everybody loved the fool

where did you find the emotion? it wasn't in the violence, right?
ie. the kid doesn't show an ounce of emotion until he spills the beans to "abuelita" and she's just a dried out turnip…that was sad.

what about the puppies, the little boy was selling to the judge…and then the judge just tossed them in the river…AND that other guy shot them dead ("blossomed and sank" -pg. 192). that was cold.

page turner
I kept turning the pages because I was my massively invested and intrigued by these three generations of Binewski women and how the ended up together and yet so alone. The beginning of the book set this up in stark contrast to the Binewski family conception stories which reveal the perceived good…

Miss Lick has a very interesting angle (justification) for her behavior but just like Artie, the effect of her actions are so evil. For a little while, because of Miss Lick's power tripping, I thought Oly might become her best friend. I suppose Miss Lick was different from Artie in that she didn't seem to have such…

redemption
Both Oly and Chick redeem some of the most offensive behaviors in the sad, dramatic endings of their respective lives. Chick annihilates himself and the fabulon just as Arty's manic delusions and manipulations have reached total evil effect on all those around him. While Oly murders Miss Lick (who is…

A perfect example is at the end of the first chapter. The whole family is sitting around listening to stories. Here papa explains to the children "how he thought of them". "It was a test garden…and the colors were designed". The children love this story of course and "feel like papa's roses". I would love to see…