Tough, breakthrough , beautifully written it took me a bit to immerse myself and figure out where it was going .. it's the women's dilemmas that finally penetrated.. loss, anxiety, stamina. Amazing work!

A heartbreaking tale from start to finish. This book gripped me and made me feel all kinds of emotions, I was sorry it was so short.

I ordered This Brutal House after watching Pose, wanting to get deeper into the ball and vogue culture. This Brutal House didn’t quite satisfy that urge, whilst being interesting. Told from a variety of perspectives, some were more satisfying than others. The Vogue Caller chapters in particular were a complete turn off for me, finding them repetitive and unengaging.

A flawed but interesting novel.

What powerful writing, luminous, angry, desperate. It is very effective too, Govinden vividly captures the experiences of a community long marginalised for its otherness. The highs, the freedom to express who you are at the balls, the acceptance and support the houses provide and the lows, the pain of losing members of your community, the fury when the authorities don’t care.

In a non-linear narrative, Govinden takes up the story of the Mothers, five heads of houses from the vogue ball scene, silently protesting on the steps of NY City Hall. Their children have been disappearing for years, ignored by the authorities. The Mothers, a cross between a Greek chorus and Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo want closure. As the days pass, they attract attention from news crews and a growing following from their own community. To the bureaucrats of the City Hall they are just an embarrassment to be dealt with as quickly and as quietly as possible.

As much as I loved Govinden’s writing, I felt at times that the plot was secondary, lost among the voices, the feelings and the memories and the non-linear narrative structure didn’t help. I found myself thinking of Paris is Burning and the vogue ball scene of the late eighties and early nineties and the struggles the community faced then. There are a number of clear pointers, such as the ageing Mothers, disappearances no longer happening and so on, making This Brutal House more contemporary but I still struggled to place it in time, hampered again by the non-linear narrative. I missed an anchor. I expected that would be Teddy but found his character somewhat problematic and unresolved. Perhaps that was the point.

So, while I thought This Brutal House moving and impressive at times, illuminating both the fragility and the resilience hidden behind the layers of makeup and costume, I also wished for more of a cohesive plot. Three and a half stars.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review This Brutal House.

I was very excited to read this - the concept is so strong, and there was so much scope here. However, I found it to be a dense read, and the narrative wasn't as propelling as I would've liked. The stand-out chapter for me was the one from the perspective of the ball commentator; the writing was lyrical with hints of tension. Sadly this book missed the mark for me.