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BJ's Reviews > Tell Me I’m Worthless
Tell Me I’m Worthless
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Five stars because at worst the author achieved exactly what they were aiming for and at best they achieved considerably more. But this is a brutal novel and I regret reading it. I found too late that what I wanted from a haunted house story this fall was the bite of fear accompanied by a pleasant warmth. There is nothing warm here. (view spoiler)
It is a great political novel because it is saying something about fascism and identity that couldn't have been said in any other form; something that cannot be summarized or explained. This could never have been an essay. It had to be a novel. The more you think about it, the more any obvious contemporary or straightforwardly liberatory interpretation seems to recede over a swiftly tilting horizon.
It is a great political novel because it is saying something about fascism and identity that couldn't have been said in any other form; something that cannot be summarized or explained. This could never have been an essay. It had to be a novel. The more you think about it, the more any obvious contemporary or straightforwardly liberatory interpretation seems to recede over a swiftly tilting horizon.
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Reading Progress
January 5, 2022
– Shelved as:
to-read
January 5, 2022
– Shelved
November 12, 2023
–
Started Reading
November 18, 2023
–
Finished Reading
November 21, 2023
– Shelved as:
horror-and-suspense
November 21, 2023
– Shelved as:
queer
October 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
autumn
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s.penkevich
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rated it 5 stars
Nov 21, 2023 01:32PM
Spot on review. Whew this book was intense and so well done—I love your point that this had to be a novel and not an essay and it’s interesting to see how the horror genre has become such an insightful landscape for literary discussions on identity and such. Glad you got a lot out of this one, I think this book will haunt me for a long time still (okay I kind of loved mocking Morrissey by having him as a ghost despite still being alive though).
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Thanks S. Actually, I'm pretty sure your review is what put this on my radar back around when it came out! This is definitely one that I expect will stay with me, even though I didn't particularly enjoy the experience of reading it while it was happening. But that's how it is with art, sometimes, it shouldn't always be easy going.
IT sounds like it was a tough read. I agree with you: Written well, a story is the best way to get a message across because readers become absorbed in the story and care about the characters -- as long as the preaching isn't heavy-handed. (Or am I only saying that as wishful thinking, because I write novels that I like to think have deeper messages?)
Fran wrote: "IT sounds like it was a tough read. I agree with you: Written well, a story is the best way to get a message across because readers become absorbed in the story and care about the characters -- as ..."My favorite is when you, as a reader, can identify what the author believes and is trying to say... but also that their story betrays them on some level, or perhaps better said goes a step further than they even know. Because humans tend not to conform so neatly to the politics we imagine for them, and in the best books neither do characters!
Definitely: The best part of writing is when the story (which means the characters) takes over from the writer and starts moving in directions the writer never planned! Then you know that the characters are real.
