A review by frog4earth
What Comes After by JoAnne Tompkins

dark reflective sad tense slow-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

2.5

CW: C/SA AND DV ⚠️ Lowkey a really disappointing read for me. It felt like there was so much attempted justification around domestic violence and abuse, and also around the literal prostitution of a child..? While I thought it was interesting to learn about the Quaker sect of christianity, it felt like it was heavily used to justify really unacceptable, f*cked up sh*t that took place in the story, which is just simply not justifiable, period. I also was unable to engage with pretty much any of the characters. The only things I ended up liking about this book were Rufus’ existence as a kind of symbol of hope and unconditional love for the characters grieving — and especially for Evangeline, who I ended up sort of liking. Even then though, I didn’t understand why, out of nowhere, she would have these random spurts of “wisdom” for herself that I feel like a 16 year old child would not suddenly grasp without having extensive therapy, especially in her situation. It was a fine read I guess, but honestly heavily disappointing as well.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings