The Murders of Molly Southbourne
Reviews
A special thank you goes out to Tor Publishing and Netgalley for allowing me to read this early. All thoughts and opinions are my own! This has got to be the most strangest novella I have ever read. It was just so out there but I found that I liked it. It was some dystopian aspects involved along with some science fiction thrown in as well. I found that it was really well done and I was satisfied with the ending and everything in, being that it was just a novella (which I honestly didn't know when I requested it) I would talk about the plot but since this is a novella, saying too much would spoil the whole thing. I'll just sum it up by saying this: Molly shouldn't bleed ever. Sorry folks, that is all you're getting out of me. Whatever you want to find out, you're just going to have to read. This novella will not take you long to read at all. I finished it in about an hour. I do suggest this book if you are looking for some weird sci-fi or just need to mix it up and read something totally out there. I just hope you all don't get queasy at the sight/mention of blood.
Cool premise. Good writing. Bit repetitive if read all at once.
The Murders of Molly Southbourne is a story about enduring trauma and the fear that comes with mental illness (as this story acts as a parable for mental illness). Thompson asks: what happens when someone who looks exactly like you, comes from within you, seeking to destroy your relationships and to kill you. This is what suffering from undiagnosed mental illness in extreme cases feels like. The Murders of Molly Southbourne is a body horror/psychological thriller about a woman named Molly whose blood makes murderous doppelgängers when it is shed outside her body. She and her parents call them mollies. The reason that Molly’s blood has this effect is opaque to Molly, though as the story begins in Molly’s early childhood, it’s clear that this peculiar blood-borne disease is normal to Molly, even though she may be the only one in the world to suffer from it (although a letter from her mother reveals that Molly's disease was potentially somehow was passed on to her) Molly is trained from a young age to kill the mollies: to bleach and burn any of her blood that falls. So when she goes to college, she finds that her disease makes everything harder. She finds out that her relations with men ultimately result in their deaths. Her parents are killed (also by mollies, ones that were trapped in Molly’s childhood and overlooked),and in the conclusion, we learn that Molly is trying to find a lucid non-murderous mollie to replace her, because she’s tired of living. Talk about bleak. But Thompson has crafted a tale of life, death, love, and suffering and heartbreak that is so disturbing you can't look away. It's visceral, it's chilling, it's sad. AND there is truth to it. Molly is fighting herself and she destroys everything she is connected to. When mental illness goes untreated this is what it feels like. This is a powerful work of fiction.
The Murders of Molly Southbourne is a story about enduring trauma and the fear that comes with mental illness (as this story acts as a parable for mental illness). Thompson asks: what happens when someone who looks exactly like you, comes from within you, seeking to destroy your relationships and to kill you. This is what suffering from undiagnosed mental illness in extreme cases feels like. The Murders of Molly Southbourne is a body horror/psychological thriller about a woman named Molly whose blood makes murderous doppelgängers when it is shed outside her body. She and her parents call them mollies. The reason that Molly’s blood has this effect is opaque to Molly, though as the story begins in Molly’s early childhood, it’s clear that this peculiar blood-borne disease is normal to Molly, even though she may be the only one in the world to suffer from it (although a letter from her mother reveals that Molly's disease was potentially somehow was passed on to her) Molly is trained from a young age to kill the mollies: to bleach and burn any of her blood that falls. So when she goes to college, she finds that her disease makes everything harder. She finds out that her relations with men ultimately result in their deaths. Her parents are killed (also by mollies, ones that were trapped in Molly’s childhood and overlooked),and in the conclusion, we learn that Molly is trying to find a lucid non-murderous mollie to replace her, because she’s tired of living. Talk about bleak. But Thompson has crafted a tale of life, death, love, and suffering and heartbreak that is so disturbing you can't look away. It's visceral, it's chilling, it's sad. AND there is truth to it. Molly is fighting herself and she destroys everything she is connected to. When mental illness goes untreated this is what it feels like. This is a powerful work of fiction.
