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apocalypsosThe good:
-- Regardless of how I feel about the character herself, I can totally picture Tilda Swinton as Eva, and it's part of the few reasons I like the character. (Overall, I really dislike her, but still.) I feel like if I had encountered her first as Tilda in the movie I would like her as a character more.
-- The plot itself is intriguing, and I'll give the author credit -- she researched her ASS off in regards to school shooters and their behaviors and habits. The details of the attack itself are really well-thought-out, too.
-- I'll give the author a lot more credit for capturing that general reaction most people who know school shooters have to them before they become school shooters, which is being at least slightly uneasy around to being really freaked out by their presence. You can't really say, "I always thought he'd shoot up a school one day," because really, even with the creepiest of kids, who even THINKS that?
The bad:
-- As soon as the author dropped "the bomb" about Franklin and Celia dying, I was like, "Oh ... *long pause* ... oh. I see." I'll admit I'm usually the one who doesn't get The Big Twist in any given media until it actually happens -- it's usually a really bad sign of the quality of said media if I can figure it out before I see or read it -- so I feel weird because I didn't see it coming, but then again I did see it coming, if that even makes sense. I was far more interested in Franklin's reaction to Kevin's shooting spree than I was in Eva's admittedly anguished yet smug and snappish "I told you soexcept for how I didn't and now I'm angry about that" reaction to the whole thing, so of course I should have known the only sliver of reaction I'd get to see from Franklin the highly-practiced paternal apologist was in Eva's conjecture of the events of that morning.
I also wasn't that thrilled with Eva in retrospect repeatedly saying that Kevin killed nine people, even in reference to what other people must think or say about his shooting spree, regardless of the fact that whether or not she might be in denial that he went so far as to kill his own father and sister -- which is completely understandable -- other people wouldn't be saddled with that. So I kept gritting my teeth when she'd be like, "People must say all sorts of things about Kevin because he killed nine people," and I'd be thinking, "No, they're probably thinking those things because he killed ELEVEN people. Sheesh."
-- I felt sympathy for Eva because of how her life turned out. That said, I felt that sympathy because you should feel sympathy for someone whose life ends up that fucked up, not because I actually felt sympathy for her. If that even makes sense.
-- The school shooting was a little TOO not-flawed, if that even makes sense. Even in the most successful school shootings, shit goes wrong and plans go awry. Columbine was hugely successful in regards to body count -- and yes, it does feel ridiculously creepy to phrase it that way -- and Klebold and Harris fucked up a LOT. The only deviations from the plan Kevin has to deal with are the cafeteria worker -- and how nice that he never even gets a name -- and that one kid showing up a tad late. That's it. It just felt off to me as someone who's read up on mass murders and school shootings because school shootings rarely if ever go THAT close to plan.
(On a side note, the way Eva described everyone arriving of the shooting irritated me, especially the ballet dancer. "How can I show and not tell that the gay ballet dancer is arriving? I know! He'll mince into the gym and then pirouette across the entire room in the tights and leotard he always wears because he is a GAY BALLET DANCER.")
*
I don't know. In general, I liked it ... taken down to its composite pieces, I didn't. It's like pizza. I really like pizza, but I loathe tomatoes unless they're cooked exactly right and I hate most cheeses.
-- Regardless of how I feel about the character herself, I can totally picture Tilda Swinton as Eva, and it's part of the few reasons I like the character. (Overall, I really dislike her, but still.) I feel like if I had encountered her first as Tilda in the movie I would like her as a character more.
-- The plot itself is intriguing, and I'll give the author credit -- she researched her ASS off in regards to school shooters and their behaviors and habits. The details of the attack itself are really well-thought-out, too.
-- I'll give the author a lot more credit for capturing that general reaction most people who know school shooters have to them before they become school shooters, which is being at least slightly uneasy around to being really freaked out by their presence. You can't really say, "I always thought he'd shoot up a school one day," because really, even with the creepiest of kids, who even THINKS that?
The bad:
-- As soon as the author dropped "the bomb" about Franklin and Celia dying, I was like, "Oh ... *long pause* ... oh. I see." I'll admit I'm usually the one who doesn't get The Big Twist in any given media until it actually happens -- it's usually a really bad sign of the quality of said media if I can figure it out before I see or read it -- so I feel weird because I didn't see it coming, but then again I did see it coming, if that even makes sense. I was far more interested in Franklin's reaction to Kevin's shooting spree than I was in Eva's admittedly anguished yet smug and snappish "I told you so
I also wasn't that thrilled with Eva in retrospect repeatedly saying that Kevin killed nine people, even in reference to what other people must think or say about his shooting spree, regardless of the fact that whether or not she might be in denial that he went so far as to kill his own father and sister -- which is completely understandable -- other people wouldn't be saddled with that. So I kept gritting my teeth when she'd be like, "People must say all sorts of things about Kevin because he killed nine people," and I'd be thinking, "No, they're probably thinking those things because he killed ELEVEN people. Sheesh."
-- I felt sympathy for Eva because of how her life turned out. That said, I felt that sympathy because you should feel sympathy for someone whose life ends up that fucked up, not because I actually felt sympathy for her. If that even makes sense.
-- The school shooting was a little TOO not-flawed, if that even makes sense. Even in the most successful school shootings, shit goes wrong and plans go awry. Columbine was hugely successful in regards to body count -- and yes, it does feel ridiculously creepy to phrase it that way -- and Klebold and Harris fucked up a LOT. The only deviations from the plan Kevin has to deal with are the cafeteria worker -- and how nice that he never even gets a name -- and that one kid showing up a tad late. That's it. It just felt off to me as someone who's read up on mass murders and school shootings because school shootings rarely if ever go THAT close to plan.
(On a side note, the way Eva described everyone arriving of the shooting irritated me, especially the ballet dancer. "How can I show and not tell that the gay ballet dancer is arriving? I know! He'll mince into the gym and then pirouette across the entire room in the tights and leotard he always wears because he is a GAY BALLET DANCER.")
*
I don't know. In general, I liked it ... taken down to its composite pieces, I didn't. It's like pizza. I really like pizza, but I loathe tomatoes unless they're cooked exactly right and I hate most cheeses.
