Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Everyone in This Room Will Someday be Dead

This book was like reading my thoughts on a page at a time. It has highly overwhelming but also deeply comforting. Gilda, the main character, felt like me in an almost scary way at times. The ending was incredibly resonant, with things not wrapping up perfectly but with a clear hopeful outlook to the future. I broke out into tears a few times in the book. There were also some very big shocks and twists in the book but all were appropriate.

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theothergrl's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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cecilialau_'s review against another edition

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3.75

Okay, so I skim or preferably avoid blurbs with books as I think they tend to reveal too much or make room for wrong impressions. A spoiler further down will explain more…
Anyway, I thought the writing was easily digestible, had a good flow to it. I wouldn’t say it’s a funny-haha kind of book, but there’s some lighthearted humour in there along with more morbid/dark/profound parts.
The main character seems at the height of experiencing (relatable, speaking for myself) anxiety-ridden human emotions. She has got herself to a bit of a point of no return. And told in paragraphs sort of a vignette-y style where we learn about family relationships for example. That she comes from a family where everything has to seem picture perfect-surface level. And she is experiencing the consequences of being completely dismissed in who she fully is and having her emotions invalidated.

I was surprised when the police wanted to question Gilda. Thought at first it was her imagination so it was a bit far out to me initially, but I was really glad to see how she finally explained herself and vocalised her feelings to all the ppl involved through voicemails at the end.

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thereadingscorpios's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

gilda is a twenty-something lesbian atheist who often thinks about death. one day she accidentally accepts a job as a secretary at her local catholic church. to scared to tell the truth, gilda slowly surrounds herself in lies. she can't tell the old receptionist's friend that she's dead, she can't tell a guy she doesn't want to date him since she's gay, and she can't tell anyone how bad her mental health is.

i really liked this book! as someone who struggles with anxiety i could really relate to gilda. i saw myself in her a bunch of times.

this book is cynical, funny, and so real. the streams of consciousness parts really shows the reader a part of gilda's brain, and i very much enjoyed that. it was easy to read, even with the unpredictable time-jumps.

something i missed, though, was the fact that we never got to see everyone's reaction when gilda finally told the truth. how did they react? is she still working at the church? well, i guess those questions will have to remain unanswered.

nevertheless, i would really like to check out austin's other works and see if it's worth reading!

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lilbooklad's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The main character was definitely neurodivergent coded, and as someone with ADHD and self diagnosed autism I found myself being able to really relate to the character. The story was really paced well, and I found myself feeling the ups and lows of the story right along with the main character. It was an absurd story, but my queer heart was so happy reading it despite it’s absurdity. I found myself just as obsessed and involved in the characters goals. The ending was super sweet and made me tear up and laugh all in the same moment. Highly recommend reading for anyone who is feeling lost in their life, or just needing some more queer representation in literature.

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adelal's review against another edition

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dark funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Not the direction where I thought the story was heading but surprisingly fun despite dealing with heavy topics. At times it was an uncomfortable read but that was only because the portrayal of anxiety was so accurate.

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marieke17's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

5.0

best book i’ve ever read!

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gossameralbum's review against another edition

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