Reviews

Charming Young Man by Eliot Schrefer

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mochiwangj's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted sad medium-paced

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

4.0

starsandgutters's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

Flung myself into this without even reading the blurb because ELIOT SCHREFER. Darkness Outside Us is one of my fave books ever so I was giving blind trust.

Consequently didn’t realise until I had dove into the book that it’s a historical reimagining based on real people - don’t love these kinds of books as it’s always weird to me projecting imagined personalities onto what were real people.

The author’s note made me fractionally softer about this since it was inspired by such an intense sense of connection and born from so much passion, but this came too late to influence my reading.

Ironically the characters I enjoyed most and felt were the most full of life were the fictional characters Charlotte and Félix, perhaps because Eliot felt less constricted in his exploration of them.

Definitely felt aimed at the lower middle YA audience.

Some really beautiful descriptive language, especially in how Léon’s piano playing is depicted.

Trods along at a fairly slow pace.

There’s a lot of juggling with religious trauma and internalised homophobia, which grated on me after a while.

Enjoyed Sargent’s cameo and thought the novel did a decent job with the exploration of class issues and struggles.