On the Savage Side
Ratings2
Average rating4.5
15
Ratings2
Average rating4.5
Six women - mothers, daughters, sisters - gone missing. Inspired by the unsolved murders of the Chillicothe Six, this is the story of two sisters, both of whom could be the next victims. Arcade and Daffodil are twin sisters born one minute apart. With their fiery red hair and thirst for an escape, they form an unbreakable bond nurtured by their grandmother's stories. Together they disappear into their imagination and forge a world where a patch of grass reveals an archaeologist's dig, the smoke emerging from the local paper mill becomes the dust rising from wild horses galloping deep beneath the earth, and an abandoned 1950s convertible transforms into a time machine that can take them anywhere. But no matter how hard they try, Arc and Daffy can't escape the generational ghosts that haunt their family. And so, left to fend for themselves in the shadow of their rural Ohio town, the two sisters cling tight to one another. Years later, as the sisters wrestle with the memories of their early life, a local woman is discovered dead in the river. Soon, more bodies are left floating in the water, and as the killer circles ever closer, Arc's promise to keep herself and her sister safe becomes increasingly desperate - and the powerful riptide of the savage side more difficult to survive. Drawing from the true story of women killed in Chillicothe, Ohio, acclaimed novelist and poet Tiffany McDaniel has written a moving literary testament and fearless elegy for missing women everywhere. PRAISE FOR TIFFANY McDANIEL'S BETTY 'A coming-of-age story filled with magic in language and plot' Observer 'Breahtaking' Vogue 'I felt consumed by this book. I loved it, you will love it' Daisy Johnson 'A page-turning Appalachian coming-of-age story told in undulating prose that settles right into you' Naoise Dolan 'Vivid and lucid, Betty has stayed with me' Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Reviews with the most likes.
I would like to thank Knopf and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was a very difficult book to read, and it is a difficult review to write. I considered DNF the book since the beginning because I was just finding it too heavy for me.
I was expecting something a bit different, closer to a thriller than to what it ended to be. However, as I kept thinking I would just stop reading it, I could not. I was hooked with the twins' stories, their friends and, despite knowing what was going to happen, I still wanted to see how it would happen.
Tiffany McDaniel writing was beautiful, even if unrelated with the way these twins and other characters would speak, and the end was absolutely brilliant.
This book is a heavy reading and not for everyone, but if you feel you can handle the trigger warnings, go for it. Read it slowly, make breaks if it becomes too much, DNF if needed, go until the end when you are ready.
TW: drugs, substance abuse, prostitution, paedophilia, death of family members, death of friends, violence, extreme poverty
