Review for "Absolute Sunset" by Kata Mlek

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Absolute Sunset by Kata Mlek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was asked to review this book, way back in 2016, I think? Shortly after that, my life got a little crazy and this book, along with several others, was put aside and forgotten about. Long story short... wow. This book was horribly good. Here's what I mean...

Plot: An abused child (yeah, it starts out that deep & dark), living with her parents in modern-day Poland, is haunted by a raven in her dreams, which only leads to trouble and heartache further on as the story progresses.

Characters: We get to see Hanka grow up from a seven-year-old to an adult. I hate her story, but only because so much of it is familiar in so many ways. Her parents remind me of my parents but in reverse. For Hanka, the alcoholic abuser is her mother, the enabler- her father. The story pretty much revolves around these three (and the raven) and I can say that each character was fleshed out & believable even if unlikeable.

The Writing: The story itself was easy to read cadence/prose-wise. There is a bit of syntax difference due to Ms. Mlek being a native Polish speaker and a few spelling mistakes... but nothing that got in the way of enjoying this dark story told in 3rd person POV.

In case you wanted to know: Dude. This is NOT a happy, feel-good story. It is dark and upsetting. There is child abuse (physical & neglect) and it is written in a normalized way. If reading this type of story offends you- you'll want to skip it. If you think it might trigger you- skip it. If however, you were raised in & survived an abusive upbringing, & have mostly healed/overcame all that comes from being abused as a child AND also (forgot to mention) can relate to a mental break & mental issues without wanting to self-harm- then you might be okay to read this. For anyone/everyone else- also know that there is infanticide, general poverty, alcoholism, infidelity, and lots of death.

Overall: So why would I rate this a 4.5/5 star? Because I wasn't expecting it. I wasn't expecting to feel so much for a character as I did for Hanka. And although this didn't leave me feeling all sweet & mushy- it DID leave a memorable mark on my damaged brain. I would recommend to anyone who is willing to go dark.



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