Matthew Meade’s Reviews > The Hollow Places > Status Update

The dialog is incompetent.

She is so entitled. Wants everyone to do things for her. Customer (kay) gets he coffee. Simon guves her free coffe. Uncle supports her. Ex supports her. Even her cat she expects to deal with issues. What a fucking asshole.

I don't like that the prose is so full of cliches
Everything is "terror so terrifying, the word terrifying didn't even approach how terrifying it was."
The writing is very self-congratulatory . The character chuckles at how funny she is. Simon often remarks "I'm not creative enough to come up with this..."
A "your momma" "joke" where the joke is that Simon just says, "yo momma joke?"

This main character is absolutely insufferable. An entitled, whining, unfunny asshole. Just the worst.

I like that they came back from the other place halfway through. Some writers might have kept them there to the end.

Things I Like:

Sturdivan having a Southern accent, the reference to kudzu, implying he is from someplace like where they are from. All of this could be about her self-loathing and hatred/ fear of the south?
The reveal of Sturdivan's guts
the notion that anger will save you from thinking about THEM; her old teacher (southerner) and her ex-husband. The old her?
The possibility that Simon will end up like Sturdivan

The book is absolutely absent any tension whatsoever.

All the references to Narnia are making me want to revisit that other, better book.

Also, this lady never misses an opportunity to take a pot shot at religious people.

Dull retread of House of Leaves

The uncle character is the only good character and she sidelines him at page 25. I hope he comes back, but it doesn't seem like he will.

Ultimately about an insufferable, self loathing southern liberal who left her home town and is forced to return so she judges all the bumpkins.

Surprisingly she includes a rape joke, however. I thought liberals hate those.