Name: The Lamb
Rating: 3.710526315789474 (38 reviews)
ISBN: 9781399619752

Lucy Rose

A FOLK TALE. A HORROR STORY. A LOVE STORY. AN ENCHANTMENT.

Margot and Mama have lived by the forest since Margot can remember. When Margot is not at school, they spend quiet days together in their cottage, waiting for strangers to knock on their door. Strays, Mama calls them. Mama loves the strays. She feeds them wine, keeps them warm. Then she satisfies her burning appetite by picking apart their bodies.

But Mama's want is stronger than her hunger sometimes, and when a white-toothed stray named Eden turns up in the heart of a snowstorm, little Margot must confront the shifting dynamics of her family, untangle her own desires and make her own bid for freedom.

With this tender coming-of-age tale, debut novelist Lucy Rose explores how women swallow their anger, desire and animal instincts - and wrings the relationship between mother and daughter until blood drips from it.

The Lamb

Romy

Then, when the snow freezes over, everything beneath it dies. It either ices over or turns to sludge. That is what motherhood is like. Treacherous and disappointing.

‘I’ve never understood why mamas are expected to be perfect,’ she said. ‘Men are forever thought of as boys. But girls? Once we’re mamas or once we’re ripe, we can never be girls again. Not in their eyes. But we are always girls and daughters, underneath. Always.’

But I don’t feel anything like she does. She feels big and she puts her feelings everywhere. I feel small and I keep them inside.

I’d wanted to look exactly like Mama and now I did, but all I saw was ugliness.

and would you believe me if I told you these words were told to an 11 year old ?

So, maybe I don’t love you. Does that really make me a terrible mother? Lots of mothers don’t love their daughters.

still talking to her 11 year old daughter by the way

I tried so hard to love you. To feel love. Real love. But I couldn’t do it. It just didn’t come out of me.

tianna

Our love was rotten, but still looking for the burning it craved; for anything to revive the embers that had gone out long ago

“I was already imagining what she’d taste like once Eden had rubbed her with butter and rosemary and roasted her flesh in the oven. The skin was always my favourite. So much juicier than chicken skin. The stray would fall apart in my mouth. She would fill my empty belly.”

Everything happens for a reason. Something too big and too thoughtful for us to conceive. We’re just animals, like little rabbits from the woods. Humanity, Margot, it is made up. Our empathy is waning as every second passes because it’s not supposed to come so naturally to mortal creatures.

Jemima Scott

‘Boys and men always lied about the silliest things instead of saying what they really thought.’

Clara Gauthier

The absence of love had spoilt something in their souls and mine. Our love was rotten, but still looking for the burning it craved; for anything to revive the embers that had gone out long ago. 

I formed you, Little One. With my own flesh, I formed you in my womb. We’re made of the same cloth. You feel this hunger the same way I do. 

I wanted my body to taste horrid. To spore like a busy night sky. Part of me even wished for my heart to stop before they had the chance to pick at my skin and leave me bare. As I took another lick of the black, I thought about my lungs stopping, heavy from being crusted over  by mould. Outside, Mama exhumed the almost-empty graves, searching to see just how much had disappeared from our shallow ditches in the mud. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched.

Margot and Mama have lived by the forest ever since Margot can remember. When Margot is not at school they spend quiet days together in their cottage, waiting for strangers to knock on their door—"strays," Mama calls them, people who have strayed too far from the road. Mama loves the strays. She feeds them wine, keeps them warm. Then she picks apart their bodies and toasts them off with some vegetable oil.

But Mama’s want is stronger than her hunger sometimes, and when a beautiful, white-toothed stray named Eden turns up in the heart of a snowstorm, Margot must confront the shifting dynamics of her family, untangle her own desires, and make her own bid for freedom.

With this gothic coming-of-age tale, novelist Lucy Rose explores how women swallow their anger, desire, and animal instincts—and wrings the relationship between mother and daughter until blood drips from it.

Margo and Mama, both of you would have devoured Strangers by Ethel Cain.

the ambiguous time period and repetition took me out of this book so many times i started to resent finishing it. truly upsetting because there’s absolutely something in this story that could have been brilliant but i couldn’t stay in the narrative long enough to see what others seem to love about it. i could, however, absolutely see this getting a screen adaptation with the right edit.

Lola Jenkins

Omg I just finished this book. I thought I wouldn't like it because I had such a low expectation but boy I was wrong. It definitely hits the spot. I was attracted to this book because it explored themes like motherhood, cannibalism, and trauma. 

