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emma's Reviews > The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
by
by
emma's review
bookshelves: non-ya, mystery-thriller-horror-etc, historical, eh, 2-stars, unpopular-opinion, reviewed
Jun 10, 2019
bookshelves: non-ya, mystery-thriller-horror-etc, historical, eh, 2-stars, unpopular-opinion, reviewed
Well, yikes.
Here are the things I knew about this book before starting it:
1) Its original title (and current UK title) was The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, which, in pure coincidence, is very very similar to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and was therefore changed in the US. (I think this is awesome.)
2) It’s a murder mystery with quite possibly the coolest conceit of any book ever. (I think this is awesome.)
3) It’s teeming with gratuitous fat shaming. (I think this is one of the less awesome things I've ever heard in my life.)
Add to that list that the style is extremely overbearing and unyielding over the course of 480 pages (which feels like many more), and you have my list of major takeaways from this reading experience.
Let’s go in order.
NUMBER 1: TITLE THING
Well, we basically already covered this.
But it says a lot that I still think this is the most interesting thing about this book, and it has nothing to do with its contents.
NUMBER 2: PLOT THING
The idea for this book is SO COOL. Which is why it’s extra lame that I found the first 300-ish pages to be very, very boring, and also found the Big Reveal to be - while not predictable - also boring, and generally speaking was very bored by this whole thing.
Also, the fact that the conceit of this book is what it is (meaning, a guy wakes up in a different person’s body every day with the task of solving the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle) means there must be Magic involved.
Cool! Who doesn’t love magic?
Um, apparently this author, because this Magical World goes largely unexplained and then is halfheartedly told at one point but is clearly not the Main Issue.
Which is extra, extra lame.
NUMBER 3: FATPHOBIA THING
Reading this author say that he did not intend to shame fat people in this book is the stupidest, dumbest, most useless excuse for blatant hatred I’ve ever heard.
It’s actually worse if the fat shaming in this book is not intended, because the idea that someone could go around subliminally thinking things as hateful as this is absurd. The way the fat character in this is written - traitless but for the fact that he is very fat, and therefore lonely and abhorrent and disgusting - is so awful. It’s to the point of being basically unreadable.
This book got better towards the end, but I still wish I had DNFed it at this point.
NUMBER 4: STYLE THING
I could tell within a couple dozen pages that this style - extremely overwrought, extremely overbearing, and extremely present for the whole book - was not going to work for me.
It never did.
Bottom line: The only cool thing about this book was the idea behind it, and everything about the execution was a major bummer.
-------------
pre-review
well, i didn't hate this as much as i expected.
what a rave review.
rtc / 2 stars
-------------
42 pages into this and already brutally sick of the style. YET ANOTHER PROMISING READING EXPERIENCE
Here are the things I knew about this book before starting it:
1) Its original title (and current UK title) was The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, which, in pure coincidence, is very very similar to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and was therefore changed in the US. (I think this is awesome.)
2) It’s a murder mystery with quite possibly the coolest conceit of any book ever. (I think this is awesome.)
3) It’s teeming with gratuitous fat shaming. (I think this is one of the less awesome things I've ever heard in my life.)
Add to that list that the style is extremely overbearing and unyielding over the course of 480 pages (which feels like many more), and you have my list of major takeaways from this reading experience.
Let’s go in order.
NUMBER 1: TITLE THING
Well, we basically already covered this.
But it says a lot that I still think this is the most interesting thing about this book, and it has nothing to do with its contents.
NUMBER 2: PLOT THING
The idea for this book is SO COOL. Which is why it’s extra lame that I found the first 300-ish pages to be very, very boring, and also found the Big Reveal to be - while not predictable - also boring, and generally speaking was very bored by this whole thing.
Also, the fact that the conceit of this book is what it is (meaning, a guy wakes up in a different person’s body every day with the task of solving the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle) means there must be Magic involved.
Cool! Who doesn’t love magic?
Um, apparently this author, because this Magical World goes largely unexplained and then is halfheartedly told at one point but is clearly not the Main Issue.
Which is extra, extra lame.
NUMBER 3: FATPHOBIA THING
Reading this author say that he did not intend to shame fat people in this book is the stupidest, dumbest, most useless excuse for blatant hatred I’ve ever heard.
It’s actually worse if the fat shaming in this book is not intended, because the idea that someone could go around subliminally thinking things as hateful as this is absurd. The way the fat character in this is written - traitless but for the fact that he is very fat, and therefore lonely and abhorrent and disgusting - is so awful. It’s to the point of being basically unreadable.
This book got better towards the end, but I still wish I had DNFed it at this point.
NUMBER 4: STYLE THING
I could tell within a couple dozen pages that this style - extremely overwrought, extremely overbearing, and extremely present for the whole book - was not going to work for me.
It never did.
Bottom line: The only cool thing about this book was the idea behind it, and everything about the execution was a major bummer.
