Reviews with content warning for Rape - So finster die Nacht

Not a bad book per se, but so wildly outside of what I want to read more of I cannot let the Storygraph algorithm think I liked it. Finished our of pure spite. Incredibly fucked up, and if that's your thing you're gunna love this book.

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amoremeg's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

This book was hard to get through. The dialogue was difficult to follow and often felt jumpy or truncated or stilted. I believe (I hope) there was some elegance lost in the translation. There are no winners. I don't know if any of the characters are actually good people. Maybe some are trying but it feels like the impulse to act out always wins, the impulse to not communicate always wins. There are so many irrelevant characters who did not need names and backstories- they were only introduced at all to bear witness to some moment, to be a third person perspective.

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choustwhite's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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ar_katz's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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evelphysicist's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Overall a good read. I enjoyed the multiple characters and perspectives in the book and I think seeing these characters lives intersect made the story more interesting as it’s not a particularly fast paced book.

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sphinx_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A 3.5 or 4 stars.

With so many characters and happenings in this book, I tried my best to think what is the overarching theme. The best I have is that everyone has their own circumstances, some way grimmer than others. And while the lives of the characters here tangle in a mess, they end up the cause and effect, the reason for someone's pain, etc. - all of their actions stem from how they were taught around them and how their lives had been. They try to live comfortably or move forward in a way they know. For example,

Johnny (unfortunately so) follows his brother's footsteps because he looks up to the latter.

Lacke buries all what-could-bes through alcohol until it was too late.

Tommy, probably not over his father's death, can't agree with his mother having a new relationship so he thinks of rebelling or stripping himself away from the household instead.

Virginia... deserved so much more.

The list can go on, and the characters makes so much sense because of their narratives and backstories presented. (Except for Hakan, lol. Fuck him.)

My heart goes out for many characters but mostly for Eli and Oskar. Two kids who only want to find connection and play, just like any kids should without having to be bullied. Without having to be chasen around. With all the "flaws" the people see around them, they don't see it as such. They appreciate each other which is wholesome af in a very dark story as this.

There were so many parts that were difficult to read. I abhor the bullying (and all unspeakable things. iykyk) but what made me stay with the story are truly the characters. The characters, man. The characters.

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mmefish's review against another edition

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Uh no.

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caityq's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

5.0

This book was recommended to me and not one I would've picked up myself - so I am grateful to have been lead to it.

It is a fresh, visceral take on a classic theme, and I really enjoyed every moment - even if some were really uncomfortable.

This book was essentially about vampires - but in a way that didn't feel well-trodden.

First of all, Oskar is one of the main voices of the book and at first you think you know which way the book is going. However, Oskar's initial 'bloodlust' at his bullies doesn't stand up to actual murder.

He falls for (mostly, he is 12/13 and fickle) Eli, who's gender is pretty flexible. You learn - through psychic kissing which sounds odd to type but really worked in the context of the book - the torture and means through which Eli became not only a vampire, but as they are - without any genitals.

Through this semi-romantic plot, there's Hakan - an older man who whilst he knows he finds younger boys attractive, thinks he's hit the jackpot with Eli - body of a 12 year old, mine of a 200 year old. When Hakan becomes infected it seems to take differently. Not in his heart - but I believe in his penis (which sounds weird but works in the context of the book, yet again).

There's a visceral gore - from Oskar's piss-ball to Hakan's vampiric erection - that I really enjoyed, even though it was uncomfortable at times.

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