Reviews

I struggled to get into this I think mostly because right from the beginning it is hard, almost impossible to like Mrs March or have much sympathy for her especially early on when she comes across as being fairly shallow and self absorbed. She is mostly concerned with appearance, not just physical but social too. Is she making the right impression, is her apartment nicer than the neighbours, her party better than other parties. Who cares?

The problem is Mrs March does but slowly we start to realise that maybe Mrs March is not actually OK. There is creeping sense that was slowly watching a woman sliding into some sort of paranoid mental health break down but rather than watch her we are in it with her because as the reader we are trapped inside Mrs March's head with her.

There were times when I so wanted to know what Mr March or Martha or the neighbour thought of Mrs March, but we only ever get to know their responses to her through Mrs March but damn I wanted to hear from them at times.

This book definitely has a strong Hitchcock vibe to it and the ending is shocking and gruesome and I kinda loved it.

Apparently it was meant to be being made into a movie and I can totally see how it would make a great horror film however despite that being announced in 2020 it doesn't ever seem to have been made. If it ever though I would definitely give it a watch.

I am glad I stuck with this one because ultimately I enjoyed it. It is imperfect but also it is a debut novel. I will definitely read more by this author though as I think she definitely has a talent.

konsgard's review against another edition

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dark funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

iloveyoutoad's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

mrsclicquot's review against another edition

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4.0

Descent into madness. I felt every bit as crazy as Mrs March while reading this.

iggy_pup's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

ellagrierson1's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

sian_m's review against another edition

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4.0

I loved this book so much. It oozed dark, eerie vibes tremendously well and took you on a roller coaster of living inside Mrs March’s head. She’s an utterly delusional being, possibly somewhat depressed and portraying signs of childhood neglect.

I Imagine her character who would be diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Her thinking is completely irrational and she is very disengaged and disconnected to all life. Her character is definitely lonely and a lot of the time living in a silence that is actually incredibly loud. She’s quite the bitter bitch and expresses consistent vindictive thoughts towards others.

Mrs March believes herself to be a well to do, docile adult and is far from it. She is pretentiously grandiose, dark and mysterious and such a phenomenally interesting character to read about. She is completely deluded and resonates in intense emotional discomfort that she is not capable of computing. There’s no point trying to rationalise her behaviour as it’s totally irrational and the book takes you on a bizarre journey through her world.

I give this book 4.25 stars.

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