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karthnemesis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
spinebreakr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The writing was tense and emotional. You could really feel the weight of generational trauma resting on the shoulders of the main characters. The way it informs all their actions is raw and drawn from a very real place. The character work is super well done. But ultimately, the monster in the story is not nearly so scary as what the men do to the ones they love.
Once we started getting chapters from the perspective of the monster, I had such a hard time being scared of her. I came to this book expecting horror and I just wasn't gripped at any point. The gore was pretty visceral at times. Very graphic, and overdone in some spots. For example
Overall, I feel like it started off strong but lost direction a little as it went.
I still recommend. But only If when you read this book you treat it like a Halloween-esque slasher film. Do that and you'll have a great time.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Hate crime, Gore, Death of parent, Death, Violence, Body horror, Animal death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Blood
Moderate: Alcoholism, Colonisation, Grief, Hate crime, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
insideunder's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Stalking, Body horror, Violence, Animal death, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pregnancy, and Gore
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Genocide, and Alcoholism
fatimaelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The only reason the book didn’t get the full five stars is mostly because Lewis’s section sort of felt complete on its own, and continued the ambiguity of the realism of the demonic entity.
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Gore, Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Blood
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Colonisation, and Racism
Minor: Drug abuse and Racial slurs
zoelowe's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Alcoholism
kaywhiteley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Gore, Murder, Animal death, Violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Alcoholism and Racism
brewdy_reader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥: 14 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘺 2020
This was a trippy, chilling, supernatural horror novel. Not for the faint of stomach, be prepared for a fair amount of gore and entrails. The book follows 4 Native men — with flashbacks to when they were growing up together on the rez. There is an event that happens when they are kids that seems to be haunting them but we don’t know exactly what happened, beyond some illegal hunting of elk on sacred tribal lands. Thus begins the mystery.
I do class this as literary fiction as well as Horror/Thriller because of the sheer volume of references, jokes, and satirical commentary relating to Native American stereotypes, culture, and lore. This book is packed page to page with trivia, events and facts to highlight to look up later. For me this was the best part of the book. The depressing fact of life and [likely early] death as an indigenous person in America and how stacked the deck is, juxtaposed against the harsh reality reality of how some of these things predisposition domestic abuse, addiction/alcohol abuse, bad decisions, and murder.
The actual thriller/mystery pieces were hard for me to grapple with as I found myself lost for the first quarter of the book. This may be due to my having initially started this on audio; after I eventually swapped to the book (TW: chapter 12-13), I was able to follow the flow/events more easily and keep track of the characters’ names, extended family, and friends.
I am glad that I took the opportunity to read this book club pick, although I would not say I truly enjoyed the journey. An important read.
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Murder, and Gore
Moderate: Violence and Alcoholism
smolfem's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Violence, Animal death, Blood, Gun violence, Murder, Animal cruelty, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Alcohol
thereadingmarshmallow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Murder, Miscarriage, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Stalking, Violence, Gore, and Pregnancy
koxendine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Murder, Body horror, Animal cruelty, and Gun violence
Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol
Minor: Drug abuse