I would never recommend this book to anyone because it’s disgusting but it made me sob and there was some sort of poetic justice at the end that made it brilliant. Totally mental and horrible though.
A phenomenal, gripping read. By the time I hit page 100 I was hooked and raced through the rest. It saved me from my long reading slump. The characters were compelling and it holds a lot of literary credit, the themes it explores are very interesting. I'm so glad I picked this book for my NEA, I highly recommend it :).
A lot of unfounded comments stated as truth with an assumed christian audience. Truly perplexing as an atheist with generally weak arguments. Certainly interesting to read a devout man’s perspective.
This book was a wild ride… i felt as though it flew straight over my head, i practically consumed it in one sitting but it didn’t actively feel as though i were reading the book. It was an extremely quick read with massive shock factor.
Ultimately, this novel details a descent into madness, motivated by a childhood of neglect and abuse. We learn the coping mechanisms our protagonist adopts as a child remain in a sinister way.
If you intend on reading this, please check the trigger warnings as it’s extremely uncomfortable at certain points.
I really liked reading this book. The way the narrative is fragmented between the current day and Irina’s past is well executed, I particularly appreciated the photos telling the stories of her past as she’s a photographer. The main body of this book is excellent, the main character of this book who’s perspective we get is pure evil. It’s so interesting to hear how she deals with her wrongdoings, whether she feels bad or simply admits that it doesn’t bother her in the slightest. My only issue that bought the rating of the book down a lot was the the ending. It really just stopped in the middle of nowhere. The whole book we lead up to this big gallery she’s in and that could’ve been a lovely natural stopping point. Instead there’s an extra man she goes on a date with and then it suddenly stops, leaving you with unanswered questions. I wouldn’t say the sudden ending is poetic and it’s not one of those intentional things to leave the reader guessing. It just feels wrong and very underwhelming. I would recommend this book in that the narrative voice is intoxicating and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Before reading please read the trigger warnings it was a lot to handle <3.