A review by wesidentevil
Mary: An Awakening of Terror by Nat Cassidy

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I actually tapped out of reading Mary while waiting for the peak boiling point to actually occur. Little did I know, I was a page away and when I finally began reading it again after a few months break, I finished the whole rest of the book in two days.

I was drawn to Mary under the guise it was a horror of a woman's experience going through menopause being compared to paranormal possession, and while this is definitely a huge factor, it is not the main theme of this book. I was surprised the way the way a cisgendered man could write about an older woman's experience so raw and real, in fact I really did believe the author was female at first. I would still call this feminist literature, though many of the women in this story don't get the happy ending they were hoping for but are instead encouraged to embrace their most hidden desires and urges, to give them permission to stood in the rage they've been boiling in since childhood, and are welcomed to stand up to the very men who have put them in this position.

This book is fun! Thought-provoking, a bit mysterious, some great horror and gore when it gets there, and most importantly it is NEVER boring.