Cover Image: The Marigold

The Marigold

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It turned into a bit of a rollercoaster for me, ending with a three-star rating. The story's core is intriguing, but the way it's told from so many angles, and only tying up right at the end, was a bit of a letdown. It felt like the narrative got bogged down in the middle, dragging to the point where I found myself taking breaks, only digesting a couple of chapters at a time. Character development is one of the book's strengths, with the author doing a pretty good job of giving life to the characters. Yet, the ending threw me for a loop. The last chapter tries to pull all the threads together in a whirlwind, leaving me a bit dazed. It has it's moments and the characters will stick with you, It's a mixed bag for me on this one.

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"The Marigold" by Andrew F. Sullivan is a literary horror novel set in a near-future Toronto facing environmental chaos and rampant development. The story explores the emergence of an unsettling new lifeform beneath the city's surface, which feeds off the past and threatens the lives of its residents.

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In a near-future Toronto, the gap between the haves and the have-nots has grown to phenomenal proportions, largely spurred by a rabid (and ultimately unsustainable) gig economy. Meanwhile, sinkholes are opening throughout the city, releasing a creeping, toxic mold into homes and apartments.

The idea here is great: Take the horrors of modern life, blow them into wild, dystopian proportions, and create meaningful social commentary. Look folks—the monster is our own making! However, the pacing is astronomically slow as the story sprawls from character to character, some of whom are far more interesting than others.

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The Marigold by Andrew F Sullivan was a unique novel with a cool looking book cover. thank you for the early copy of it

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This was strange and I couldn't seem to put it down! I said recently after watching a movie that 'eat the rich' seems to be a blossoming horror sub-genre right now and I'm all for it. I don't want to say too much about this book as it's best to go in largely blind, but it's very reminiscent of our society and where it could be going- and that is where the horror of the story lies.

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The premise of this story was excellent, to view the way civilization crumbles from so many perspectives, with this added element of a fungus disease or maybe entity, it is conceptually haunting. Mushroom-based sci-fi is a genre that is of great interest to me. The variety of perspectives I was also impressed by, covering so many different types of people in this terrifying new world. What I was less impressed by was actually the execution.

I will not be finishing this book for the reason that I was so unable to connect to any storyline, each one was revolting in its own way, and while I appreciate the honest portrayal of human flaws, I did not enjoy reading about them in this case. I really think it comes down to writing style, because I spent half of my time reading this trying to put my finger on why I wanted to stop! Maybe if the focus had been on fewer characters I would have been able to care more, but I got through 50% of this book and still dreaded picking it back up. At that point, I had to call it quits. This was not good!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, ECW Press, for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for this honest review!! Since I have not finished this book I will not rate it on GoodReads, and will also not be sharing my review there, however I will be speaking about my feelings in a video on my YouTube channel (youtube.com/c/rubyreads) Jokes on Me round 1 ep 02.

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Really enjoyed!! Kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book and could not put down. Loved the setting of the high rise building and the feeling of the tighter space.

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This is definitely a good read for the right person but I just don't think I was the right audience for this one. I am not normally a big sci-fi fan so if you are, you will definitely enjoy this book! It is great for spooky season as it features sci-fi, folk horror & murder mystery elements that is perfect to read this time of year.

Overall, I could tell this was a well written story and there will be many people who love this one, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

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It was hard to get into it. It was alright but not really my cup of tea. Wouldn't have to read it again.

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That was quite a ride. I didn't expect to like but overall i enjoyed the reading. It kept hooked and intrigued throughout the reading. The suspense and investigation was a bit underwhelming, it could've been more. though. I liked the characters and the writing style was ok.

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This book was such an unusual read in the absolute best of ways. As someone who lived in Toronto and who experiences anxiety attacks when it comes into view, it wouldn't have been hard to make the city horrifying for me, but Sullivan manages to do so with deft skill and using a sharpness of prose and symbolism that I wasn't prepared for.

I'd place <i>The Marigold</i> squarely in the Weird or New Weird tradition, but with a style close in some ways to William Gibson's work. Definitely check this one out for a horror novel packed with social commentary and which deeply interrogates issues of wealth and class in a Canadian context, but without ever feeling heavy-handed.

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This book was definitely unsettling in a ton of ways. I think it suffers from too many characters but does give you a very station eleven-ish vibe. I liked how it came together at the end.

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Another one that threw me off initially - I almost gave up on it - I am super thankful I persevered.
A solid dystopian novel, lots of characters that were confusing at first, but once I leaned in the pacing came together.
I found the ending a tad rushed, I felt like at that point when things were starting to become clear, I wanted it to slow down!
Overall an ok, solid read.

