Scan barcode
shieldbearer's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Gets one star for the gorgeous writing. But the rest of this story is so poorly constructed and executed. We know nothing about the protagonist's personality by 30% of the way through the book. The author is clearly withholding information to attempt to build suspense, but does so by simply refusing to answer any of the reader's questions and what information we do get is piecemeal. It doesn't inform the character and her actions- and yes, backstory does do this, but it's used to explain Things She Can Do (or Can't) and not Why She Thinks THis Way.
The execution of the protagonist's "madness" is insulting and a plot device at best. As other readers have said, the other characters are the real strength here. It's a shame that some of the elements of "the Widow" were wasted- given the way she acts in the beginning, it seems like she'll actually develop as a person, or at least get some fleshing out. Not so. THings Happen TO Her and she reacts, but why she chooses to react the way she does is never shown even through our understanding of her history. When she steals, she does not feel desperate, just petty and mean- stealing the boots of a poor maid and a pipe that was clearly a beloved keepsake of a departed loved one.
Further insulting is the idea that the horse she stole would "fatten up" because she lets it graze after riding it hard all day. Ok. Sure. And yes, "unlikeable" characters have their place. But she is such a dull character I can't help but feel all the hype around this book is on a surface level- a woman kills her abusive husband! Good for her! And we can't even argue that her trauma and detachment is what makes her so flat - N K Jemisin's Fifth Season has a similar premise with a character in a very similar predicament, and yet even though Jemisin's Essun is far more detached than "the Widow" we still have a clear sense of her personality, what motivates her, why she moves the way she does. "The Widow" just survives through some vague urge. Don't even get me started on the stupid romance and the audacity of her calling the Native man she met who found her horse after it which RAN OFF- a thief.
The part where i quit was the part where she went off on a rant about how "men who take off their shirts are clearly Lording Superior Strength Over Me A Helpless Woman" and detailed how she yelled at a teenager doing manual labor and humiliated him in what seems to be intended as a #girlboss moment. Not only will I be avoiding the rest of this book, I'm never touching anything else written by this author.
The execution of the protagonist's "madness" is insulting and a plot device at best. As other readers have said, the other characters are the real strength here. It's a shame that some of the elements of "the Widow" were wasted- given the way she acts in the beginning, it seems like she'll actually develop as a person, or at least get some fleshing out. Not so. THings Happen TO Her and she reacts, but why she chooses to react the way she does is never shown even through our understanding of her history. When she steals, she does not feel desperate, just petty and mean- stealing the boots of a poor maid and a pipe that was clearly a beloved keepsake of a departed loved one.
Further insulting is the idea that the horse she stole would "fatten up" because she lets it graze after riding it hard all day. Ok. Sure. And yes, "unlikeable" characters have their place. But she is such a dull character I can't help but feel all the hype around this book is on a surface level- a woman kills her abusive husband! Good for her! And we can't even argue that her trauma and detachment is what makes her so flat - N K Jemisin's Fifth Season has a similar premise with a character in a very similar predicament, and yet even though Jemisin's Essun is far more detached than "the Widow" we still have a clear sense of her personality, what motivates her, why she moves the way she does. "The Widow" just survives through some vague urge. Don't even get me started on the stupid romance and the audacity of her calling the Native man she met who found her horse after it which RAN OFF- a thief.
The part where i quit was the part where she went off on a rant about how "men who take off their shirts are clearly Lording Superior Strength Over Me A Helpless Woman" and detailed how she yelled at a teenager doing manual labor and humiliated him in what seems to be intended as a #girlboss moment. Not only will I be avoiding the rest of this book, I'm never touching anything else written by this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Misogyny, Mental illness, Racism, Grief, Domestic abuse, Stalking, Child death, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, and Classism
Moderate: Antisemitism and Blood
Minor: Vomit
More...