definitely the shortest. I was curious how it would develop, how the author would get the reader immersed, and which carried more weight: the push of the plot or the shape of the characters.
For me, there's bits to love and bits misplaced. I'm at odds on saying if the story is bad or if it just didn't quite sell it for me. I didn't follow the hype for this book, but I did get it as a gift for a friend, then got another book for myself by the same author and figured I'd give this much shorter story a go before diving into the other one. So the title stood in my peripheral, waiting for me to pick it up. And so I did.
I really liked the repeated mention of teeth, how it works in smiles, sparks in anger, holding a multitude of emotion. The way each character wore and used their teeth. The language that Khaw used in general is nice and pretty and eerie, but it's definitely a style, one that's not going to hit hard for everyone, and probably especially folks that are looking for a straight story about hauntings and ghosts.
The back of the book talked about how the story is meant to be the focus of grief, and essentially bad relationships. Reading an interview of the author also put foward that their focus for the story was unhealthy friendships and a home that isn't safe. I can gleam that from the story.
There's a lot that can be said about this book. You don't spend a lot of time with the characters, so if you don't like them as presented (either as individuals or their tense relationships), then this is going to feel like an annoying drag, even with the length in mind.
As with the focal point itself, the haunting is more a setting for dealing with grief and while there's cool imagery and japanese folklore that surrounds the characters, it's only a piece of the whole and if you came wanting a narrative where the focus was the girls buried in the house and the hauntings that come of that as the main driving force.... you'll probably also be burned a bit here.
But there are things to love. And overall, I am glad I spent time reading it. I know Khaw has a decent amount of works published, and this hasn't deterred me enough to not want to try reading their other work. In the edition I have, there's also a preview to their story THE SALT GROWS HEAVY, which I think is a bit more engaging and tells me there is more out there I want to check out.
The end of the story was probably the most interesting to me. I liked how it wrapped up, and the summary of events that took place in the afterwards.
Based on the story itself, reviews, and an interview of the author, I would say Nothing But Blackened Teeth is probably one of the weaker stories to be introduced to of the author's work. The audience for this story are definitely folks that love a horror setting, while also getting mostly introspection within a small cast of friends-that-should-maybe-stop-being-friends. It's not too much a waste of time if you don't love it, but if the prose is too grating I would just drop it and pick up the next book on your TBR.
"If it helps, I wish you weren't here either."
I loved this in reverse. I've read a couple novellas before, but this one was definitely the shortest. I was curious how it would develop, how the author would get the reader immersed, and which carried more weight: the push of the plot or the shape of the characters.
For me, there's bits to love and bits misplaced. I'm at odds on saying if the story is bad or if it just didn't quite sell it for me. I didn't follow the hype for this book, but I did get it as a gift for a friend, then got another book for myself by the same author and figured I'd give this much shorter story a go before diving into the other one. So the title stood in my peripheral, waiting for me to pick it up. And so I did.
I really liked the repeated mention of teeth, how it works in smiles, sparks in anger, holding a multitude of emotion. The way each character wore and used their teeth. The language that Khaw used in general is nice and pretty and eerie, but it's definitely a style, one that's not going to hit hard for everyone, and probably especially folks that are looking for a straight story about hauntings and ghosts.
The back of the book talked about how the story is meant to be the focus of grief, and essentially bad relationships. Reading an interview of the author also put foward that their focus for the story was unhealthy friendships and a home that isn't safe. I can gleam that from the story.
There's a lot that can be said about this book. You don't spend a lot of time with the characters, so if you don't like them as presented (either as individuals or their tense relationships), then this is going to feel like an annoying drag, even with the length in mind.
As with the focal point itself, the haunting is more a setting for dealing with grief and while there's cool imagery and japanese folklore that surrounds the characters, it's only a piece of the whole and if you came wanting a narrative where the focus was the girls buried in the house and the hauntings that come of that as the main driving force.... you'll probably also be burned a bit here.
But there are things to love. And overall, I am glad I spent time reading it. I know Khaw has a decent amount of works published, and this hasn't deterred me enough to not want to try reading their other work. In the edition I have, there's also a preview to their story THE SALT GROWS HEAVY, which I think is a bit more engaging and tells me there is more out there I want to check out.
The end of the story was probably the most interesting to me. I liked how it wrapped up, and the summary of events that took place in the afterwards.
Based on the story itself, reviews, and an interview of the author, I would say Nothing But Blackened Teeth is probably one of the weaker stories to be introduced to of the author's work. The audience for this story are definitely folks that love a horror setting, while also getting mostly introspection within a small cast of friends-that-should-maybe-stop-being-friends. It's not too much a waste of time if you don't love it, but if the prose is too grating I would just drop it and pick up the next book on your TBR.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Murder
Moderate: Fatphobia