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You know a book is gonna be a fun ride when it juxtaposes Italo Calvino against Doug fuckin Ford for the epigraph. This is up there for my favorite horror of the year so far. Yes, it can seem a bit disjointed at first, but the way it all comes together at the end is fantastic. Also, doesn’t hesitate to consider the depths that fictional capitalism/venture capital fuckwits will go to to make themselves a buck. Go into it blind, and enjoy the ride.

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This was a decent story at its base, but I'm not sure I enjoyed the follow-through. The book felt very disjointed, clunky, like it was trying to get its point across but kept forgetting to mention key details. It was very creepy, though, so that's why my rating is 3 stars and not lower. I think, maybe, if I reread it a few times I'd get more of the story straight but, honestly, you shouldn't need to reread a book many times in order to understand it.

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A fascinating premise that I found it hard to get into upon execution. Maybe its the voices in the audiobook that I wasn't super into lol. Not gonna add it to my canon of great books about fungus, unfortunately.

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I wasn't a fan of this one. There was too much jumping back and forth and it took too much effort to pay attention.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

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This story takes place in Toronto where the city is slowly being taken over by an fungus/mould that is called "The Wet".

You get to read the story in various people's point-of-view who are from different social hierarchy. It was an interesting story but I think I am not comfortable reading this level of body horror.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy and I am leaving an honest review.

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“Before everything that happened, before the towers, before the site plans, before the deeds, before the failing sports bar and two-bedroom apartment above it that often operated like another, more financially successful, unlicensed sports bar until the police shut it down after that one Polish kid got strangled with a pair of pink stockings behind the abandoned Shoppers Drug Mart a block or two south, there were trees here.“

That is the first sentence. Are you kidding me? I should have stopped reading right away.

Confusing story telling, long winded and verbose. Oddly directionless, episodic, not much of a plot. Bleak, grim, with a seemingly endless stream of characters and constantly changing POVs. It was all pretty sterile. I did not much care for any of the characters. The body horror was pretty limp as well and lacked tension.

What is it about? We are in a near future Toronto, post-climate disaster, plagued by mold spreading through a city that has been flooded repeatedly (I presume), with a crumbling infrastructure. It seems to be commentary on the current state of the city‘s political and administrative situation.

Plenty of social commentary. Actual story telling would have been nice. Instead there are snapshots, crab walking us along to a lackluster comedic interlude instead of a satisfying ending.

Characters are luckless freelance taxi drivers, bicycle messengers delivering food, failed business men, etc., moving around a building called The Marigold. Every few chapters we get a chapter named „Suite xyz“, set in one of the building‘s suites, where we meet its inhabitant. Those characters are have-beens, rich people, wannabes etc. reflecting on their lives, their plans, how the world works. Whatever.

Then there is the owner of the Marigold with his wife and entourage as the epitome of the horrible people and two female public health inspectors dealing with the mold-infestation in the city. The mold/fungus is destroying buildings, killing people and becoming more aware. Then there are mysterious sinkholes slowly destroying the city as well.

“This impressively bleak vision of the near future is as grotesquely amusing as it is grim.” — Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW

Bleak, very. Amusing, not so much. Mostly depressing and vaguely disgusting. The author seems to be trying hard to show us the ugly sides of humanity and all the characters are pretty despicable or defeated by life. Not my cup of tea.

“A bold dystopian novel that captivates with its dread and depth. The Marigold is unhinged literary horror that goes right to the source of decay.” — Iain Reid, award-winning author of I’m Thinking of Ending Things, Foe, and We Spread

I should have read the blurb more closely, “literary“ anything seldom leads to enjoyable experiences for me. This book didn‘t go right to anywhere.

“Weaving together disparate storylines and tapping into the realms of body horror, urban dystopia, and ecofiction, The Marigold explores the precarity of community and the fragile designs that bind us together.“

Besides the sporror and climate fic we also have a queer relationship, so all boxes are ticked.

Pretty cover.

Bottomline, I did not care for any of the characters. The story stayed on the surface, I lacked emotions and meaningful character development. It was all very episodic and the plot, as little as there was, moved glacially slow. Boring, bleak, depressing, with a silly ending. I hope the Toronto administrators and property developers will be forced to read this as punishment.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and ECW Press. All opinions are my own and I was not required to give a positive review. I am sorry I didn‘t like this.

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This was just ok for me. I didn’t like the characters. The story was ok. I expected more and predicted the plot twists which made the reading not enjoyable for me.

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