Official Review: The Hungry House
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Official Review: The Hungry House
The Hungry House by Elizabeth Amelia Barrington
Book Description
The Hungry House by Elizabeth Amelia Barrington is about a young woman having to deal with extraordinarily uncomfortable situations and how she learns to adapt over the years. Sometimes she is oblivious to the trouble she is inviting but others she is very intuitive as to what lay ahead.
It starts off with a woman barely out of high school attempting to incorporate college classes and working to assist her mother into her failing health. The story goes over many years of finding herself and the tragedies she ensues.
About the Book
This book is about a wide range of topics.
- dealing with illness and grief
- how financial spoiled people can be truly horrible and delusional
- rape and consequences
- a parent protecting children from the other parent
- friendship and how it can develop
- manipulation and fear
- being a better person
- just because you're a parent doesn't mean you aren't a person anymore
- substance abuse
- emotional abuse via seclusion
- how religious believes can help you cope
Personal Opinion and Rating
I rate this book three out of four stars. I enjoyed the story despite the grammar and general failure with editing. It was interesting to glimpse into so many different types of lives I am thankful I've never had to be a part of. I recommend this book to women in specific as I do not see this being a good fit for a man. Not to say they shouldn't, as some may learn a thing or two, but I do not feel many men would enjoy it. Of course being as I am not a man, I could be completely wrong.
I enjoyed the story even though at times it seemed to drag on with minor details. These details do add up to paint a larger picture though. This book is not a fast paced story and for the content, that works.
The mistakes throughout the book are numerous. I noticed that the story was originally written in third person perspective and had been changed over to first person. I like the first person as it makes the drama seem so much more real. However I would have liked it more throughout the story if it had been consistent. It changes points of view to other characters in parts and that is fine but there is no distinction like breaks. I found myself lost numerous times. Especially when it went from talk about the mom as Mom and then switched without warning to Liz. I originally had no idea who Liz was. A few spots had to be read repeatedly to figure out what was happening. I found it pulled me out of the story and left me aggravated. There were a few instances where I was annoyed enough to want to throw the novel but being as it is on my ereader, that would have been disastrous. With corrections to these inconsistencies and lack of breaks the story would be a four out of four instead.
I figured the story would be better from a woman’s perspective than a man's. I found some of the males in the story to be a little bit too effeminate for reality. Might be what we feel we want but not usually what we get. Also figured a man would not put up with the apparent insecurities of the main character or the bad decisions she makes in her time of grief. However, as I am not a man, I could be entirely wrong.
Overall this story is interesting and I advise others to read it. However, I would advise some editing first before further distribution is allowed. Once edited this story will be well worth the read. As it sits now, it will be very aggravating to the majority of people. I wish the author luck in any future endeavors and as an avid reader I can attest that as much as word processors can do for us, nothing beats the work of a good editor.
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