Scan barcode
kjboldon's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Beautiful and sad. Weird and dark. Perhaps don't read the author's intro, just the book itself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, and Animal death
yeastvan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
elizarid18's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
marytamtam's review against another edition
challenging
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is a beautiful book, the writing is just exquisite.
kdawn999's review against another edition
4.0
Stafford nurses a dark foreboding that builds and builds until something inevitable happens that I can't tell you about. I also recommend you avoid reading the author's forward to sidestep a big spoiler.
For me the delight of this novel was in the punchy quirkiness of the descriptions and dialogue that come from Ralph and Molly, the way their voracious child-eyes see the world. I wish, though, that there had been more of Molly's voice, as we spend most of the time in Ralph's head. The book's ending is hugely significant, spotlighting numerous points of motif and symbolism that lead up to that moment. A unique and compelling novel that shares atmosphere with The Power of the Dog.
For me the delight of this novel was in the punchy quirkiness of the descriptions and dialogue that come from Ralph and Molly, the way their voracious child-eyes see the world. I wish, though, that there had been more of Molly's voice, as we spend most of the time in Ralph's head. The book's ending is hugely significant, spotlighting numerous points of motif and symbolism that lead up to that moment. A unique and compelling novel that shares atmosphere with The Power of the Dog.
onesime's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
nerual_'s review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
reallivejim's review against another edition
4.75
I can’t think of a character in all of literature better drawn than Molly Fawcett.
In Kathryn Davis’s afterword, she delivers a spoiler-free succinctly excellent characterization of this novel that I couldn’t agree with more: “This is not a coming-of-age story. It is, if anything, a not-coming-of-age story. It is a story about the impossibility if growing up and the impossibility of remaining a child.”
Found this work bewilderingly affecting and brilliant. In truth, and a tiny bit in shame, I’ll admit that I’m only held back from going 5 full stars because I simply found too there to be too much interstitial material, and despite how fully I was entranced by the core momentum of the narrative and its characters, I too often felt a bit bored and bogged down by the stage dressing. At a brisk 230 pages with such utterly incredibly characterization, I think the writing itself could have avoided as often falling into this plodding vulnerability, but I’ll also admit that this subjective dislike of mine is very much in the canon of American western fiction, and perhaps the only thing preventing me from giving this a “good as it gets” mark is that that’s simply not my favorite type of writing.
In Kathryn Davis’s afterword, she delivers a spoiler-free succinctly excellent characterization of this novel that I couldn’t agree with more: “This is not a coming-of-age story. It is, if anything, a not-coming-of-age story. It is a story about the impossibility if growing up and the impossibility of remaining a child.”
Found this work bewilderingly affecting and brilliant. In truth, and a tiny bit in shame, I’ll admit that I’m only held back from going 5 full stars because I simply found too there to be too much interstitial material, and despite how fully I was entranced by the core momentum of the narrative and its characters, I too often felt a bit bored and bogged down by the stage dressing. At a brisk 230 pages with such utterly incredibly characterization, I think the writing itself could have avoided as often falling into this plodding vulnerability, but I’ll also admit that this subjective dislike of mine is very much in the canon of American western fiction, and perhaps the only thing preventing me from giving this a “good as it gets” mark is that that’s simply not my favorite type of writing.
ariuh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Personaggi in bilico tra infanzie crudeli e adolescenze morbose, il terrore di crescere ma, allo stesso tempo, la curiosità assillante di sbirciare il mondo adulto e capirne gli ingranaggi, i rituali di accesso. E poi di nuovo perdersi nella propria testa e nel proprio corpo che diventa irriconoscibile, mostruoso, ferino.
Che prosa cristallina e affilata, che mente ironica e feroce questa Jean Stafford; entra dritta nel mio Olimpo di autrici e autori cattivellə assieme a Shirley Jackson, Edward Gorey e Lemony Snicket.
Che prosa cristallina e affilata, che mente ironica e feroce questa Jean Stafford; entra dritta nel mio Olimpo di autrici e autori cattivellə assieme a Shirley Jackson, Edward Gorey e Lemony Snicket.