lon3rston3r's reviews
58 reviews

This is an amazing book and one of the best books to get into when you want to read more about feminism or if you want an introduction to bell hooks. The book is also great at expanding the history of Black women throughout history. I only gave it the rating I did just because it's one of many bell hooks literature I've read and there are a couple of essays that I have already read. 

This was a quick and easy read. Nothing about the story or characters stood out to me. I mostly chose this book because of how cute the cover is. It's a classic exorcism story and involves themes of platonic love and how far someone can be willing to go to protect their friend. The tapeworm section of the book though was super detailed and burned into my memory.

This was a gruesome read. The author pushes way past the normal boundaries of horror when writing this book. This was my first time reading a horror book this dark and it was hard to read given the impressive detail in painting an image. While the "main" character, Andrew (I felt as if all other characters were given more attention) was based on a different serial killer, it gave HEAVY Jeffery Dahmer vibes. This book makes me wonder where the line is when writing stories like this. It seemed as if it took too much inspiration from real-life crimes and I was uncomfortable all the way through.

DO NOT READ IF YOU DONT WANT SPOILERS

The scene that described Tran's last attempt to save himself made me sick and I almost DNF'd this book. The extreme detail of him being drugged, bleeding, and barely conscious while bystanders try to convince cops to help him. Um... that sound super familiar? It made me wonder if the author is really as talented and poetic as people claimed. It made my stomach turn and it made me angry because it almost felt like it was once again sensationalizing Jeffery Dahmer. I know the author claims that they drew inspiration from a different serial killer,  but after reading that part of the book I don't believe it for a second.  

 

This is a great and informative book that takes its time to break everything down very carefully. My only critique of the book is that I did not like one of the author's suggested solutions to combat violence against women. I feel it relied too heavily on the police and the justice system. While the author acknowledged that neither entity is perfect or the end all be all, I think they missed an opportunity to critique how abusers are often overlooked, ignored, or sympathized with.

The author takes their time telling the story and does a great job in not sensationalizing the victim or the crime.

I started this book thinking it wouldn't change my opinions and that it couldn't sway me, but after reading the first chapter I realized that this was going to challenge me more than I thought. It was really informative and provided a good argument in favor of men. Or really it was a more empathetic approach to evaluating the system of patriarchy. People always say men are also victims of patriarchy and this book breaks down how that manifests in a man's individual, familial, platonic, and romantic life.

The book gave me the impression that bell hooks was asking women to forgive men (to a certain extent) because they don't have the self-awareness or the knowledge or motivation to challenge patriarchy without sacrificing their perceived idea of masculinity. bell hooks highlights in the book that patriarchy is a system and it works just as it is intended, but she was also saying (as it is the title of the book) that men have to have the will to change and that it is no one else's job but theirs to dismantle ti.

This is an anthology book and usually, I wouldn't give a book like this 2 stars, but it has been raved about all through the internet, particularly TikTok. I read it to see what the hype is about. None of the stories particularly stood out to me, even the one that people kept mentioning as a selling point. It was dark and messed up, but again, none of the stories stuck with me and that's what made me give the book such a low rating.

REVIEW INCLUDES OPINIONS AND REVIEW OF BOOK

The novel begins by telling the story of Jane and her traditional, cookie-cutter family. They are the complete opposites of Pecola and her family, the Breedloves. All are described as "an ugly family", whose ugliness manifests in different ways. I believe the story opens with Jane and her family to accentuate the difference between her and Pecola. Pecola's ugliness is manifested as a cloak. Something she hides behind and covers everything in her life. She is bullied at school, SA'd at home, mostly ignored and on top of that, she's poor and dark-skinned (not saying this is bad, just framing it the way the story does). 

She begins to associate all the negative things in her life to the fact that she (and many people around her) view her as ugly. She begins to desire having blue eyes because in her eyes, those who have blue eyes never face any adversity and have great lives. It's a sad story that shows all who care for Pecola and even see her as beautiful watching Pecola slowly descend towards madness.

This book is an important addition to historical studies about the practice and institution of slavery and sheds an important light on a demographic largely omitted from the history books: white women. This book was extremely informative about how white women weren't the benevolent bystanders that were told to us for a long time. 

DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T WANT ANY SPOILERS

I liked the concept of this book and enjoyed the take on the competition between Hanna and Suzette for Alex's affection. Hanna has all the makings of a sociopath and you can't help but sympathize with Suzette, a chronically ill, insecure new mother with her own mommy issues. Her mother is described as an unloving one. Between that and the fact that Suzette mentions not having "motherly instincts" or expresses not really wanting to be a mother and only doing it to please Alex, I also sympathize with Hanna who can tell the love a mother is supposed to feel towards their child is missing. 

Alex (the true villain in this story) is a great example of the obliviousness that is only associated with fatherhood. He comes around to be the "fun parent" and at times, invalidates his wife and her fears and insecurities. He is so oblivious to the standard of perfection that holds Suzette down so much that she doesn't feel safe to share her parenting struggles until it is too late.