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A review by deinnos
These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever
5.0
5 out of 5
The relationship of Paul and Julian was both beautiful and terrifying, obsessive and passionate. Looking at it as a reader, you would, and should, hate how they both treated each other. Sometimes you had to question how thin the line of love and hate was for them. There’s a desperation to prove to one another that their love was true and real, which you could say sprouted from living in a time period that didn’t approve of their relationship or saw it as a ‘phase’ they would get over eventually. As any teenager, they felt isolated from their respective families; both wanting to rebel against the status quo and attest that they were above the mob mentality. Only until they find each other do they feel seen and understood that as Paul put it, “It was a relief and horror to be known so perfectly.”
There seems to be a heavy parallel between the Milgram Experiment that is constantly mentioned and Paul’s need for Julian as a figure of authority and stability. It was comically tragic how Paul, while being hypercritical of people for their obedience to authority, does the same thing when it comes from Julian, and he doesn’t even seem to be conscious about it. Every small act of violence committed by Paul is done in the name of Julian, trying to prove himself as someone worthy, needing him as an anchor that would bring order to his life. How they viewed each other made you second-guess whatever romantic feelings they had. Were they truly in love? Or were they just obsessed with what they each brought to their lives? Or was a it sick, twisted combination of both?
The writing is absolutely stunning for a debut novel. The organization and placement of each sentence made it feel like running silk on my tongue. There was precision and meticulous thoughtfulness on how the author wanted to write it, but there was no coldness or detachment. On the contrary, it elevated the wild and fervent atmosphere that was painting the story from start to finish. Micah Nemerever is an extremely talented writer and I will reading anything he publishes in the future.
More than anything, this book was about the experience I had while reading it. I went through a spectrum of emotions and profound moments of introspection after the multitude of times it touched a personal nerve. It made me unbearably melancholic. I felt like crying, not only for the characters, but for my self. My younger self that went through so much while discovering her sexuality.
My very first queer “relationship” happened when I was a teenager. The reason I put quotation marks on relationship was because it was never something we established as official. It just happened over time, like two pieces of a puzzle finally coming together, and we both knew it was like nothing either her or I had ever experienced before. It was so encompassing, so intense that it ended up being destructive. It left a profound scar that I’m still battling with each day. Some of my own personal experience were reflecting in Paul and Julian which is why I was able to connect so deeply with the emotional atmosphere of the book. I loved and hated it for it.
The relationship of Paul and Julian was both beautiful and terrifying, obsessive and passionate. Looking at it as a reader, you would, and should, hate how they both treated each other. Sometimes you had to question how thin the line of love and hate was for them. There’s a desperation to prove to one another that their love was true and real, which you could say sprouted from living in a time period that didn’t approve of their relationship or saw it as a ‘phase’ they would get over eventually. As any teenager, they felt isolated from their respective families; both wanting to rebel against the status quo and attest that they were above the mob mentality. Only until they find each other do they feel seen and understood that as Paul put it, “It was a relief and horror to be known so perfectly.”
There seems to be a heavy parallel between the Milgram Experiment that is constantly mentioned and Paul’s need for Julian as a figure of authority and stability. It was comically tragic how Paul, while being hypercritical of people for their obedience to authority, does the same thing when it comes from Julian, and he doesn’t even seem to be conscious about it. Every small act of violence committed by Paul is done in the name of Julian, trying to prove himself as someone worthy, needing him as an anchor that would bring order to his life. How they viewed each other made you second-guess whatever romantic feelings they had. Were they truly in love? Or were they just obsessed with what they each brought to their lives? Or was a it sick, twisted combination of both?
The writing is absolutely stunning for a debut novel. The organization and placement of each sentence made it feel like running silk on my tongue. There was precision and meticulous thoughtfulness on how the author wanted to write it, but there was no coldness or detachment. On the contrary, it elevated the wild and fervent atmosphere that was painting the story from start to finish. Micah Nemerever is an extremely talented writer and I will reading anything he publishes in the future.
More than anything, this book was about the experience I had while reading it. I went through a spectrum of emotions and profound moments of introspection after the multitude of times it touched a personal nerve. It made me unbearably melancholic. I felt like crying, not only for the characters, but for my self. My younger self that went through so much while discovering her sexuality.
My very first queer “relationship” happened when I was a teenager. The reason I put quotation marks on relationship was because it was never something we established as official. It just happened over time, like two pieces of a puzzle finally coming together, and we both knew it was like nothing either her or I had ever experienced before. It was so encompassing, so intense that it ended up being destructive. It left a profound scar that I’m still battling with each day. Some of my own personal experience were reflecting in Paul and Julian which is why I was able to connect so deeply with the emotional atmosphere of the book. I loved and hated it for it.