According to Ye Olde Goode Reads, I have read 4 of Clowes' books since 2016, but Monica is the first 5 star. This one truly had the capaciousness, & complexity, of a fleshed out novel. , This has much in common with other Clowes works I have read but it was def. a step beyond. One of the first books that I read after my move back in Feb. & I specifically recall it breaking through my mental fatigue at the time as a special work.
#2025bestreads
pickI would say a 4 star. It was exciting and horrifying. Cousin‘s from a women‘s cult are separated and years later are reunited. Crazy things start to happen in one of their lives and the other seems to always be her savior, at what price?
“There is one indisputable way to identify a cult, one characteristic they all share...it is the notion that anyone who does not agree with the group's beliefs or choices, who expresses concerns, who simply dares to ask questions, is deemed "unsafe.””
panAlmost made a so-so before that wild ass reveal that brings in some transphobia without seemingly understanding that trans people are real. The man needs and editor BADLY
so-soThis was just okay for me. I was hoping a book about a cult would have more action!
#bookspinbingo
#pop25 - book about a cult
The horrifying reveal that's supposed to be that the evil lady put her soul inside a child is rendered, by the framing details, a horrifying reveal that the villain of this book is queer and trans, and both of those things are explicitly tied to his evil, as they're ways he has manipulated people to maintain power.
Does this author think through ANYTHING he writes?????
Wait, at nearly 60% this book is deciding to propose that social media is like cults from the 70s, specifically the cult that has 100% already caused supernatural shit to happen?? This is only my second Nevill book, but I don't think he's great at writing characters getting upset, because it's always about the wrong thing.
so-soThere's weird, and then there's stuff you thought you'd only read on A03.
Starts with a catchy premise, written well, continues into some unexpected but interesting fare, tackling some difficult subjects, while unfortunately, if perhaps predictably, given the topics, being kind of unrelentingly grim. Without going into spoilers, I can say with confidence , if you don't want to read about cults, don't pick this up. 1/?
pickWhat a book. Once I started, I couldn't put it down. Wait has a gift for crafting complex and engrossing stories that really get under your skin and make you think and feel deeply.
Single mother Stephanie gets drawn into the fold of a self-proclaimed "Prophet" and brings her daughter, Judith, to live with his isolated cult. Cont'd in comments...
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