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litstyleguide's review against another edition
2.0
We follow our FMC, Millie, in her day-to-day at a temp job. She seems incredibly depressed, judgmental, and out-of-touch. She desperately needed a good therapist, and probably some form of medication too. This felt like My Year of Rest & Relaxation (similar vibes) but without the dashes of hope sprinkled in. To me, it felt like the author was trying to showcase that there are so many things we as humans care about that are just utterly unimportant. Or maybe it was just highlighting the mundane - this cycle of waking up everyday, doing the same thing, going to this dead-end job. I’m not sure what the intention here was, but it left me feeling unsettled.
Overall, this was a super quick read, I was intrigued and invested enough to see where it went.
Overall, this was a super quick read, I was intrigued and invested enough to see where it went.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Mental illness
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship
rebeckareads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
slow-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
3.25
- Rated 6.14 using the CAWPILE rating system.
Review to come?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Bullying
witmol's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Tonally strange, structurally confusing and with very little to love, this is an unsettling book. Why was it written? Why did I read it?
At the centre of the story is Millie, a perpetual admin temp with untreated depression and lacklustre social relationships. Butler feels like she wants the reader to empathise with Millie, painting her as the underdog throughout in a sort of 'she's trying but it's not going to work' way. However, there's a cynical undertone to the writing that means all I could feel, personally, was pity and minor disgust. We don't get a sense of what Millie wants from life because the whole point of the novel is that she strives for nothing (did I mention untreated depression?). That makes for a very frustrating character and a stagnant plot.
Interspersed with Millie's first-person narrative is third-person snippets from other characters' perspectives. Some of this sets the reader up for dramatic irony e.g. Karen, the office receptionist who wants to get rid of Millie, has designs of her own and her segments come across as the perfect setup for an antagonist.
Other narrators are baffling: Kristin, Elodie and Jessica are co-working backdrops to Millie's temp role and they each get short chapters/character sketches for no reason and no real contribution to the plot. Millie's downstairs neighbours get a fairly lengthy character study for no real advancement as well.
I can only conclude that Butler's purpose was to demonstrate the ennui of the downtrodden, those who haven't quite lost everything but are similarly marginalised and close to slipping through the cracks. It's an uncomfortable read, and one that I believe fulfils its intent, but I really felt lost here and only persevered because the book was short and I was hoping something would magically reveal itself to me by the end. It didn't.
At the centre of the story is Millie, a perpetual admin temp with untreated depression and lacklustre social relationships. Butler feels like she wants the reader to empathise with Millie, painting her as the underdog throughout in a sort of 'she's trying but it's not going to work' way. However, there's a cynical undertone to the writing that means all I could feel, personally, was pity and minor disgust. We don't get a sense of what Millie wants from life because the whole point of the novel is that she strives for nothing (did I mention untreated depression?). That makes for a very frustrating character and a stagnant plot.
Interspersed with Millie's first-person narrative is third-person snippets from other characters' perspectives. Some of this sets the reader up for dramatic irony e.g. Karen, the office receptionist who wants to get rid of Millie, has designs of her own and her segments come across as the perfect setup for an antagonist.
Other narrators are baffling: Kristin, Elodie and Jessica are co-working backdrops to Millie's temp role and they each get short chapters/character sketches for no reason and no real contribution to the plot. Millie's downstairs neighbours get a fairly lengthy character study for no real advancement as well.
I can only conclude that Butler's purpose was to demonstrate the ennui of the downtrodden, those who haven't quite lost everything but are similarly marginalised and close to slipping through the cracks. It's an uncomfortable read, and one that I believe fulfils its intent, but I really felt lost here and only persevered because the book was short and I was hoping something would magically reveal itself to me by the end. It didn't.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Toxic relationship
Depressionpennym_'s review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
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
3.0
loved the moments of rage, struggled to enjoy the rest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Toxic relationship
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