The first book in the series, The Murders of Molly Southbourne, was a bloody, violent surprise of a story, a horror tale steeped in mystery where the reader is in the dark about what’s going on for quite a while. To catch unfamiliar readers up to speed, our protagonist Molly is a young girl who has a unique but terrible condition: every time she bleeds, she creates a new “molly” who immediately tries to kill her. Molly has been trained by her mother and father from a young age to kill these clones, or “duplicates” as she calls them, as soon as they appear, so Molly’s life has been filled with murder and plenty of strict rules to follow. Don’t bleed. Kill the mollys. Burn the evidence. The sequel opens right after the events at the end of the last book. Molly has just escaped a burning house and has called a phone number tattooed on her arm. The phone number is a help line, where a team will come out and obliterate all traces of the fire and the blood. But something is wrong. Molly isn’t actually Molly, but a molly, a duplicate. The real Molly, or Molly Prime, died in the fire. Now molly must navigate a dangerous and unfamiliar world, armed only with Molly’s memories and the story she told her right before the fire. One day molly runs into another of her kind, a woman named Tamara who also creates duplicates when she bleeds, and harbors secrets that will unlock Molly's past and completely change the rules she lives by. Thompson's prose, as always, is tight, effective, and atmospheric. I didn't love it the way I loved Murders. The plot is sadly a bit of a tangled mess but the story is still quick and compelling enough to warrant a read, especially if you were a fan of the first novella. This book and series does pose interesting questions about mental health and what it means to be human in today's society. No one is bothered by violence; Molly desires human connection but fails to connect with others due to viewing herself as subhuman-a duplicate. Our society is one of isolation and violence and Thompson does a good job reflecting on the current state of affairs and making it all horrifically familiar. The ending circles back to the beginning of the first book, and even hints at a somewhat "happy" ending for Molly. I’m not sure whether Thompson has another book planned for this series, and the series feels finished but if he wants to continue the story, I'm game.
Well, that was interesting! In a world where birthrate is declining precipitately, someone's research comes up with a different way to repopulate. But it's not without its own... problems. This is a novella, and the story unfold a bit at a time. It's a quick read, and it's interesting.
Damn, this was a creepy, haunting novella! Molly has... a strange ability. When she bleeds, the blood develops into a clone of herself. These clones try to kill her. Can you imagine the havoc that brings to your life? Readers don't really find out why, but that's less the point. The book is about how Molly adapts and how this strange curse slowly destroys everything she holds dear no matter what she does. It's really quite a sad narrative disguised as an action girl story. Glad to see there's a sequel on the way!
This is a very short story about a girl named Molly who has a condition when she bleeds another Molly is born and that Molly wants to kill the original Molly. Molly’s parents have taught their daughter how to fight so when ever Molly comes in contact with another Molly she knows how to kill and dispose of the body. This story was extremely short but enjoyable.
Pretty interesting concept, not sure I was totally hooked though. The writing style didn't wow me but the ideas that the author expanded on in such a short story kept me going.
4.5 - Full Review To Follow
3.5
4.5🌟 Holy shit.
Oh Tade Thompson DID THAT
read it in one sitting and i'm in love with molly she's a feminist icon.
Trigger warnings: (view spoiler)[captivity, neglect, physical injury and assault, parental domestic violence, blood depiction, death of a pet, murder, gun violence (implied), death of a child, fire, animal dissection, necrophilic behaviour (graphic kissing of a corpse), nonconsensual drugging, self-injury, death of parents, dead bodies, dismemberment (hide spoiler)] This book is exactly what the synopsis suggests and it's magnificent. The entire concept of this book is intriguing and gripping, and the actual narration of the plot is damn near perfect. The character development of the main character, Molly, is flawless. The way she grows and interacts with this strange but unavoidable condition felt incredibly authentic. The science-fiction element isn't overdone, but enough to provide an explanation of how Molly came to be. And the round-about conclusion of the story was something I couldn't fault if I tried. Tade Thompson is an author I have wanted to pick up for a long time, and I highly implore any reader who is curious to not delay picking up his work. blog • trigger warning database • more links Happy reading! ❤
I liked the story and it is a fast read because it is a novella. The story is different from anything else I have read . I do recommend this.
This is so weeeeird and I loved it!