-------------
pre-review
well, i didn't hate this as much as i expected.
what a rave review.
rtc / 2 stars
-------------
42 pages into this and already brutally sick of the style. YET ANOTHER PROMISING READING EXPERIENCE
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Reading Progress
October 8, 2018
– Shelved
June 10, 2019
–
Started Reading
June 16, 2019
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 142 (142 new)
message 1:
by
Namrata
(new)
Jun 10, 2019 10:14AM
Great to hear that you're enjoying it Emma! <3
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I DNF’d the hell out of this. It was so tedious & I just couldn’t give one single fuck about the plot 😭
I'M SO SORRY EMMA. I FRIPPIN READ THAT WRONG. GEEZ I HATE MYSELF. I thought that you were enjoying it because of the last line. Sorry I didn't read the entire review. Hope you understand. This is embarrassing. I am extremely sorry for my previous comment.
I have to say at first it was taking me a while to get into the style of it, but I'm halfway through it and well, it's not bad
Not a good book, not in any way. You were wise to quit it.
Mary ~Ravager of Tomes~ wrote: "I DNF’d the hell out of this. It was so tedious & I just couldn’t give one single fuck about the plot 😭"oh god mary i wish i had looked at your review before buying this
Namrata wrote: "I'M SO SORRY EMMA. I FRIPPIN READ THAT WRONG. GEEZ I HATE MYSELF. I thought that you were enjoying it because of the last line. Sorry I didn't read the entire review. Hope you understand. This is e..."OMG IT'S SO OK YOU ARE SO NICE MY HEART IS WARM
Oriana wrote: "I have to say at first it was taking me a while to get into the style of it, but I'm halfway through it and well, it's not bad"perhaps i must....persevere.......
Jeanette wrote: "Not a good book, not in any way. You were wise to quit it."i have only dnfed 9 books in my life including books for school and textbooks so...not sure i can handle the responsibility. but god it's tempting
I quit more every year. DNF is never anything worthy of regret. In fact the opposite. When you get old, you fully realize that time is worthy. More worthy than most any other aspect for which you have any control. There are way too many good to great books out there. This one was YA level overall and terribly plotted on top of it. With one of the worst endings I came across in years. It's one of the few I preserved to read because of ratings here and wish I had quit early. This genre in particular of moderns with dysfunction or "magic" dynamics as its core are the most over rated here on Goodreads, IMHO. Not only my own opinion either. You aren't being tested, emma. If it feels bad, quit it.
I probably should have given this a lower rating. It was definitely frustrating and over hyped.
Yes! Enjoy. But prepare yourself for the slight and (according to the author) unintended fat shaming
Jeanette wrote: "I quit more every year. DNF is never anything worthy of regret. In fact the opposite. When you get old, you fully realize that time is worthy. More worthy than most any other aspect for which you h..."i'll think about it, but i want to get further into it first. i really wouldn't want to dnf a book so early on
Barbara wrote: "I probably should have given this a lower rating. It was definitely frustrating and over hyped."frustrating is the one word description i'd give at this point
Tucker wrote: "Yes! Enjoy. But prepare yourself for the slight and (according to the author) unintended fat shaming"yikes
emma wrote: "Tucker wrote: "Yes! Enjoy. But prepare yourself for the slight and (according to the author) unintended fat shaming"yikes"
yup
I have a premonition it wont just be the style that'll make you brutally sick. the confusion you are about to enter may explode your brain!Full disclosure: I loved this - now i want to reread lol
Clare wrote: "I have a premonition it wont just be the style that'll make you brutally sick. the confusion you are about to enter may explode your brain!Full disclosure: I loved this - now i want to reread lol"
well this is reassuring honestly
I wish I had dnf'd this - wasted so much time on this one :(
Thanks Emma, you're so kind! Sorry about the mistake! Love you! <3
totally saw this coming
looking forward to your review!
Tucker wrote: "totally saw this cominglooking forward to your review!"
<3 <3
Audrey wrote: "Too bad! I loved this one."not my fav but not my least fav!
Namrata wrote: "Thanks Emma, you're so kind! Sorry about the mistake! Love you! <3"<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 you're the kind one
Jennifer wrote: "I wish I had dnf'd this - wasted so much time on this one :("it definitely took a chunk of time
Nathaniel wrote: "I read this and I loved it."woo
Oriana wrote: "Did you finish it?"yes i'm incapable of dnfing
What did you think of it?
Oriana wrote: "What did you think of it?"it was fine
i'll review it eventually
Oh no, I just bought this one! 😂
I seriously disliked this one.
Well this is inauspicious... Started this book this week and got bored around page 32.... Maybe I'll just return it hmm?
