A review by kyrstin_p1989
The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I found it difficult to get into this book. The writing is choppy, it switches timeframes often, later it switches perspectives without notice, all of which serve to make it hard to follow. It’s for lack of a better word, chaotic. I felt for the characters because their stories are all stories of misfortune and loss. Although all of the women are prisoners who did heinous things, you can’t help but feel for them, because of the circumstances that led them to the bad deeds they committed. The ending made me sad — I hoped for a better outcome for the protagonist than the one she got. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Bullying, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism