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anna_hepworth's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
There are spoilers scattered through these notes--normally I would take them out to write a review, but I'm doing this a long time after reading the story, and don't want to miss the important details.
When I was reading this, I'd encountered a run of stories that were about mid-life crisis and cheating, so the beginning of this--focusing on the memories of a man painting themself as past it--was a hurdle to get over. Very pleased I did, because it was well worth reading.
The authorial voice is interesting. A recognition that the memories have been edited over time, a faint editorial tone of age/wisdom/distance recognising that these are not true teen experiences, but filtered ones. Still a bit more teen sex than I was particularly interested in, especially once it was implied that our (unnamed?) narrator will end up killing Natasha.
That bit worked really well in terms of the horror - both as a reader, and the way that the narrator recalls experiencing the implication that Natasha is looking for someone to care for/kill her. That for Natasha, with her life, being murdered was a better option than suicide, and there are no other options that she can see.
At the end of Chapter 5, it becomes clear that that is not the story we are reading, as the narrator is unable to kill the injured rabbit by the side of the road, even as a mercy killing. Natasha does so, and the narrator can see that they are lacking in her eyes.
Which brings us to the rough pair of guys who turn up at the caravan park the narrator lives/works at with their mum. Heavy drinkers, they pick up Natasha and bring her back to the caravan. The narrator gets invited in, there is alcohol and drug use, implication of previous drug use on the part of everyone but the narrator, and that Natasha is expecting these two to kill her, after having sex with her. After spotting that they are carrying a lot of drugs, and getting away, the narrator dobs them in to the police. While this does get them behind bars, it doesn't save Natasha, who commits suicide instead.
The reader learns the truth about Jennifer, who was mentioned as committing suicide at the beginning of the story. The narrator's girlfriend, Caitlin, learns about the fling with Natasha, never quite forgiving him but still marrying him.
The story ends quite bleakly, with the narrator having gone through and back out of drug addiction.
When I was reading this, I'd encountered a run of stories that were about mid-life crisis and cheating, so the beginning of this--focusing on the memories of a man painting themself as past it--was a hurdle to get over. Very pleased I did, because it was well worth reading.
The authorial voice is interesting. A recognition that the memories have been edited over time, a faint editorial tone of age/wisdom/distance recognising that these are not true teen experiences, but filtered ones. Still a bit more teen sex than I was particularly interested in, especially once it was implied that our (unnamed?) narrator will end up killing Natasha.
That bit worked really well in terms of the horror - both as a reader, and the way that the narrator recalls experiencing the implication that Natasha is looking for someone to care for/kill her. That for Natasha, with her life, being murdered was a better option than suicide, and there are no other options that she can see.
At the end of Chapter 5, it becomes clear that that is not the story we are reading, as the narrator is unable to kill the injured rabbit by the side of the road, even as a mercy killing. Natasha does so, and the narrator can see that they are lacking in her eyes.
Which brings us to the rough pair of guys who turn up at the caravan park the narrator lives/works at with their mum. Heavy drinkers, they pick up Natasha and bring her back to the caravan. The narrator gets invited in, there is alcohol and drug use, implication of previous drug use on the part of everyone but the narrator, and that Natasha is expecting these two to kill her, after having sex with her. After spotting that they are carrying a lot of drugs, and getting away, the narrator dobs them in to the police. While this does get them behind bars, it doesn't save Natasha, who commits suicide instead.
The reader learns the truth about Jennifer, who was mentioned as committing suicide at the beginning of the story. The narrator's girlfriend, Caitlin, learns about the fling with Natasha, never quite forgiving him but still marrying him.
The story ends quite bleakly, with the narrator having gone through and back out of drug addiction.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Self harm, Drug abuse, and Drug use
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