Trigger warning: There are some gory parts that you may not like but it was written in a classy way and intentional. I love everything about this book although at first it's like repetitive but guess what? I like that kind of pacing and the ending left me speechless. I mean its predictable but still it shocked me. 

I just pissed that Margot truly died and she did not escaped which annoys me. Margot deserve better!!! 

Sheila Mae Moradas

Omg I just finished this book. I thought I wouldn't like it because I had such a low expectation but boy I was wrong. It definitely hits the spot. I was attracted to this book because it explored themes like motherhood, cannibalism, and trauma. 

Trigger warning: There are some gory parts that you may not like but it was written in a classy way and intentional. I love everything about this book although at first it's like repetitive but guess what? I like that kind of pacing and the ending left me speechless. I mean its predictable but still it shocked me. 

I just pissed that Margot truly died and she did not escaped which annoys me. Margot deserve better!!! 

This book is for the daughters of Cain, Yellowjackets fans, and those drawn to LadyBird mother-daughter dynamic.

lover of folk horror, cannibalism, and fucked up family dynamics here to tell you this book is in fact as good as it seems. rose’s depiction of cannibalism throughout the novel changes with margot’s coming of age, and the way she depicts subtly changing familial and social dynamics so interesting. unreliable narrators my beloved.

So gross, what an incredible debut novel! The ending was absolutely heartbreaking, still thinking about it

Lili

all consuming mother-daughter relationship i get ittt

petrina

Hannah Bateman

something in me knew early on that this would be yet another book that would not deliver on a fantastic premise, and i was right. rose tries very hard to emulate the gothic folk horror of angela carter and shirley jackson, but the prose is too unsubtle and overwritten to hit the mark. i have myriad issues with the plot (holes) too, many of which honestly could have been fixed if the story had been actually set in the past — which seems to be the case given the narration, until you get to the mention of laptops and smartphones. besides the jarring setting, the story also dragged on considerably. probably would have been better if it were a more tightly written novella.

rory

i knew this book was going to be dark and twisted and i made it most of the way through feeling fine but the last 30 pages or so actually made me nauseous and then made me tear up. 

i kept waiting and waiting for the twist and it doesnt happen. maybe adding a twist would take away from the heaviness of the story... im not sure. 

overall, i think it was a decent book and im glad i read it, but i probably would not reread or recommend 

Sophia Rico

i knew this book was going to be dark and twisted and i made it most of the way through feeling fine but the last 30 pages or so actually made me nauseous and then made me tear up. 

i kept waiting and waiting for the twist and it doesnt happen. maybe adding a twist would take away from the heaviness of the story... im not sure. 

overall, i think it was a decent book and im glad i read it, but i probably would not reread or recommend 

This was not what I was expecting at all but it was intense and naive and page turning all at once! I absolutely loved this book and am only not giving it a 5/5 bc its not a book I feel I would recommend weirdly enough. The subject matter is dark in a way most authors don't tackle and the lack of twist at the end is underwhelming but in a depressingly realistic way. This is a book that will stay with me for  a while.

Soph

I have no words left to speak. Give me a minute. Or maybe a day. A week even. A month ? A year sounds good.

I had a slight suspicion that I would not really like this novel and I was, unfortunately, right. I may have enjoyed it more if it has been slightly shorter, more tightly written and in better control of its prose and themes which oscillated between trying to be poetic but also being told from the point of view of a pre-pubescent girl, trying to be folkloric but also maintaining clear contact with the world as we know it.

The latter, in particular, breaks the immersion of the novel and the spell under which it appears to place the readers. Compare the remoteness of where Margot and her mother live, their livestyle, the strays that appear and - sometimes - are allowed to leave, the fairytales that Eden tells to Margot -  to the mention of mobile phones, going to school, Margot's mother having a conversation with the school in a manner than any normal parent would, there always being pasta in the house which implies that these are somehow acquired through some kind of contact with the world out there. The juxtaposition rather than feel purposeful and impactful, feels simply inconsistent. This issue is only compounded by the shortness of each chapter.

Even so, all of the above could have worked, had the novel stuck to its genre. It has been sold as a transgressive tale of loneliness and desperation for connection, where love finds an extreme expression; a coming-of-age story about the relationship between a mother and daughter. For such stories, where cannibalism is used as an allegory, it needs to be recognised as a testing ground for an extremity. How much must you lack human connection, must you be unable to understand your love, that you would seek to physically devour another human being? Such an emotion, seems to me, should be visceral - and "The Lamb", ironically, lacked precisely that.

