Review: All the Sinners Bleed
All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby
This started promisingly. After an appropriately foreboding prologue steeped in Southern Gothic flavour, the stakes are set with reasonable swiftness. About a quarter of the way in, though, the book turned progressively sour for me. Make no mistake—Cosby can write a poetic turn of phrase, but he overdoes it to the point of parody. Every other sentence is a simile, often forced and awkward. The edgelord-y violence, unsubtle themes, cartoonish characterisation, topped off by a mopey protagonist who can't stop feeling sorry for himself and the rest of the human race, all made for a disappointing read. Small Mercies this is not.