The Enchanted

I really wanted to like this book. People write raving reviews about the modern classic quality of it. I couldn't see it. The narrator was interesting to say the least, the world grim and rotten, but the story arc didn't do anything for me. Maybe I can't connect because I'm not from the USA. The capital punishment is abolished here in Greece, so I never had this kind of moral dilemmas. Nor can I understand the society this book presents, not even in a fantastical setting. You need the proper background to feel the whole horror of it.

The story was brutal. The magical realism couldn't hide the ugliness of the world described by the narrator. I felt uncomfortable with it as I didn't know if I was reading fiction or the true representation of a typical institution. I've read some creepy stuff in my time. But I always knew what was true and what was imagination. Not this time.