oddsign's reviews
67 reviews

Caution: fiction

Fun paranoia filled short stories. A mix of apocalyptic spaces, indescribable creatures, twilight zone-y scenarios, and horrific sci-fi encounters. (But he’s not a sci-fi writer! **please don’t kill me Mr. Evenson**)

I enjoy Evenson’s writing tones. Sometimes pulpy, funny, and genuinely creepy. 

My Favorites: Song for the Unraveling of the World, Sisters, Room Tone, The Tower, The Hole, Trigger Warnings, Lord of the Vats

Profound for all ages. Less whimsical adventure, and more intimate story about a group of characters and how they react to the unexpected absence of the Moomin family. 
You can really interpret this story in many different ways. The main ones for me being grief, loss, and focusing too much on others rather than yourself. But also, the appreciation of friendship and the lasting impacts we can have on each other. Tove’s characters feel like exploring the diverse feelings and thoughts we can have around fear and worry, and how we navigate through them. 
Toft feels like the central character exploring these scary thoughts about the unknown, like possibly never seeing your friend again. Or in Toft’s case, never seeing the motherly figure again that you’ve desperately wanted in your life.
Snufkin, as always, has some short lines that speak volumes. 

Toft claims “Moominmamma is all I care about!”

and Snufkin quietly responds:
“I wonder what Moominmamma cares about.”

It resonated me as much as Toft’s outburst shortly after where he repeats what Snufkin said to him in a way to understand and cope. It’s a harsh truth. We can sometimes put too much weight on others with how much we value, or “need”, them.

How would you feel if someone who has impacted you so much decided to leave without telling you? What would you do?

I love the Moomin family and their friends. Their absence hurts, and is worrisome. 

Where did they go? Are they even coming back? Why wouldn’t they say anything?
and what if we never get an answer?

It’s an incredible way to end the book series.

Needless to say I burst into tears on the last page. I adore this book. 

> I was becoming a process.
 All bodies are, in some sense; engines driven by the health or disease of their owners, jackets of flesh that are the physical sum of their wearers. But to become your disease? To become the consumption itself?

A gross, uncomfortable, and sometimes frustrating read. But Intentional. The characters are assholes living in terrible conditions written provocatively without hesitation. A surreal nightmare with an abundance of dirty intimacy and body horror. With lots of…. Fluids. 

The story to me, is around extremely unhealthy relationships and their extreme fascinations around art. I personally felt like this book could have been half as long, but I did enjoy and appreciate Koja’s narrative voice towards the end after being frustrated with it at first. 

The central characters (Nicholas, Nakota, and the Funhole) reflect a dangerous love triangle. Nicholas loves Nakota, Nakota loves the Funhole, and the Funhole wants Nicholas. As it goes on, Nicholas and the funhole basically become synonymous. It can’t “work” without him. And as much as he’d like to avoid it entirely, everyone else’s fascination of the Funhole (and his detest towards that as well) practically draws him closer. The Funhole *is* Nick, in my interpretation. Almost like a symbol for a part of himself that is dangerous for himself and those around him, but feels like a necessity. Further implied by how the Funhole begins to form from his own hand throughout the story like a horribly festering wound that gets worse and worse. He becomes dangerous, violent. He hates the harm he causes but Nakota loves what it does to him, and pushes him further towards it. Even when he hurts her physically. 

It’s certainly very interesting, and its message isn’t entirely clear or pronounced. Just like the dreamlike scenarios that are basically unexplainable.

I noticed halfway through that people were not actually reacting to the things plaguing Nicholas’s senses. His injury, despite constantly oozing and bleeding and consistently rebandaged by whatever he can find, is not addressed by anyone. He once intentionally drips on Nakota and there isn’t a response from her by it. As well as a few other instances I noticed characters not reacting to the stuff Nicholas is experiencing that should be obvious for anyone near him to see. 

It’s gritty and nasty. Overall I enjoyed the experience and questions is left me. I couldn’t help but imagine it as a dark horror film from the 90’s. Full of nightmarish dreamlike sequences and uneasy tension. 

A bit long maybe. I didn’t really enjoy the cast of characters it drip fed. When Malcom and his posse arrived halfway through I felt a bit exhausted, as I enjoyed the small cast of Nick, Nakota, Randy (a true bro), and Vanese in the first half. But it’s a good one. Just don’t go in expecting to relate to these people. 

The narrative puzzle is not interesting enough to think about. The narrative voices barely have any characterization, so it all feels flat and monotone. 

Main theme is just men hurting/controlling women.

Just wrapped in an unnecessary narrative puzzle because hypnosis are identity switching are a main hook of the puzzle. 

But everyone is just horrible so I have no connection to form any meanings to the “why” of the plot. 

I ended up not caring.

Tragic and Haunting. A vivid story of grief that is consistently scary. Moreno’s writing is so clear and full of character, he manages to make me laugh and cry between the bouts of fear. Even successfully giving me chills with pop culture quotes which would typically make my eyes roll. 

I blew through this book like a black mirror episode I couldn’t look away from.

Terrific. Emotional Horror at it’s finest.

I wish I was the hobgoblin