This is fine, not my favorite of Hall's, but I definitely thought to myself, "do allosexuals really think and talk about sex this much?" several timesThis is fine, not my favorite of Hall's, but I definitely thought to myself, "do allosexuals really think and talk about sex this much?" several times while reading this. I did enjoy the aromantic rep for Arabella, though....more
This was mostly just fine, though I think this may be a case of "it's not you, it's me." I didn't gel particularly well with the writing style as it'sThis was mostly just fine, though I think this may be a case of "it's not you, it's me." I didn't gel particularly well with the writing style as it's very obvious the author is primarily a scriptwriter and not a novelist. It did feel at times that I was reading a script with just extra description added in -- I'm not sure I'm explaining it well, but it felt like direction you give to actors, sometimes.
It's a very rom-com, Bridgerton-esque idea of a historical romance novel. You know how in season two of Bridgerton, Colin arrives at someone's house on a single horse, no carriage, then he stays there all day without realizing, then takes his leave when it's a) nighttime and b) raining? And the two other characters in the scene are like "ok bye" when they should have been like "no, it's raining and it's dark, you need to stay until morning when it's safer to ride" because riding in the rainy dark is a good way to kill either yourself or your horse? But it's fine, because Bridgerton doesn't claim to be historically correct, but rather a fantasy historical romance version of Regency England.
That's a long-winded way of saying that the setting felt unimportant until the author needed it to be important. Otherwise not much thought was put into it. At two different points that I recall a main character gives a "thumbs up" to another, except that didn't become a thing until the early 20th century, and even if it had been a thing in the 1850s it likely would have been considered incredibly rude for a high born girl to do. There was also some Americanisms that seeped through.
Overall, it wasn't bad, it just could have been better....more
ACTUAL REVIEW: Tell Me I'm Worthless left me feeling much like Docile by K.M. Szpara did, in that I'm perhaps INITIAL THOUGHTS 10/4/23: What the fuck.
ACTUAL REVIEW: Tell Me I'm Worthless left me feeling much like Docile by K.M. Szpara did, in that I'm perhaps not as well read on some subjects as I'd like to be and therefore I was a little out of my depth on the subject matter. It's a complicated story where everyone is an asshole of varying degrees, trying to live their lives after having been traumatized and while continuing to be traumatized every day. They don't make great choices and they hurt each other and themselves. It's an uncomfortable read in several ways, from the vile transphobia, racism, sexism, sexual assault, to the fascism and antisemitism.
I highly recommend finding a list of trigger warnings for this book, as while I believe horror stories have every right to be upsetting and uncomfortable, Tell Me I'm Worthless deals heavily in Nazism and Holocaust imagery for some of its horror. I found it effective for a story that's literally about the rise in fascism that's been happening in the last few years, but I am not Jewish and obviously this will affect people in different ways.
There was also a multi-page description of a fantasy where a trans woman is brutalized that, admittedly, I had to skim after the first page. Again, I see what Rumfitt was going for in that this is shit trans people, especially trans women, have to deal with online and off every day, but at a certain point I wasn't sure I was being horrified so much as engaging in torture porn. Like I said, this is a difficult book.
Some of my complaints are quibbles, mostly: I do understand that the first 100ish pages were set up to show how Alice and Ila were living in the shadow of what happened in the House, and how they were dealing with the rise of mainstream transphobia and TERFism--both on opposing sides--but it did feel like it dragged on a little. Ila's story especially seemed to be a little aimless.
I think the book marketing does Tell Me I'm Worthless a bit of a disservice, because Hannah doesn't feature much in the story, although her chapter and the scenes of the trio at the House were the most effective and gutpunching. (At one point, I literally said, "Oh my fucking gods" out loud.) This makes it seem like Alice and Ila's return to the House would be more of a feature than it ended up being. The book instead is more an exploration of the horrors of transphobia, fascism, and how people are trying to live through it.
I really enjoyed the House chapters, though, and it definitely feels like a character in its own right, as all haunted and/or Gothic houses should.
So... all that being said, I have no idea how I feel about Tell Me I'm Worthless. Am I upset that I read it? Only in that the subjects were upsetting in ways they naturally should be; not necessarily because I believe I wasted my time or money. But can I say I enjoyed it, or that I think it's a well written book? I'm not sure. I don't know that Rumfitt accomplished what she set out to do. The scope of the story is broad, maybe almost too broad, which leaves things with Alice and Ila feeling a little unfinished. But then, the issues they face are still ongoing, still being fought, so not tying everything up in a pretty little bow is fitting, I suppose.
I recommend reading reviews from Jewish and trans reviewers before going into this; obviously they will have a different viewpoint on everything in the book than I do. While reading the low star reviews, I can't say that the things they bring up are wrong, only that I understand why Rumfitt included them as she did, and that they didn't affect me as they did others.
I dunno, y'all. Sometimes you read a book that just stumps you. Tell Me I'm Worthless is one of those for me....more
