alx@bookwyrm.social reviewed Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt
Horrifying, upsetting and deeply uncomfortable
4 stars
My word, this book does not hold anything back. A horror story centred on the experiences of its characters with a malignant house, it explores trauma and the insidious creep of fascist attitudes, against a backdrop of the ongoing culture war in the UK.
I particularly appreciated the way chapters alternate between the perspectives of Alice, Ila, and the house itself; each cycle taking the reader deeper into their relationships and encounters with each other, ramping up the dread and horror until it spills over.
Having spent many years living in Brighton (where this is set) I was able to picture things more vividly than I ordinarily would have. That said, if there's one aspect that broke me out of the story a bit, it's the references to real-life people and events, which perhaps rooted things too much in the right-here-and-now. But maybe that's necessary for a book …
My word, this book does not hold anything back. A horror story centred on the experiences of its characters with a malignant house, it explores trauma and the insidious creep of fascist attitudes, against a backdrop of the ongoing culture war in the UK.
I particularly appreciated the way chapters alternate between the perspectives of Alice, Ila, and the house itself; each cycle taking the reader deeper into their relationships and encounters with each other, ramping up the dread and horror until it spills over.
Having spent many years living in Brighton (where this is set) I was able to picture things more vividly than I ordinarily would have. That said, if there's one aspect that broke me out of the story a bit, it's the references to real-life people and events, which perhaps rooted things too much in the right-here-and-now. But maybe that's necessary for a book which is addressing such immediate concerns.
The author includes a content warning at the front, and rightly so as it includes multiple themes, attitudes and occurences which many will be disturbed or upset by. It is not the nature of this book to deal with them sensitively, but I also didn't feel that anything was used gratuitously or in a way that downplayed its seriousness.