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jessicatooth's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
jesssilk's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lezreadalot's review against another edition
3.0
The body is a great thing, Judy, a horrifying thing, a great and horrifying thing to be trapped in a body, anything can go haywire at any moment.
I spent a lot of time while reading this wondering if I'm the audience for this book, or if I'm too dumb for it. I did like certain aspects of it; a queer, mentally-ill woman spins through life and temp jobs and unrequited love in a drug-soaked haze. Deals a lot with addiction and drug-use. Some passages spoke about life and self-image and mental illness with pinpoint precision that I really liked. I'd be meandering along the book, not having much idea of what was happening because the passage of time and change of locations wasn't really noted, having to reread sentences multiple times, and then something really insightful would latch on to me, or I'd see myself in a sentence, or I'd find myself highlighting stuff like mad.
But the book in its totality didn't really click for me. A lot of references that I didn't get, things I had to stop and look up, something I didn't bother with. I can enjoy stream of consciousness (which I think this attempted to be at times, and it fits, because the protag was high most of the time) but the main character's narrative would take such huge leaps ans turns, it felt more nonsensical than anything else. Sometimes I'd go over a passage multiple times and just end up with... nothing. A lot of words, sure, but basically nothing.
(Again, it could just be that I'm stupid, or not fully the intended audience.)
Interesting, at the very least.
I spent a lot of time while reading this wondering if I'm the audience for this book, or if I'm too dumb for it. I did like certain aspects of it; a queer, mentally-ill woman spins through life and temp jobs and unrequited love in a drug-soaked haze. Deals a lot with addiction and drug-use. Some passages spoke about life and self-image and mental illness with pinpoint precision that I really liked. I'd be meandering along the book, not having much idea of what was happening because the passage of time and change of locations wasn't really noted, having to reread sentences multiple times, and then something really insightful would latch on to me, or I'd see myself in a sentence, or I'd find myself highlighting stuff like mad.
But the book in its totality didn't really click for me. A lot of references that I didn't get, things I had to stop and look up, something I didn't bother with. I can enjoy stream of consciousness (which I think this attempted to be at times, and it fits, because the protag was high most of the time) but the main character's narrative would take such huge leaps ans turns, it felt more nonsensical than anything else. Sometimes I'd go over a passage multiple times and just end up with... nothing. A lot of words, sure, but basically nothing.
(Again, it could just be that I'm stupid, or not fully the intended audience.)
Interesting, at the very least.
ermw0's review against another edition
Got a little into it, but it wasn't a book I was looking forward to read or would reach out to. Might revisit this later.
audaciaray's review against another edition
5.0
The fact that it's blurbed by Michelle Tea and Eileen Myles should be enough to get you to read this thing.
Holy wow. Loose and non-linear, messy and gorgeous. So many perfectly delicious sentences. I found myself grinning on the subway at this book because it's just right, dark and hilarious and desperate all at once.
Holy wow. Loose and non-linear, messy and gorgeous. So many perfectly delicious sentences. I found myself grinning on the subway at this book because it's just right, dark and hilarious and desperate all at once.
mashley14's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
“How tantalizing is each leaf! Yet how impossible to attend its performance all the way to the ground! Other leaves twirl into the picture, flirtatious and distracting so I lose track of the first.”
That’s how I would describe this book
That’s how I would describe this book
tuc03229's review against another edition
2.0
I don't know if I'm missing something, but I really didn't enjoy this. I found the heroine to be annoying, egotistical, whiny, self-pitying, and racist (wanting to be a Native American from long ago because it's sooo romantic/exotic, making fun of people who don't speak english, etc).
This book was felt too long for such a short read and didn't really go anywhere. I couldn't even really like the main character as an anti-heroine, she was just completely unrelatable to me and more often than not offensive. I also don't see what's so brilliant about most of the prose, it feels like she's trying too hard to write descriptions.
This book was felt too long for such a short read and didn't really go anywhere. I couldn't even really like the main character as an anti-heroine, she was just completely unrelatable to me and more often than not offensive. I also don't see what's so brilliant about most of the prose, it feels like she's trying too hard to write descriptions.
rebeckareads's review
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I think this would've been a 5 star for me, had I read it at a different time and as a physical copy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use