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fne's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
bjork5ever's review against another edition
5.0
Wes Anderson you little minx. You thought we wouldn't notice didn't you??
Max Fisher OH I MEAN Billy Fisher, the protagonist, is both easily hateable and loveable, I found myself completely tied up in his mess and pathological lies. Brilliant book, brilliant film too.
Max Fisher OH I MEAN Billy Fisher, the protagonist, is both easily hateable and loveable, I found myself completely tied up in his mess and pathological lies. Brilliant book, brilliant film too.
catbal's review
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is a roller-coaster. It is at times funny and at times sort of depressing. Basically life.
The idea that the whole book is just one day in the life of the main character is crazy and fascinating.
Great read.
The idea that the whole book is just one day in the life of the main character is crazy and fascinating.
Great read.
dommdy's review
4.0
I love how we are given a view of living in Billy's head, the constant scheming, setting expressions, seeking to simulate behavior and feelings he believes are expected and being frustrated at his inability to actually feel. The self-centered actions based on whims, the chaos...a fictional character that is the embodiment of the textbook sociopath.
mjao's review
4.5
Reread for the first time since I was like fourteen and it still hits so hard...Billy !!! :'((
Not really a comedy so much as a super bleak and depressing farce. So so good as a psycho-social character study, honestly like the best and most personally relatable depiction of having an anxiety disorder (yes I'm diagnosing him with this) I've ever read. The narrative voice captures the hysterical pitch of this particular blend of compulsion, obsession, guilt and avoidance so well! First chapter made me cry.
-0,5 for being pretty misogynistic unfortunately...
Not really a comedy so much as a super bleak and depressing farce. So so good as a psycho-social character study, honestly like the best and most personally relatable depiction of having an anxiety disorder (yes I'm diagnosing him with this) I've ever read. The narrative voice captures the hysterical pitch of this particular blend of compulsion, obsession, guilt and avoidance so well! First chapter made me cry.
-0,5 for being pretty misogynistic unfortunately...
fruitcollecti0n's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
emilybemily's review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
salemdoorstop's review
4.0
About halfway through it struck me; this book is a car wreck, and the reader is a pedestrian watching the bodies being pulled out. The characters are all fairly hideous, but since human nature has us rooting for a happy ending we’re looking for them to evolve, or be victimized for their awfulness, or one and then another. But it just shuffled on, more and more embarrassing, awful, avoidable situations and you blush and squirm thinking, fuck, billy, why? The icing on the cake for me is that Waterhouse is one of those rare authors that puts together sentences that make you feel things so viscerally that you think you can see the story.
ianbanks's review
5.0
Billy is a mess, but a very funny and believable one: I recognised a lot of his reasonings and excuses from personal experience and found a lot to laugh at and cringe about in this very funny novel.
katebush5ever's review
5.0
Wes Anderson you little minx. You thought we wouldn't notice didn't you??
Max Fisher OH I MEAN Billy Fisher, the protagonist, is both easily hateable and loveable, I found myself completely tied up in his mess and pathological lies. Brilliant book, brilliant film too.
Max Fisher OH I MEAN Billy Fisher, the protagonist, is both easily hateable and loveable, I found myself completely tied up in his mess and pathological lies. Brilliant book, brilliant film too.