My biggest problem was definitely the ending. It got too convoluted and I was already half asleep so I had no clue what was going on. As far as the fatphobia, well, I kind of disagree. It was definitely rude but I saw it as a character's opinion not the author's. Even though it was awful to read, it did fit the time that the book was set in. Just like there is homophobia in his-fic books, there is fat shaming. I do think the author should have made it clearer that it he had a negative view on fatphobia. He said something about it to me that I don't remember. Hold on, I'll message you the thread between him and I. (also, i hope it doesn't seem like i'm annoyed with you or anything. i just disagree with you which, with me, can come off as annoyed because i love to argue 
)
Tucker wrote: "My biggest problem was definitely the ending. It got too convoluted and I was already half asleep so I had no clue what was going on. As far as the fatphobia, well, I kind of disagree. It was defin..."but it didn't read as in any way realistic to me? like, Turton is not a fat man, presumably hasn't been one, and i would wager did not get a fat sensitivity reader to read the book.
i think we can easily and contentedly disagree on this point, but my issue with the book wasn't necessarily the hurtful things he had the character think about fat people. (i know that characters can think things that are separate from the author's perspective.) it was the way he wrote the existence of a fat person that i thought read as really hateful and ignorant.
K wrote: "Well this is inauspicious... Started this book this week and got bored around page 32.... Maybe I'll just return it hmm?"i too was bored by page 32
Hayley ☾ (TheVillainousReader) wrote: "I seriously disliked this one."same girl same
Savannah wrote: "Oh no, I just bought this one! 😂"AHHH. probably still worth a read b/c no one ever agrees w me
emma wrote: "Tucker wrote: "My biggest problem was definitely the ending. It got too convoluted and I was already half asleep so I had no clue what was going on. As far as the fatphobia, well, I kind of disagre..."I agree, he definitely could stand to get his perspectives widened. also, what did you think of the thread from him. I haven't read it since... November, I think when I was just an unwoke closeted little fetus. I'm sure I would have a different view if I re-read it
Tucker wrote: "emma wrote: "Tucker wrote: "My biggest problem was definitely the ending. It got too convoluted and I was already half asleep so I had no clue what was going on. As far as the fatphobia, well, I ki..."he seems like a really nice guy, and i don't believe he was being intentionally hurtful, but he probably should have just admitted that he doesn't know anything about this subject and in the future will use sensitivity readers when necessary. like if authors don't make changes when they're called out, we'll never progress on this
I tried to read this book because I love a good murder mystery, but I couldn't get into the writing style and gave up before the end of the third chapter.
Rebecca wrote: "I tried to read this book because I love a good murder mystery, but I couldn't get into the writing style and gave up before the end of the third chapter."the style was the most major thing stopping me too
You've pointed out some things that I did not take into consideration at all.Thus, I did enjoy the book, what you pointed out really had me thinking and I must agree with you on some of them, even if at the end of the day, I still liked it. The idea was really good.
wait, the author said he didn't INTENTIONALLY write Ravencourt's part to be fatphobic? It was 10 chapters of vitriolic hatred that was honestly more to do with the fact that he was 60. And even when he STOPS being Ravencourt, he still gets in potshots about how "bulky" and "hefty" Ravencourt was. I'm calling BS. There's absolutely no way that was "unintentional". The character's only traits are being smart and being heavy.
I think the author's goal was to make each body as unique as possible, so there's the very old body and the seriously injured body and the fat body, etc., and Bishop had to learn how each one worked. It didn't come across as fat-hating to me, but I wouldn't notice it like a plus-sized person would. But we're all different and read the same words differently.
Audrey wrote: "I think the author's goal was to make each body as unique as possible, so there's the very old body and the seriously injured body and the fat body, etc., and Bishop had to learn how each one worke..."While each body was presented with it's own issues, he literally spent 10 chapters going ON and ON and ON about how "grotesque" and "disgusting" Ravencourt was, how everyone must be staring at the "display" of him eating (a normal human function everyone needs to do and other people are doing at this point), how "bulky" and "hefty" he is, how "ashamed" he is and "embarrassed". I understand not picking up on some things a plus-size reader would, but this was SO blatant from the first moment he inhabited Ravencourt.
The Ravencourt chapter starts with "I awake wheezing, crushed beneath the tremendous monument of my new host's stomach." I knew from this moment it was going to be rough. He doesn't even finish the chapter before he says "Though this isn't my body, I'm humiliated by it" and two paragraphs later "I resemble some grotesque caricature of the human body". Almost every occurrence of the word "humiliation" or "humiliated" in this book is in reference to Ravencourt and his weight. It is ABUNDANTLY CLEAR that Ravencourt, despite being the brightest of his hosts, is a person to be reviled and ashamed of because of his body. Never mind that many of the "issues" Aiden experiences during his time as Ravencourt are more due to his age than his weight. The weight just compounds it. I apologize if I'm coming across argumentative, but Turton was literally hitting the reader in the face with the fatphobic descriptions.
That's fair; I just don't remember all those descriptions anymore.
I haven't quite finished yet but I am having the same experience as you. I pretty much hate the writing and I am just utterly confused. Way too convoluted to enjoy.
I find it strange that you thought Davenport has no descriptions or personality other than "fat". I found it far from that. Aiden kept longing to be back in Davenport because of his sharp mind. He also talked about Davenport being made of "sterner stuff" than his other hosts. Overall, he seemed to be Aiden's favorite host. Yes, his description of Davenport's weight was uncomfortable, but so were his descriptions of his other hosts, including evil, short attention span, and on and on. I have not finished the book yet, but don't see his description of Davenport to be out of line with his descriptions of his other hosts.
