Customer Reviews

Tattoo Girl

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Emma, the title character in Brooke Stevens' new novel Tattoo Girl is mysterious and compelling in ways that few literary characters are. When we first meet her she is mute, covered on much of her body by tattoos, and clearly fearful. The mystery of how she escapes from whomever is tormenting her and the potent bond that is created between her and the other powerful character Lucy, gripped this reader from the beginning to the last page of Tattoo Girl. Mr. Stevens writing transcends anything he has done before and he establishes characters that are highly believable even within the unusual world that they inhabit. The world of these characters is both familiar and loving but also full of imminent danger. The story unfolds in a deliberate and frightening manner that kept me on the edge of my seat. I can't wait to see the movie.

A thriller about a girl, a woman and to a lesser extent a dwarf trying to reconcile themselves with their pasts. The writing is simple, deceptively plain almost, but somehow it has a dream-like quality that makes what's happening in the book feel like it's happening to you-it's extremely believable, though the story is highly imaginative and ultimately powerful. I haven't come across a more captivating novel in many years. I read a review of it that said that it is as much about being sad as it is about being frightened, that's a very good description. Having just started the author's first book, I'm finding it similar in many ways. I believe this writer is a master of suspense, but he's doing more than just making you turn the pages. The novel was passed along to me at my office. I'm glad it was.

I was reading Nietzsche's "the Antichrist" at this time and read this on a whim. The story is heart-wrenching and touching in all the awful things that happen. It's completely unpredictable and exceptionally well written. To think such a great work of fiction can have such philsophical significance.

I was anxious to read "Tattoo Girl" and I was not disappointed. I found the book unique... a mixture of fantasy and reality. What an interesting story. Emma, the young girl who is brutally attacked and covered with tattoos is taken in by a kind hearted ex-circus ... lady and her past is slowly uncovered. These two women are so unique and fated to be together. The story was very touching...about two ... with hearts of gold. I read the book in only a few days...a very fast read. I highly recommend "Tattoo Girl."

I did not want to close the cover of this rivetting novel after I got to the end. I felt a lingering sadness, a longing to be back inside it. From the first few chapters on, I fell in love with the characters, especially Emma, and thereafter, as all the characters moved into increasingly dark territory, I became more and more terrified for them. This is a book that seems to force you to turn the pages and yet it has far more to it than meets the eye. It made me think how most books sacrifice true character development for plot or vice versa. This one had both. Nothing I've ever read before has made me feel so close to characters who end up in such grave danger. No book I've read before has had such visual appeal too. Reading it was a little like being mesmerized by a long, strange fascinating movie and yet it was more than that because I felt like some of this had happened to me at the end. My only regret about the ending was that the story was over and that I'd have to reread it to be in this world again.

What a grotesquely facinating book. One is reeled in beginning with the title. The characters are straight from the Circus freak show, on their surface. Like the plot and unfolding story, however, they are rich and multi=layered. The reader is both repelled and drawn to these characters. Beneath the scales and surface of this story are streams of commentary on the human condition, religion and the bounds and depths of love.

The amazing thing about this book is that it never goes too far in any one direction. The author throws everything into the mix. Never too sad, never too sentimental. He spins this wild tale with plenty of exciting action-but it's not the pure thriller stuff you get in most pulp fiction. Most likely people will have trouble placing it in their minds as either literature, thriller, entertainment or great depth. In my humble opinion it's all of the above and that's why it's such a damn good read. His writing is straightforward, nothing fancy. I whipped through it in two and a half days-and this from a guy who gets bored with most stuff fast.

Let met say that again, a wild, strange, fascinating, terrifying ride... I got a stiff neck while reading this book-I tried to put it down and do other things like eat and bathe, but I kept finding myself sitting back on the couch with the book on my lap. A lot of times I don't even finish a novel. You can't compare it to anything. Is it a thriller, horror? Parts of it are sort like Geek Love, other parts have the same kind of tension that you get when reading Stephen King. All of the characters are freaks, in a way, but I totally identified with them. On the back cover Francesca Lia Block (in my top five list of writers) wrote that it's tenderly human and nightmarishly surreal. I didn't know what she was talking about, but now I do.

I bought this book on a whim based on the title and back cover description. The writing was so poor that it distracted me from the story and in the end I couldn't decide whether or not I liked it. The author repeatedly talks about the characters being captivated by each other, but he didn't manage to captivate me. The story was somewhat predictable, somewhat improbable, and didn't get me invested enough in the characters that I was willing to suspend my disbelief.

I wouldn't recommend it.

This book some how relates ... circuses, Jesus, midgets, tattoos, little girls, and all else that is wonderful and funny in this world.

A ex... is helping a little girl, that is covered in tattoos, uncover her painful past... and at the same time, unfolds some of her own mysteries.

This book is completely un-realistic and a little over the top, but definately entertaining.... and i enjoyed it for what it was. I'd recommend it for a Sunday afternoon no-brainer read.