This was one of the most bizarre books I've ever read. In the wrong hands this story could have been corny and confusing. But instead, it worked.
I thought it was a master class in how to set up scenes and give the reader little nuggets of information to advance the story. Any aspiring novelist could learn something from this book, no matter the genre or age group.
It definitely wasn't perfect, (I had a fair amount of issues with it, although none overly important) but despite the absolute absurdness of the plot, somehow, it felt real. Perhaps the best compliment I could give Scott Hawkins is if/when he releases another book I'll buy it the day it comes out.
This is why books are best. This will inevitably be made into a movie, but this level of storytelling can only be created in book form. A fascinating story, expertly told.
This book is disgusting. But it's also as close to perfect as words can become. You know going in that the content is going to be dark and difficult, but it's so much more than that.
She flawlessly shows the complex nuances of humanity. How we all create our own logic and find ways to justify it. She creates a clear illustration of how something that's so obvious to everyone around you can be the exact opposite of what's fact to you.
And as is the case with all great books, the writing is incredible. For a debut novel to be this polished shouldn't be possible. But she made it seem easy, obvious, natural to write so well. I can't praise this enough. And truly cannot wait to see what Kate Elizabeth Russell decides to do next.
This was a superbly written, fully engrossing novel. I love stories where the protagonist and antagonist aren't clear, and that's the case with this. This book is too complex, has too many moving parts to be defined that way.
The story starts out small and confined, but the way Brit Bennett methodically expands the world, adding characters and using time jumps is brilliantly done. She subtly made me invested in every character, even when they infuriated me.
To me, this is ultimately a story about not fitting in where you belong, and fitting in where you don't belong. The navigating that comes with that made for a truly interesting read. Highly recommend.
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