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bibliotequeish's review against another edition
2.0
I read this book in the early 2000's when I was 19. And I tell ya' this book spoke to me.
Spoke to me in an almost creepy way, it also spoke to my boyfriend at the time and I always wondered if the two of us reading this book and relating to this book led to our breakup... it was the whole falling in love with the wrong person person thing, but we were at that age when everything is dramatic and pretentious.
I read this book again in my 30s and was shocked.
It was NOT at all as I remembered it and I was horrified that I had ever identified with Sarah.
I was also horrified that I have given "I remember it being so good" recommendations to people.
I do have this book sitting on my shelf and wonder, if I read it again in another 10 years, what will I think of it then
Spoke to me in an almost creepy way, it also spoke to my boyfriend at the time and I always wondered if the two of us reading this book and relating to this book led to our breakup... it was the whole falling in love with the wrong person person thing, but we were at that age when everything is dramatic and pretentious.
I read this book again in my 30s and was shocked.
It was NOT at all as I remembered it and I was horrified that I had ever identified with Sarah.
I was also horrified that I have given "I remember it being so good" recommendations to people.
I do have this book sitting on my shelf and wonder, if I read it again in another 10 years, what will I think of it then
thatclaregirl's review against another edition
3.0
An easy read. I was interested to see whether he could write. It could have been a lot worse...
leoniee_04's review against another edition
tense
fast-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
1.0
I really wanted to like this book. After having read the first chapter I realised I wouldn't. Was I supposed to despise William? If not, Ethan Hawke did a terrible job!
It is indeed possible to write a great book with a terrible person as a protagonist, but this is not it. I am getting in a bad mood only writing about it. Arghh.
The list of things I hated about this book is loooooong, so let's have a look at my Top 5:
1. The way William talks to and about women (primarily their bodies) disgusts me
2. He obsesses about Sarah because she is "not like the other girls" and doesn't want to sleep with him, while constantly highlighting that she is uglier and less sexy than e.g. Samantha
3. He rapes Sarah, while she is sleeping!!!
4. He is extremely fixated on sex (for his own pleasure of course, not once does he even consider the woman's perspective! Oh wait, he asks Samantha how it was and she says it hurt. Great.), which is in parts really disturbing (see 3)
5. He is immature, erratic, choleric, overall extremely annoying and a danger to everyone around him.
I am convinced, that all women in this book would be happier if they had never met William. I am glad this is over, I don't want to be in a bad mood anymore. Wait, I have two pros:
The book is short and I got it half price because the copy had a scratch on the back.
I am sorry Ethan Hawke (actually I think you should apologise to me), please stick to acting, my mom loved you in "before sunrise":)
It is indeed possible to write a great book with a terrible person as a protagonist, but this is not it. I am getting in a bad mood only writing about it. Arghh.
The list of things I hated about this book is loooooong, so let's have a look at my Top 5:
1. The way William talks to and about women (primarily their bodies) disgusts me
2. He obsesses about Sarah because she is "not like the other girls" and doesn't want to sleep with him, while constantly highlighting that she is uglier and less sexy than e.g. Samantha
3. He rapes Sarah, while she is sleeping!!!
4. He is extremely fixated on sex (for his own pleasure of course, not once does he even consider the woman's perspective! Oh wait, he asks Samantha how it was and she says it hurt. Great.), which is in parts really disturbing (see 3)
5. He is immature, erratic, choleric, overall extremely annoying and a danger to everyone around him.
I am convinced, that all women in this book would be happier if they had never met William. I am glad this is over, I don't want to be in a bad mood anymore. Wait, I have two pros:
The book is short and I got it half price because the copy had a scratch on the back.
I am sorry Ethan Hawke (actually I think you should apologise to me), please stick to acting, my mom loved you in "before sunrise":)
ghostofyesterday's review against another edition
3.0
I purchased this for 50c at a thrift store out of curiosity as to Hawke's writing chops and I gotta say: I really dug it. Very honest, it's a simple tale of young, crazy love but with a bit of grit and angst. I'm not one for tales of romance but this got me, perhaps because it hit a little close to home...
idahol7221's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
larry_leury's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
3.5
softpastelpages's review
3.5
Admittedly I read this to feed my Ethan Hawke obsession, as someone who loves his movies I was interested to see what his writing was like. I found his writing to be surprisingly good for an actor. I was hoping this book would be like the Before trilogy that he starred in and although I could definitely see some similarities this had a darker, less hopeful tone to it.
We follow William who falls in love with Sarah and we begin to see how all consuming first love can be and all the complicated feelings that come with it. I found William to be a hopeless romantic but also deeply narcissistic, I’m not sure if he was meant to be that way but that’s how I viewed him throughout most of the book. The relationship between the two characters wasn’t healthy despite how much William romanticised Sarah which made it feel like a true, relatable romance story.
I am looking forward to reading more by Ethan Hawke!
We follow William who falls in love with Sarah and we begin to see how all consuming first love can be and all the complicated feelings that come with it. I found William to be a hopeless romantic but also deeply narcissistic, I’m not sure if he was meant to be that way but that’s how I viewed him throughout most of the book. The relationship between the two characters wasn’t healthy despite how much William romanticised Sarah which made it feel like a true, relatable romance story.
I am looking forward to reading more by Ethan Hawke!