I had a slight suspicion that I would not really like this novel and I was, unfortunately, right. I may have enjoyed it more if it has been slightly shorter, more tightly written and in better control of its prose and themes which oscillated between trying to be poetic but also being told from the point of view of a pre-pubescent girl, trying to be folkloric but also maintaining clear contact with the world as we know it.

The latter, in particular, breaks the immersion of the novel and the spell under which it appears to place the readers. Compare the remoteness of where Margot and her mother live, their livestyle, the strays that appear and - sometimes - are allowed to leave, the fairytales that Eden tells to Margot -  to the mention of mobile phones, going to school, Margot's mother having a conversation with the school in a manner than any normal parent would, there always being pasta in the house which implies that these are somehow acquired through some kind of contact with the world out there. The juxtaposition rather than feel purposeful and impactful, feels simply inconsistent. This issue is only compounded by the shortness of each chapter.

Even so, all of the above could have worked, had the novel stuck to its genre. It has been sold as a transgressive tale of loneliness and desperation for connection, where love finds an extreme expression; a coming-of-age story about the relationship between a mother and daughter. For such stories, where cannibalism is used as an allegory, it needs to be recognised as a testing ground for an extremity. How much must you lack human connection, must you be unable to understand your love, that you would seek to physically devour another human being? Such an emotion, seems to me, should be visceral - and "The Lamb", ironically, lacked precisely that.

The lamb is a book that seems interesting in theory but was, at least for me, disappointing in execution. I was very captivated at the beginning, mostly because I actually really liked the writing sometimes. It felt very lyrical and poignant. I liked how it didn’t shy away from the descriptions of gore, especially since this was a book about cannibalism.

However, the pacing of this was all wrong for me. It started to drag out and get very boring, which is kind of insane to say about a book with such grotesque themes. I felt like I held my breath the whole time in anticipation of 

 that just didn’t come. That build up didn’t really lead to anything for me.

While the story is interesting, it felt disjointed and a little aimless. I felt like it kept dallying and going off in different directions. The themes themselves are interesting, but weren’t explored in any new or meaningful way. The book didn’t feel like it had anything to say really besides almost surface level remarks. It had the general themes that are usually explored in stories about cannibalism; cannibalism as a form of extreme hunger/desire, cannibalism with a touch of sexuality/sensuality, cannibalism as a way to “consume” your loved ones and never be parted with them etc etc.

I liked the characters, especially Margot. Though I hated her, I liked the characterization of Ruth. Her anger and hunger and impatience felt very potent and real. I liked how her disgust with herself and her body manifested and was touched on, because even though she was an evil person (to put it mildly) it made sense. I got why she was disgusted with herself and with her child. I loved the complex relationship between a mother whose misplaced anger never let her ever fully love her child, and a daughter who can feel just how unloved she is and is trying to mend that by being as obedient and agreeable as possible in hopes that she’ll get that love one day. I really liked the way Margot was written, she was young and naive without it seeming like it was verging on stupidity. Eden was kind of there for me, I think there was an attempt to make her this mysterious entity but it fell flat for me.

Altogether good story, fell flat in the execution and it didn’t really have a voice or a direction for a good while until maybe the last few chapters. I would still recommend this book even if it wasn’t all that great to me.

bel 

The lamb is a book that seems interesting in theory but was, at least for me, disappointing in execution. I was very captivated at the beginning, mostly because I actually really liked the writing sometimes. It felt very lyrical and poignant. I liked how it didn’t shy away from the descriptions of gore, especially since this was a book about cannibalism.

However, the pacing of this was all wrong for me. It started to drag out and get very boring, which is kind of insane to say about a book with such grotesque themes. I felt like I held my breath the whole time in anticipation of something that just didn’t come. That build up didn’t really lead to anything for me.

While the story is interesting, it felt disjointed and a little aimless. I felt like it kept dallying and going off in different directions. The themes themselves are interesting, but weren’t explored in any new or meaningful way. The book didn’t feel like it had anything to say really besides almost surface level remarks. It had the general themes that are usually explored in stories about cannibalism; cannibalism as a form of extreme hunger/desire, cannibalism with a touch of sexuality/sensuality, cannibalism as a way to “consume” your loved ones and never be parted with them etc etc.

