When I say that Gus is very convincing as a very specific kind of horribly abusive man, I mean it! And you're stuck with him for 400+ pages as he murders and torments, all the while justifying it and pitying himself as the ultimate victim. If you knew a guy like this, you might find this a hard read.
The strangulation of Catherine is mercifully quick, but he also murders many copies, who in turn murder their own girls-they-see-as-Catherine-copies, and tortuously atomizes a random man to provide flesh for those copies. One of those copies also rips the limbs off of an anthill of tiny people. Gus-prime also abuses his great-aunt. There are major themes of corruption and complicity as people adapt to Gus's cruelty and work around him, rather than stopping him. This is a horror novel and bad things happen to people in it! (including Gus, who is eventually ripped apart by the ghosts of the girls he's slaughtered.)
Content Warnings
The strangulation of Catherine is mercifully quick, but he also murders many copies, who in turn murder their own girls-they-see-as-Catherine-copies, and tortuously atomizes a random man to provide flesh for those copies. One of those copies also rips the limbs off of an anthill of tiny people. Gus-prime also abuses his great-aunt. There are major themes of corruption and complicity as people adapt to Gus's cruelty and work around him, rather than stopping him. This is a horror novel and bad things happen to people in it! (including Gus, who is eventually ripped apart by the ghosts of the girls he's slaughtered.)