My Absolute Darling: A Novel | 
pickThis book was intense and deals with some incredibly difficult themes, but I absolutely could not put it down. Brilliantly written and richly imagined. It‘s definitely not for everyone and it feels weird to say I loved it because of the subject matter, but it was an outstanding read.
so-soTallent‘s novel about a young girl grappling with physical and sexual abuse from her father is dark, brutal, and bleak, but also lacks a deeper context and believability in the protagonist. I wanted to understand Turtle on a deeper level and the third person narration created a lot of distance and discomfort with her character. Turtle had the makings of a literary heroine, but Tallent‘s strange choices detracted from that potential. 3⭐️
I‘m on a solo trip to Astoria, OR! First stop is beer and a book at Astoria Brewing Company. 🍺 📚
Devastating and difficult to read, but also magnificent writing and a heartbreakingly beautiful main character.
#alphabetgame
#LetterM
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
pickThis book was disturbing with a capital D! But it was so so good! I had to read it quickly to see what happened to the girl, Turtle. The things she went through were unthinkable. This young author has a way with words. Warning - if you do the audio version, this is not one you want to play out loud due to language and content. I recommend this book for those who think they can handle it. Huge trigger warning.
pickThis book is dark, violent, graphic, and disturbing. It‘s well-written, though some of the dialogue made me want to scream. I definitely do not recommend anyone read this book without researching what you‘re getting in to, as it‘s more deserving of trigger warnings than any book I‘ve read in years. Still, I couldn‘t stop listening, I‘m glad I read it and was left with a hopeful feeling after all of the disgusting misery.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
bailed*deep breath* I'm at a loss ... how a writer thought this is great subject matter, gotta write about this, this is a great way to present it, how a publisher read it & thought this is great, people want to read this stuff & are gonna love this presentation, how literary folk thought wow, this really is something, so deep, so meaningful, so powerful...???
JUST NO.
This guy should be on a register. Disturbing, unnecessary, no redeeming features.
So I persevered with this for a few more pages .... and, well, just no. Just no.
Scathing review to follow. Am feeling too queasy to tackle it right away.
I've only just got started on this one and I already feel deeply icky and nothing has even happened yet. Just how uncomfortable does it get? Not sure I'm in the right place for certain things right now. Or ever really.
#3Books @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620
These all made me creeped out, uncomfortable, and definitely unsettled.
bailedThis just felt too icky to read. The writing is really good but I just couldn't hang in there. I made it 30% through before I had to bail. Trigger warning for abuse, incest and, from what I hear, violence.
pickKein leichtes Buch.
Turtle wächst isoliert bei ihrem Vater auf. Schnell wird klar, dass dies keine normale Vater-Tochter Beziehung ist....
Gewalt, sexueller Missbrauch, Waffen... Doch als Turtle sich verliebt, wird es erst wirklich gefährlich für sie.
Das Buch fand ich wirklich gut, auch wenn es oft nicht leicht war. Abzüge gibt es für das Ende, was für mich nicht ganz stimmig war. Dennoch spreche ich eine Leseempfehlung aus!
I'm about 50 pages into this one and afraid it just might be too dark for me. The abuse and incest has me feeling just...um...yuck. Has anyone else read this? Thoughts?
Do you have any books that you keep putting off because you‘re worried about how you‘ll feel while reading them? I think there are a lot of books out there that are incredibly intriguing but equally unsettling and, knowing that ahead of time, it‘s hard to find the proper motivation to dive in! I‘ve been warned many times about My Absolute Darling‘s
Continued ⬇️
pickThe most terrifying evil is the one that is all to real, that walks alongside us, that shelters in homes with us, that wears a familiar face. This is a truth that Turtle Alveston—one of the most remarkable, vividly rendered characters I‘ve read in a long time—knows all to well. So too do readers by the time they‘re finished with this intense, gut-wrenching & compelling story. Turtle is a remarkable character & reason enough to read this book.
I just have SO many questions about this author‘s psyche. Also, Cayenne feels like Turtle‘s inner child here, at least in how she relates to her.
Honestly, I put this book down for awhile. Picking it back up again, I‘m having a hard time understanding how I read it for so long. I really want to know the end of the story, but it is just so ridiculously disturbing, I‘m not sure if I‘ll get there.