I liked the characters, especially Margot. Though I hated her, I liked the characterization of Ruth. Her anger and hunger and impatience felt very potent and real. I liked how her disgust with herself and her body manifested and was touched on, because even though she was an evil person (to put it mildly) it made sense. I got why she was disgusted with herself and with her child. I loved the complex relationship between a mother whose misplaced anger never let her ever fully love her child, and a daughter who can feel just how unloved she is and is trying to mend that by being as obedient and agreeable as possible in hopes that she’ll get that love one day. I really liked the way Margot was written, she was young and naive without it seeming like it was verging on stupidity. Eden was kind of there for me, I think there was an attempt to make her this mysterious entity but it fell flat for me.

Altogether good story, fell flat in the execution and it didn’t really have a voice or a direction for a good while until maybe the last few chapters. I would still recommend this book even if it wasn’t all that great to me.

i really wanted to love this book as im someone who likes consuming media about cannibalism, but the last few pages just solidified my disappointment.

i liked the premise / plot. i think the characters are written well and their motives are clearly stated. but despite that, it feels like the writer just punched those in the create a sim window and just let them do whatever in their own world.

there are plot holes regarding with margot and mama’s living situation thats just unrealistic and never explained, as well as characters that were introduced suddenly and got rid of the same way they came for example : the last strays that visited them.

the book tries to become too metaphorical that its too much in your mouth to swallow and digest, which is ironic cuss im someone who likes to read about cannibalism as a system. i like it when its a metaphor for love, death, consumerism, etc. but this just tried to become all those things and it honestly didnt work. and while thats going on, the book also explores the process of ‘literal’ cannibalism and descriptions of it is also a lot so i dont know where this book is leaning towards to ? is it realism or folktale ? i dont know. overall pretty confusing writing.

the book is pretty short. its only under 250 pages and you can fly through it pretty quick but theres still some chapters which i think arent even needed, specifically midway towards the last chapters. aka the ones where margot overanalyzes eden and mamas relationship and she talks about it TOO MUCH. i feel like i read ones that are just copy pasted but the adjectives and figure of speech got changed and jumbled around. yesyesyes i know its a metaphor for cannibalism as sexual hunger or desire but the writing is very repetitive, like ok we get it !!!! these mfs are fucking every second like a bl smut manga that gets a sex scene every chapter ! it wouldve been nice if they didnt get the same description over and over again. so along with confusing writing, its also repetitive.

few things i liked and thought was written well are 1.) margot and the bus driver’s relationship and 2.) pregnancy, female reproductive system, and engaging in penetrative sex as a woman being metaphors for cannibalism, i really liked these bits.

Nica

2.8

i really wanted to love this book as im someone who likes consuming media about cannibalism, but the last few pages just solidified my disappointment.

i liked the premise / plot. i think the characters are written well and their motives are clearly stated. but despite that, it feels like the writer just punched those in the create a sim window and just let them do whatever in their own world.

there are plot holes regarding with margot and mama’s living situation thats just unrealistic and never explained, as well as characters that were introduced suddenly and got rid of the same way they came for example : the last strays that visited them.

the book tries to become too metaphorical that its too much in your mouth to swallow and digest, which is ironic cuss im someone who likes to read about cannibalism as a system. i like it when its a metaphor for love, death, consumerism, etc. but this just tried to become all those things and it honestly didnt work. and while thats going on, the book also explores the process of ‘literal’ cannibalism and descriptions of it is also a lot so i dont know where this book is leaning towards to ? is it realism or folktale ? i dont know. overall pretty confusing writing.

the book is pretty short. its only under 250 pages and you can fly through it pretty quick but theres still some chapters which i think arent even needed, specifically midway towards the last chapters. aka the ones where margot overanalyzes eden and mamas relationship and she talks about it TOO MUCH. i feel like i read ones that are just copy pasted but the adjectives and figure of speech got changed and jumbled around. yesyesyes i know its a metaphor for cannibalism as sexual hunger or desire but the writing is very repetitive, like ok we get it !!!! these mfs are fucking every second like a bl smut manga that gets a sex scene every chapter ! it wouldve been nice if they didnt get the same description over and over again. so along with confusing writing, its also repetitive.

few things i liked and thought was written well are 1.) margot and the bus driver’s relationship and 2.) pregnancy, female reproductive system, and engaging in penetrative sex as a woman being metaphors for cannibalism, i really liked these bits.

The Lamb

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