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This is a fascinating book. Really very compelling. I’m very much on the end game and don’t want to put it down, but it also doesn’t feel like the sort of book that I want to binge on.

This was a very cleverly constructed story that leads the reader through the unexpected and, often, deeply disturbing lives surrounding the murdered “witch” in a relatively isolated Mexican community. This is a powerful novel that felt important, but still eminently readable… as long as you’re not overly attached to the concept of full stops.

Fantastic, really compelling read.

This is a very odd, but deeply captivating book so far. The movement of the plot between chapters and points of view is incredible. It’s also very upsetting at points.

@loppear Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

A very clever little book. It somehow manages to be incredibly compelling, possibly by tricking the reader into being convinced of the interconnectedness of the stories despite, as the book proceeds, the reader increasingly becoming convinced that there is no genuine narrative or story, even in the seemingly directly continuous stories they encounter. The story is entirely made by the juxtaposition of unrelated sequences and yet the magic of the telling leaves you convinced of their self-evident unity.

A fascinating ending to the Chikdren of Violence series. Much more experimental than the earlier books in the series, clearly exploring the feeling of communal, psychological madness Lessing started to explore.

This was a wonderfully fun and vibrant novel. It reminded me, in some ways, of the Lonely Londoners, albeit in an urban fantasy setting.

This was a delightful little read. I was given it as a present after my cat died, and it is such a warm, simple tale of discovery and loss. A beautifully written story, well worth the time.

This is such a quiet, nostalgic book. The cat is both the subject and background, the narrator finding her flirting in and out of his life, and each encounter a discovery, a reassurance, and a loss. Half way through the book, we anticipate their separation, but we know their union is only circumstantial, and every attempt to describe her in human terms always falls short.

This is an enthralling book. It entices you in, presents you with a selection of well realised characters, all with their own motivations and journeys, and all a little lost. Over the course of the novel, as the days draw in, we lead in further and see with increasing horror the inevitable paths each will take. The power of this novel is found in how well Earl uses all the tropes of traditional gothic, images of Stoker and LeFanu alongside the sharpness, wit and passion of Carter, to draw out a very modern tale of coming of age and existential despair. When I finished this, was left with the impression that this was Frankinstein for the millennial generation. It's a hard novel, deeply uncomfortable at parts, but deeply moving and well worth a read.