🎧listening to this during the day.
pickThis book is just as dark and difficult as everyone says. The brutality and violence felt gratuitous, some of the language and behaviors very awkward and off the mark, but I was gripped by the story anyway. Trigger warnings for abuse, incest, rape, all kinds of bodily harm.
pickI was very reticent about reading this book for my book club but in the end I found it brilliant. The premise is a very sad subject -father abusing his daughter. But this book is so much more. Tallent shows us how victims wind up staying with their abusers. Exquisite writing, beautifully written nature scenes, believable well-developed characters, perfect pacing and it‘s a debut novel. I highly recommend it!
This writing...!
“She loves taking care of things” (34). Such a simple observation of his protagonist.
“The floor complains beneath him” (34). The floorboards even hate Martin. I love it.
“...and Turtle wondered if there are things that she is blind to that other people can see, and what those things might be” (14).
A little nervous that it‘s 417 pages, but we‘ll see...
Going on a blind date...with a book! Thanks #barnesandnoble
pickWow! This was definitely a dark book but well worth the read. I couldn't stop reading and found myself constantly thinking about Turtle and her life.
so-soI would prefer not to read this book, but still I did.
Overwhelmed with the negative feelings towards the story and it‘s delivery. Deeply killing narrative of the young girl with all the bad things happened to her. She doesn‘t know about other world outside the unnecessary roughness and abuse.
Father and daughter line was really mentally killing. My point of “never again”.
I felt disappointed after reading this.
so-soTeenager Turtle lives in solitude with her abusive, obsessive father, training nonstop for the end of the world—until she meets a boy named Jacob who changes the way she sees it.
Read January 2-4
Rating 2.5/5 ⭐️
Book 1/60
Some thoughts about my 2019 reading year: https://theludicreader.com/2020/01/02/a-reflection-on-my-2019-reading-year/
1. Current read tagged in post
2. Last 5🌟 read, There There by Tommy Orange
3. Books read in October =18
4. We Cast A Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin
pickNormal is the circumstance of your surroundings as a child. This book puts a new and horrifying twist to the coming of age genre. Difficult to read; yet impossible to put down.
pickI read this one nonstop for 2 days. It is dark but so good. Very descriptive, so much so that it felt like I was watching a movie. Sometimes that description is horrible because of the scene content, but overall it's hauntingly beautiful. I loved the character development and also the fact that I had no idea how it was going to end. The cover blurb doesn't really prepare you for what you're getting into.
Starting this today. I saw it on a list of "Books to read if you liked Where the Crawdads Sing". When I found it for 50 cents at the library book sale the very next morning, I took it as a sign that this title and I were meant to share some time together.
Starting this one today! 💚
My husband picked this up from The Dog Eared Book for me today. I have to admit that I am very tempted to ditch my June TBR stack so I can read this instead!
panRegrettably, no matter how good the writing was, this book was a punishment for me. Way too much description. Turtle‘s rationalizations meandered so much I repeatedly lost interest. Loathed the relentless misogyny. Didn‘t believe Jacob would put up w her abuse. Molesting Cayenne eliminated depth of father-daughter relationship which was ENTIRE premise & made him a plain ole pedophile. I wish I‘d bailed. Glad for its success, but big miss for me.
Still plowing thru. The writing is phenomenal. I am not using “but” to qualify that because it is indisputably phenomenal. My issue is with how I feel as I read. When I am not sickened and or terrified, I am bored. I don‘t care this much about the details of (so many) guns and settings. The constant misogyny is not easy to deal with even as I understand it and respect the authenticity of it. Anyone else??
I just don‘t know... This is a very hard read. It‘s sickening. Terrifying. Stressful. I hope neither the abuse nor its description get any worse. It‘s bad enough already.
bailedAfter a month of trying I am officially DNFing this book.
DNF
Such an odd book....and I‘m talking about more than just the inappropriate relationship. I‘m putting it down as I have no desire to keep going. I even skipped ahead and still don‘t care enough to keep going.
pickThis was a phenomenal and almost unbearable book. I can understand why it‘s so polarizing. There is a lot of cringe-worthy and downright terrifying material in here. It‘s not for the faint of heart. But it‘s worth it.
I loved the character of Turtle. Not the cussing, hateful, misogynistic young girl who knows and trusts nothing but what her father has been “teaching” her for years — but who she discovers inside herself.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Started reading this last night, after reading about it on @TheLudicReader ‘s blog. The contrast between the beautiful descriptive writing and the gritty material is fascinating.
