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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
A less clever "A Confederacy of Dunces," but good for a few laughs and nicely captured the feeling of being really obsessed with a good book.
One-of-kind tale of a woman modeling her life after Treasure Island!(!!) As a superfan of Treasure Island, wacky characters, and fantastic writing, I consider this sort of a dream book. The animal cruelty’s too disturbing, though.
Easily one of the most insufferable narrators I've ever heard, and for the author's ability to create this voice alone. As much as I wanted to put the book down because I couldn't stand the narrator, I found myself still wanting to know more and to see where the story went. I haven't read the original Treasure Island but that didn't seem to matter, especially since the narrator seemed only focused on certain parts of the novel and those parts are made clear to the reader. Very interesting book.
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was funny, disrespectful and a little yuck at times, but I kinda enjoyed it. Something to tide me over till Miranda July publishes her next book.
challenging
dark
tense
medium-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
Well, that was disappointing. I thought it would be a short read (it’s 177 pages and took me three days), I thought it would be funny. I think it’s supposed to be funny. But it’s a claustrophobic examination of the pitch black soul of one of the worst fictional characters I’ve ever encountered. Most of the novels I’ve read don’t have villains as heinous as this novel’s protagonist. I think Levine is aware of how truly awful her protagonist is; I like the way her family was described, and her mother in particular, and how this explained (without being too obvious) why the protagonist was the way she was. But why Treasure Island? That’s never totally explained. It feels like there’s something incomplete or not fully thought through here. It reminded me a lot of My Year of Rest and Relaxation, but this is a pale shadow, lacking the focus, vision, and humour.
I liked the idea of this book but I ran face first into its pointlessness.
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I went in trying to find the dark humor the book jacket claims, but only felt like every page was just utterly and consistently unpleasant to read. I actually feel a sense of dread that I might have to revisit any of it when we discuss at bookclub.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Mental illness
adventurous
funny
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes