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stephe's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Picked this up after seeing American Fiction and I really wish I had read it before seeing the film. I thought the film was great, but fairly easy to grasp in a way that the book is not. I was surprised by how at a loss I felt reading, my lack in theory and arts making itself felt sharply throughout. More than anything, I think I was surprised that this seems more of a book that has a beef with academia even more than pop fiction—an angle that is not as visibly present in the film.
Still, feeling my own lack is not a bad thing. This book made me think more than many books do, and even the elements that left me out in the deep end still got their sustained engagement out of me. Heck, this book even made trout fishing sound great, a feeling I don’t think I’ve ever had.
One thing I really recommend, for either reading the novel or viewing the film: read James Baldwin’s essay “Everybody’s Protest Novel” in Notes of a Native Son alongside. I just happened to be reading through Baldwin’s collected essays as I worked through Erasure, and it dovetails quite nicely.
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Police brutality, Misogyny, Mental illness, Fatphobia, Cursing, Classism, Body shaming, Homophobia, Violence, Rape, Racial slurs, Abortion, and Murder
Without spoiling the story, nearly all of the graphic content is intentionally and satirically lurid and outlandish, not depictions grounded in the world of the story.sarahbiegelsen's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexism, Cursing, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Death, Dementia, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Violence, Chronic illness, Hate crime, Medical content, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Death of parent, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Rape, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Antisemitism, Adult/minor relationship, and Body shaming
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