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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
i just need to put this somewhere. it’s cringe, so don’t read it please. the scene where rauden and inez are talking about how he tried to use ivf on inez’s eggs with his own sperm and how inez found that lowkey sexy was so romantically charming in a freakish, creepy desperate way and i LOVED it. more people expressing their love by being painfully awkward and weird PLEASE!!
also, i genuinely enjoyed this book and found it so fascinating. dibbell explores pregnancy and motherhood in such a compelling way that even during the parts people found “boring” i was enraptured.
and, of course, i must address the annoying goodreads reviews. someone complained about how inez knew what in vitro fertilization was but would still say “should of” instead of “should have” as if that made her character inconsistent… must i explain? surely not. surely you’re smart enough to realize that a women subject to invasive fertility treatments since she was as young as 10-years old after being pulled out of traditional schooling would have more understanding of that topic than “proper” grammar. surely, right? bad faith criticism will be the death of me. hate on the book for being bloated and repetitive (which, i don’t think it is) or unsatisfying (which, again, i don’t think it is) but calling inez “inconsistent” because of her grammar? lol.
maybe i’ll use this to write a paper when i’m in grad school :)
also, i genuinely enjoyed this book and found it so fascinating. dibbell explores pregnancy and motherhood in such a compelling way that even during the parts people found “boring” i was enraptured.
and, of course, i must address the annoying goodreads reviews. someone complained about how inez knew what in vitro fertilization was but would still say “should of” instead of “should have” as if that made her character inconsistent… must i explain? surely not. surely you’re smart enough to realize that a women subject to invasive fertility treatments since she was as young as 10-years old after being pulled out of traditional schooling would have more understanding of that topic than “proper” grammar. surely, right? bad faith criticism will be the death of me. hate on the book for being bloated and repetitive (which, i don’t think it is) or unsatisfying (which, again, i don’t think it is) but calling inez “inconsistent” because of her grammar? lol.
maybe i’ll use this to write a paper when i’m in grad school :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Miscarriage, Pregnancy
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Perhaps reading a novel set in a pandemic-induced apocalypse wasn’t my best decision in 2020, but, despite this setting, The Only Ones ended up being a really cute story about growing up by way of motherhood.
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
a fresh take on post-pandemic, post-apocalyptic fiction. In the words of I, "it was interesting".
I'm currently filled with that blissful feeling you get when you finish a book you know will stick with you forever. it took me a minute to get into the prose, but once I did I was all in. this book isn't quite what I expected-- I sure didn't expect to read a novel about the tribulations of single motherhood-- but it was better than I imagined.
challenging
dark
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
Man! I can’t believe I’ve just now discovered Carola Dibbell’s The Only Ones almost a decade after its first publication. Despite this, in 2024, amid ever-restricting abortion laws and the targeting of IVF, still-emerging from COVID-19, this book has never been more timely. In a dystopian, pandemic-riddled future, people will do whatever it takes to keep themselves, and their children, alive. With commentary on (largely Catholic) rhetoric concerning the sanctity of life, this book explores the ways in which a human life can be created, sustained, and destroyed. Told in the unforgettable matter-of-fact, self-reliant, working-class voice of Inez, a rare “hardy” immune to disease, it is an incredibly moving story about parenthood, love, and survival.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Classism
Minor: Confinement, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury