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sanchan's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Rape, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Animal death and Animal cruelty
ashtheaudiomancer's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.0
I cannot believe I bought that this was a "true story" for so long. After actually starting to read, it took me maybe a dozen pages to go, "Oh, okay, this is bullshit." Which isn't to say it's not a compelling story, just not the reason I picked it up; I wanted a historical account of the actual Bell family, not an embellished tawdry melodrama with waaaaaay too many racial slurs even accounting for the time period. Fortunately, the appendix pointed me towards a few titles that might be more in that vein, so I will probably check those out eventually.
Worth mentioning that I saw the movie, "An American Haunting," beforehand, many years ago, and had kind of forgotten the "twist" that explains who and what the "witch" actually is, but there's plenty of foreshadowing to figure it out. And by "foreshadowing" I mean "this narrator has no idea how much he's giving away by being creepy about a thirteen-year-old."
Recommended only for devoted followers of American folklore who want to fill out their collection. I got my copy out of a library discard pile.
Worth mentioning that I saw the movie, "An American Haunting," beforehand, many years ago, and had kind of forgotten the "twist" that explains who and what the "witch" actually is, but there's plenty of foreshadowing to figure it out. And by "foreshadowing" I mean "this narrator has no idea how much he's giving away by being creepy about a thirteen-year-old."
Recommended only for devoted followers of American folklore who want to fill out their collection. I got my copy out of a library discard pile.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Rape, and Incest
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, and Death of parent
The content warnings are also kind of a spoiler here, so keep that in mind. These are the main themes upon which the twist is built.chibiloki's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
1.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest, Rape, Racial slurs, and Misogyny
constancepsych's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.5
The beginning of the book floored me, very descriptive and haunting! The middle very much dragged, almost as if it was Groundhog Day. Historically speaking, it was sound and I did enjoy hearing about the area, the time period as well as significant historical figures. The end, shocking to say the least. A very haunting tale and disturbing. I considered it a 3.5 star read just because it dragged a bit however, if this was in fact an actual manuscript written by a man that lived through this I am understanding that the author needed to include all that he wrote.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest
liv_ingmydash's review
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Rape
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