Reviews

Brutes by Dizz Tate

jjouzephine's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

litficangel's review against another edition

4.0

i have a feeling this is gonna stick to me like gum cuz oh man dizz tate crafted a dizzying novel. the feelings this gives you are almost swampy and sweaty, like the stench of cigarettes covered up by body mist. like being caged in wet clothes but not wanting to take them off. like popsicle juice running down your hands and forearms.

brutes is told through the conjoined perspective of a group of girls (and one queer boy who is essentially one of them) who are obsessed with sammy, a preacher’s daughter. she lives a lifestyle completely opposite to theirs from an outside perspective, and the girls’ obsession fostered because of their visceral longing for the things that sammy has that they don’t. when sammy goes missing, the keep the knowledge they have of her disappearance hidden, protecting sammy because of their vivid admiration for her.

this book was anything but grounded, and i had no idea what was happening at some parts. it was very disorienting. but i feel like that only amplifies how disoriented the girls feel in their own skins. brutes is not actually centered around the disappearance of sammy, but rather on the creature of intense desire and hideous need to be adored that lives inside each of these girls. in addition, how their obsession and trauma manifests from childhood to adulthood.

although many plot lines are left unclear, and i wished it was a bit less metaphorical at some parts, it is obvious that tate is a gifted writer and i can’t wait to see what she does with her haunting prose next. brutes is genius in the way that it’s atmospheric, raw, unpredictable, and leaves its sticky residue in your mind. it doles out its nuance quietly through mundane experiences and a lived-in setting. it combines tenderness, brutality, ambiguity and the darker facets of female emotion into an evocative little jewelry box that is nothing short of spellbinding.

if you’re looking for a fantastic, fully-fledged plot, you definitely won’t find it with this book, but it has all the vibes. if you enjoy ethel cain and succulent but also hideous soliloquies of girlhood, this is for you.

arinaski's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

lemonadelizard's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

savvylit's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

4.0

The collective perspective? Impeccable. The Central Florida setting as character? Humid and palpable. The mysteriousness and obsession? Realistic.

Brutes is a delightful book that is thematically and structurally in conversation with Eugenides' The Virgin Suicides. Teen girls are the central obsession. Readers are only allowed to get to know said girls as far as what is witnessed directly by a group of younger kids in the neighborhood; in Brutes' case, the collective witnesses are also girls themselves.

The only reason this novel isn't five stars for me is that I felt like some of the mysterious elements of this story needed to be better developed. Just when something creepy would happen or begin to happen, there was a jump in scenery. I just wanted fewer loose threads by the time I finished Brutes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Child abuse

mejie_reads's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

readingwmiles's review against another edition

4.0

this might be a five star later down the line? i want to get the physical book because some of it went over my head. this perfectly captures what it’s like to grow up as a weird kid in florida with weird friends. loved it

ellabourgon's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

bree_klass's review against another edition

3.5

We think of our mothers when we love them the most, which is always just after we hate them the most.

Dizz Tate cooked — and don’t get me wrong, it smells delicious — but I can’t see through all the smoke.

sunnah214's review against another edition

3.0

so i really did like this book, finished in less than a day. 3.5, maybe 4 because i loved the writing style, notes of preteen girlhood and bunnyesque use of “i” and “we”. however the story didn’t end up taking shape the way i wanted it to. the mystery set at the beginning isn’t ever truly solved and the vignettes don’t weave together like they could. more prose heavy than narrative i guess. after writing this im feeling it’s more 3-3.5. will chew on it for a little longer.