"The prison psychiatrist maintains that it is unhealthy to eavesdrop on one's ex following a breakup."
The Vixen Amber Halloway is aOooh this was good!
"The prison psychiatrist maintains that it is unhealthy to eavesdrop on one's ex following a breakup."
The Vixen Amber Halloway is a revenge thriller with an eloquent, unreliable narrator named Ophelia Fairweather. After she learns that her husband is cheating, Ophelia does something that results in her being incarcerated. The story of what happened is delivered as a prison confession.
The story is a combination of Ophelia's therapeutic sessions with a prison psychiatrist in preparation for her meeting with the parole board and a confession (directed to her husband) about everything that transpired to land her in prison.
Ophelia is a woman in her forties who finds love late in life, but once she does, she falls hard. She works as a college professor (a scholar of Dante), and her eloquent way of speaking exudes her intelligence.
At a young age, Ophelia's mother walked out the door and never looked back, leaving Ophelia with deep emotional wounds. Her husband's infidelity is exacerbated by the lingering pain of her mother's absence. Throughout the book, Ophelia attempts to work through her abandonment issues while recounting how Andy's sudden departure in pursuit of the young and attractive Amber propelled her toward a mental break.
While Ophelia's narrative voice is clearly defined throughout the book, her dialogue is less convincing. This is especially true during the book's climax; it's possible Ophelia's dialogue is too stilted and mechanical during this scene or it could be that our unreliable narrator is trying to shape our opinion of her (perhaps portraying herself as "cool" in the way that only an awkward person with a personality disorder would).
Overall, I found this to be a fascinating examination of society's proclivity to blame women for men's bad behavior. In a just world, the book would have been titled The Cheater Andy Fairweather, but society would have us blame the woman, and Ophelia tragically succumbs to this way of thinking.
Let it be a lesson to all: If a woman takes a cheating man off your hands, send her flowers and a thank you card because she just saved you from wasting your time and energy on a man who doesn't deserve you.
Faintly reminiscent of Alias Grace, The Vixen Amber Halloway is a tense yet sorrowful story of mental illness, deep-seeded childhood pain, and a broken heart manifesting in terrifying ways.
My heartfelt thanks to the very generous people at Regal House Publishing for sending me a finished copy of this highly anticipated read.
I’ve seen a few reviews call this a Beauty and the Beast retelling (not sure why; maybe because of the "rose" on the cover?), but it’s blurbed as a reI’ve seen a few reviews call this a Beauty and the Beast retelling (not sure why; maybe because of the "rose" on the cover?), but it’s blurbed as a retelling of Snow White, and in light of how much the story has to do with mirrors and being beautiful, a comparison to Snow White makes a lot more sense.
Merged review:
I’ve seen a few reviews call this a Beauty and the Beast retelling (not sure why; maybe because of the "rose" on the cover?), but it’s blurbed as a retelling of Snow White, and in light of how much the story has to do with mirrors and being beautiful, a comparison to Snow White makes a lot more sense.
Merged review:
I’ve seen a few reviews call this a Beauty and the Beast retelling (not sure why; maybe because of the "rose" on the cover?), but it’s blurbed as a retelling of Snow White, and in light of how much the story has to do with mirrors and being beautiful, a comparison to Snow White makes a lot more sense....more
"She recalled that milk came from blood. The same must then be true of butter. She licked the blood on the scab again. It tasted of metal and sweat."*"She recalled that milk came from blood. The same must then be true of butter. She licked the blood on the scab again. It tasted of metal and sweat."*
Hear me out... Butter is Julie & Julia if Julia Child were a serial killer and Julie's feelings for the skilled cook transgressed beyond admiration, with a pinch of murder and a generous serving of feminism.
What I thought this book would be: A startling thriller in which a female serial killer whips up delicious gourmet meals and serves them to her unsuspecting victims while a journalist writing about the mounting murders starts piecing clues together to crack the case and find the killer.
What this book actually is: Something else entirely . . .
Butter is based on a true story and opens with serial killer Manako Kajii (also known in real life as the Konkatsu Killer) already in prison, where she refuses to speak to any interviewers, especially women. Journalist Rika Machida is keen to interview Kajii and manages to connect with the imprisoned woman by exploiting her interest in food (i.e., asking for a recipe).
According to the media, the most surprising thing about Kajii's case was not how she used dating sites and exquisite food to lure would-be husbands before (allegedly) murdering them, it was that Kajii was "was neither young nor beautiful"* and was considered overweight. The media questioned: Why would a man, no matter how lonely he was, find her desirable?
Gaining weight and observing how society treats women who have gained weight is central to Rika's journey toward self-acceptance (note: this could be triggering for some readers). Meanwhile, her interactions with Kajii center on exploring food and discussing feminism.
The story follows journalist Rika (not Kajii) as she learns to cook and gains weight, wrestles with being comfortable in her new body, navigates patriarchal views of women's roles and bodies, researches Kajii's history, strives for autonomy, and ultimately discovers how she wishes to exist as a woman.
At its heart, this is a story about hunger: for food, for connection, for sensuality, for friendship, for knowledge, for independence, and for acceptance. It's also a story of opposites with Kajii and Rika holding diametric opinions toward women and feminism.
There's little in the way of violence or gore in this book. Instead, it offers an abundance of sumptuous descriptions of food: textures, aromas, flavors, sensations, etc.
I think a more apt title for the book would have been, Butter: A Novel of Food and Feminism. It may not be as catchy or have sold as many copies, but it more accurately represents what this book offers.
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Many thanks to Ecco for sending me an advanced reading copy. Butter publishes April 16, 2024.
*Note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy and are subject to change by the final printing.
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This book sounds wild! About a woman who lures lonely businessmen with her gourmet cooking then murders them and the journalist intent on cracking the case. And it's BASED ON A TRUE STORY? ...more
Gritty and unsettling. I was drawn to the collective narrator's caustic proclivity for darkness and ached alongside them for the glittering, out-of-reGritty and unsettling. I was drawn to the collective narrator's caustic proclivity for darkness and ached alongside them for the glittering, out-of-reach otherworld that's dangled before them. That's a testament to Dizz Tate's writing style which is, to borrow her own imagery, cherry pie shimmering with roaches—beguiling and repulsive in equal measure (often reminded me of Bunny by Mona Awad).
This is definitely a book I'll reread, as I'd like to revisit the parallel symbolism of (view spoiler)[the lake, the bowl of water, and the womb (hide spoiler)]. For a better understanding of what events the book is presumably inspired by click here [TW: (view spoiler)[child abuse, sexual assault, rape (hide spoiler)]]....more
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