genre: horror/speculative
The woman's story has been written on whatever she can find - WITH whatever she can find. The words are written so she can process what she's seeing and experiencing, as well as how she got to where she is. Her life as an "unworthy" member of the Sacred Sisterhood is one of privation and punishment. But, when the earth around her is dead and broken, at least it is shelter and it is not being alone. When another new woman arrives, however, our narrator does start having questions about her own time before she entered the gates and put on her white tunic. What's so painful that she can't even remember it?
This is a freaky story, honestly. It is violent and there is a menacing pall over everything that happens within the abandoned monastery where she now lives. It's a religious/culty set up that I find intriguing and it's got a post-apocalyptic vibe that I like. I still don't understand some of what I read, I feel like that's on purpose but it's a little unnerving. But also, there is beauty here, some scenes that capture the magic of the ordinary when the entire modern world has crashed to pieces. It is hard to think about a dead earth and what would happen to all of us and what kinds of societies WOULD exist when communication is nonexistent and survival is such a razor's edge.
Somehow, I have once again accidentally picked up a book with a sapphic love story. It's not super graphic in a sexual way but it is graphic in a horror way that I tend to shy away from. I can't decide if it is crazy beautiful or just upsetting with some parts that I really found memorable. Clearly, I can't decide how I feel about it. If nothing else, it definitely gave me a a Halloween vibe and I would read something else by this author for sure. 3.5 stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment