Idle Grounds | 
pickThe best (adult) novel I‘ve read all year (no way to measure it against Moominland; they are different soft, round, or zig-zaggy beasts). A child goes missing. Her gaggle of cousins goes looking for her in the thick, viscous, fecund wood.
One might complain that there are too many similes and metaphors but that one would also be forced to admit that 95% of them are so creative and fantastic that the complaint isn‘t really a complaint at all. 👇🏻
monalyisha 1/2: Besides, something being LIKE something else, but not *actually* something, represents that disquieting resistance to being pinned down that horror has. You can‘t quite look at it directly. Or you don‘t want to. You can‘t grasp it or understand it or reason with it. It eludes you, and that‘s uncomfortable. Figurative language is the best we‘ve got. 1w
monalyisha 2/2: Owen with his precious eggs is my favorite part. Such a clear symbol for how everything is so delicate and vulnerable, and how the outside world is implicitly threatening and dangerous. And, what‘s worse (in the case of Beezy, especially) is that sometimes your interior world is no better. This is a book about generational trauma. It perfectly captures humanity‘s capacity to be there for one another, and — crushingly — not. 1w
monalyisha AND I DIDN‘T EVEN MENTION THAT IT‘S FUNNY! 🤩🤯 1w
lauraisntwilder I just bought this on Sunday on a whim and hadn't heard anything about it. Love your review! 1w
monalyisha @lauraisntwilder I hope it strikes you the same way it did me! 1w
