I really enjoyed this but this didn’t feel like horror to me except for perhaps the last 15 per cent and then well, it just wasn’t as shocking as one I really enjoyed this but this didn’t feel like horror to me except for perhaps the last 15 per cent and then well, it just wasn’t as shocking as one would expect. I think because at the heart of it, the book is about everything but the horror. Friendship and the deep cut of betrayal. High School and the agony of wanting to belong and feeling absolutely certain one doesn’t which I think are pretty universal experiences for most. Growing up in the eighties and all that that entails, which was fun and dorky in the best way possible. So while this didn’t feel like horror the author managed to write something with a good deal of heart weaving in so much of what the eighties were all about and what friendship can be with a smattering of horror at the end to up the ante and answer the question, how far can friendship and love carry you? I actually felt myself tearing up at one point so kudos to the author for managing that in the climax of a horror story.
Merged review:
I really enjoyed this but this didn’t feel like horror to me except for perhaps the last 15 per cent and then well, it just wasn’t as shocking as one would expect. I think because at the heart of it, the book is about everything but the horror. Friendship and the deep cut of betrayal. High School and the agony of wanting to belong and feeling absolutely certain one doesn’t which I think are pretty universal experiences for most. Growing up in the eighties and all that that entails, which was fun and dorky in the best way possible. So while this didn’t feel like horror the author managed to write something with a good deal of heart weaving in so much of what the eighties were all about and what friendship can be with a smattering of horror at the end to up the ante and answer the question, how far can friendship and love carry you? I actually felt myself tearing up at one point so kudos to the author for managing that in the climax of a horror story....more
4.5 I enjoyed this quite a bit. A series of interconnected stories told over a span of centuries with the common thread of taking place in the North W4.5 I enjoyed this quite a bit. A series of interconnected stories told over a span of centuries with the common thread of taking place in the North Woods. I loved the characters and that the writing reflected each unique narrative voice and time. I went into the book kind of blind except for the bare bones of the story. But it’s so much more than the sum of its parts. Inventive, surprising, heartbreaking with many characters that felt very well fleshed out despite maybe not being in the story for a lot of the pages, given the structure of the story. I did find that the book lagged somewhat in the last 100 pages, the characters newly introduced not quite as engaging as they had been in earlier stories. But it did end in a way that I found satisfying and tied things together in a creative and compelling way. Had the pacing been consistent, this would have been a full 5 stars, but nonetheless I thought this was an excellent read....more
I liked this just fine. In fact, when I first got this in one of my thrift shop finds, I read the first chapter immediately, as I’m wont to do, and foI liked this just fine. In fact, when I first got this in one of my thrift shop finds, I read the first chapter immediately, as I’m wont to do, and found the narrative voice of Lidie so compelling that I took it up and put it at the top of my very high pile of priority reads. Having read it I find the promise of that singular voice fulfilled. For me it was the first and foremost strength of the novel. Seeing the other characters through the eyes of Lidie, another. I thought the author caught the tone and setting of the United States pre civil war, very well, which I as a reader find an important aspect to historical fiction. Another strength and one I appreciated a great deal because I find it relevant today, is how each side was nuanced and represented, all the good and the bad, on both sides of the issues, showing the differences, but also showing the similarities and that it is a paradox that we are all very alike, even in our differences. I try to remember that in a world that seems to hold to some pretty extreme views on either side of a good many issues today, how alike all are in voicing and defending them. We always seem to lose our way when ideas become more important than the people on the other side that we’re expressing them to. The author caught that paradox very well and showed that there is more nuance to people than first meets the eye. It was interesting to have Lidie experience so much of the things from both perspectives, while not having a clear idea of where she stood to begin with. I loved Smiley’s writing, I loved the characters and would have given this a full 5 stars except that there were lags around the political maneuverings. Otherwise a very fine read....more
4.5 This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and I’m so glad it didn’t let me down. Initially, I was expecting something more in tone wit4.5 This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and I’m so glad it didn’t let me down. Initially, I was expecting something more in tone with The Blacktongue Thief and so was disappointed to find that it wasn’t and that the author wasn’t narrating. So I put it on hold for a bit, reread The Blacktongue Thief and then restarted the book with my expectations shifted to read the story the author wanted to tell, rather than the one I thought I wanted to read. It was the best way to approach the book. The story is told from Galva’s pov, and so of course that changes the tone and the narrative voice and I came to love Galva very much. Buehlman has a genius for writing characters that feel fully alive and utterly beguiling to me. The world building was immersive and dark and had a feel of truthiness to it that I appreciated. I could envision this world and the march of the army, the corvids, the goblins, all of it. I loved the writing, especially in Malva’s and her brother’s narrative voices. There was a lovely formality that elevated the writing. My only quibble was that, for me, I thought the pacing suffered somewhat. Part of what made the world building so immersive and fleshed out, also caused the pacing to be slowed. Songs and stories interspersed in the narrative sometimes slowed the progress of what was happening on the page and it would be at the point where significant things were happening and then suddenly there’s a story that didn’t move things forward. Don’t get me wrong. The songs and stories were amazing but sometimes the timing seemed off in terms of plot progression. Nonetheless, this was an excellent story and I hope there will be more stories from this world by the author. Ah, who am I kidding? Whatever world Mr Beuhlman cares to write about, ima gonna read it. ...more
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