Name: The Lamb
Rating: 3.728260869565217 (46 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

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.

💌 : 'i wondered if this was what being a real human was: accepting you were pieces of other people too. the people you loved and the people you hurt.'

this book, wow. the writing was fast paced and reeled me in immediately. i admit some parts of the book were a little slower but i loved every second. 

the way margot changed and evolved as the book progressed was so beautifully portrayed. she was complex for an eleven year old, wanting to do what her mama said but also forming her own thoughts and opinions. you start off not really understanding her only to start rooting for her. 

the side characters like abbie and the bus driver just made me wish things could have been different. that in another universe it was all sunshine and rainbows. ugh. 

the ending was a gut punch and upsetting but i guess its fitting. i highly recommend. 10/10. 

💌 : 'i wondered if this was what being a real human was: accepting you were pieces of other people too. the people you loved and the people you hurt.'

— ☆ 4/5 

this book, wow. the writing was fast paced and reeled me in immediately. i admit some parts of the book were a little slower but i loved every second. 

the way margot changed and evolved as the book progressed was so beautifully portrayed. she was complex for an eleven year old, wanting to do what her mama said but also forming her own thoughts and opinions. you start off not really understanding her only to start rooting for her. 

the side characters like abbie and the bus driver just made me wish things could have been different. that in another universe it was all sunshine and rainbows. ugh. 

the ending was a gut punch and upsetting but i guess its fitting. i highly recommend. 10/10. 

Horror is not my thing. The general tone is spot on and it's suitably gruesome. I enjoyed the Northern nature writing. It feels a little longer than it needs to be and lost me a bit after the first two thirds. That said, it completely nails the ending. 

Luke Pearce

Bear with me whilst I just stare at a wall for the next 3.5 business days and try to process what it is I’ve just finished…….. or has finished me. Initial thoughts, I can’t fault the writing in this book. Felt deeply disturbed and uncomfortable throughout this read which I guess is the point. But W.T.Actual…….is this book?! 

Aims

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

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

all consuming mother-daughter relationship i get ittt

petrina

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

tianna

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.

Romy

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.

The Lamb

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