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coralynski's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
eleasofia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
i usually prefer third-person pov, but this first person pov was so well written, i often even forgot about it. i loved richard as a narrator. it really felt like a friend telling you a long story - drifting off topic occasionally, going into detail for things that might not matter much to anybody but him. even though he is relatively detached as a narrator, it was very clear how he saw and felt about his friends, which made me love the other main characters - at least until it got complicated, by the ending i had mixed feelings, but i suppose that is exactly what it was supposed to be like. either way, all of them are really well fleshed-out unique characters, so even if you don't like them, you can be intrigued with them. who i liked best fluctuated throughout the story, but i think in the end it's richard and francis for me.
the story itself was very compelling. there were some things i figured out before they happened, but generally i was surprised by the major plot points (at least the ones that hadn't been purposely been given away in the beginning). it felt eerily realistic, exciting, fascinating, but at the same time really relatively mundane, bleak, "normal", like this could have happened to anybody.
i'm glad i didn't read the content warnings before reading the book because they definitely contain spoilers, at least in the sense that some things wouldn't be as surprising anymore. some scenes were disturbing, even relatively graphic, but i enjoyed being caught off-guard.
i'm very much looking forward to re-reading the story. i feel like it's one of those books that will be amazing on the second read when you can pick up on little details and foreshadowing that you missed on the first read.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Suicide, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
angel_kiiss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
An exceptionally interesting book that is paced well up until the end. The third act is slow but ironically rushes in the end.
I did, however, spend the whole book trying to figure out what part of the character of Bunny or the story inspired Mona Awad to write her novel. So far I’ve still made no connection between the two Bunnys to make sense of it. Other than the fact that it’s about to poor kids getting caught up in the lives of their rich peers while at an exclusive university.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Incest, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Medical content, and Suicide attempt
jemimaesmee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Body horror, Incest, and Suicide attempt
bluejay21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol
deathmetalheron's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
First off, there is so much good in this book--in spite of being slow-paced, it's an incredibly gripping read. Richard + crew are exactly what you want out of morally compromised protagonists, they are flawed and overall bad people but they are compelling enough to read about. The references and the overlying theme of Greek tragedy playing out slowing in postmodern Vermont is really a stroke of genius. You can get little treats if you go back and read the parts in ancient languages again, learning new aspects about the characters and early foreshadowing in some cases.
The strongest aspect of this book is its condemnation, or rather strong criticism of elite academia and university. While there is no "hammer to anvil" moment where Richard goes on a diatribe about why college/"university" is dumb (and the text is all the better for it), the overlying theme of this permeates the vast majority of the text and creates the relationship dynamic with Richard and thew crew. By the end Richard has his realization that while college was somewhere he wanted to go and where he felt he had to, to the other Classics (particularly Henry) life is nothing more than an extremely extended stint in college, due to their wealth. Julian (arguably the true antagonist and representation of the entirety of academic excess) is basically the end-goal for Henry.
The other factor that shines is how even though everyone is unlikable to some extent, Bunny, who features some of the more obvious detestable traits like elitism, bigotry, and begging for money, it is
Now, where do I find critique with this text? For one, the obsession with the aesthetic of this damn book leaves a sour taste in my mouth--this is certainly one of those books where it's easy to get lost in "no, you don't get it, this is the real point" I do feel that moping around smoking cigarettes and wearing New England prep fashion is not exactly the takeaway you want from this book. I have the benefit of reading this in my 30s, and I knew people like the Classics when I was in college. The Magicians is much more hokey and goofy but it gets away with making fun of dark academia without making it feel sexy. The reaction to that makes me wonder if the themes of anti-elitism should have been more prominent and we didn't need to spend as much time going over the times Richard walks around drunk or how many Bloody Marys Charles orders and how fast he drinks them. At around 400 pages the prose begins to dip and we get extended, plodding sections that really betray the pace.
It's a phenomenal book, and I have so much good to say about it. But at the risk of falling into the milieu of takes on this book, there is a very clear set of themes to me, and yes, you can miss it if you get too lost in the aesthetic.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Suicide, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape and Antisemitism
loveat1stwrite's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Homophobia, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
komiification's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Animal death, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Rape
plathandthebelljar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Toxic relationship, and Murder
Moderate: Biphobia, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Antisemitism, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Drug abuse, Misogyny, Self harm, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
kenna13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Incest, and Car accident