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A study in mourning, grappling with tragedy. Grief as both a paralytic delaying development, and an acid, prompting destruction. Grief for the loss of people, for cruelties visited, for the loss and corruption of nature, community. How miserable people looking to make other people miserable is even more dangerous when there's a power imbalance involved. The helpless rage of the oppressed, abused, impoverished, the poisonous nature of revenge and hate.
Does it sound near unrelentingly, horrifically depressing? Well, then aside from exceptional writing style and unique fantasy elements, I'm describing it correctly! On the whole, the ending did a surprising amount to relieve the heaviness felt through most of that book, but I wouldn't widely recommend this read regardless.
Strange kind of historical, taking place primarily in the late '70s, with references to earlier decades in the childhoods of characters, but often referring to real life events to come decades in the future (every one of them sad and bad), as if to present an all knowing aspect to the omniscient narrator.
Almost ritualistic repetition of certain phrases.
The quality of this author's writing makes me want to investigate her other work, but I'll be checking out the trigger warnings first.
Speaking of:
⚠️ SA of minors by trusted authority figures, cycle of abuse (some victims become abusers) processing trauma, veteran PTSD, murder of child in war, alcoholism, drug addiction, racism, hate crimes (racially motivated murder), mentions of enslavement and historical abuse of enslaved black people, spousal abuse, ableism (stigma against those seeking mental health treatment, institutionalization)
Major personal issues:
Not keen on spending that much time in the mind of a predator preying on children, [some similarities to The Lovely Bones: watching a monster stalking, seeing the perspective of the dead]
Certainly evocative of how a person may be feeling or made to feel, but it still feels wrong to see the language of ‘dirt, filth' being repeatedly associated with victims of sexual abuse and/or sex workers.