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3.06 AVERAGE
3.06 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
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
Chilling and fascinating look at one women's downward spiral. Wow that was a dizzying slip 'n slide to the bottom. There are so many layers to this short read. Would be an incredible book club pick!
Thanks, but no, thanks.
So we have lived the day when my first, and so far only one star review has been born. Knowing I’m such a ruthless monster who drops books at the first sign of displeasure, you may be wondering why on earth did I suffer through this. Well, let’s just say I became quite obsessed with finding out just where exactly are we heading with this one. The irony isn’t lost on me.
What the hell did I just read? No, seriously… First of all, let me tell you, this is not a thriller. Maybe a character study of sort, albeit not an enjoyable one, unless you like some truly fucked up shit. A 180 pages of drivel and never-ending crazy talk…
Because what is a thriller?
“…what gives the variety of thrillers a common ground is the intensity of emotions they create, particularly those of apprehension and exhilaration, of excitement and breathlessness, all designed to generate that all-important thrill. By definition, if a thriller doesn’t thrill, it’s not doing its job.” James Patterson
The Looker not only didn’t do its job at giving me exhilaration, and all kinds of excitement, it was rather boring. Our unnamed protagonist a totally deranged nut-job, sure, but even as a stalker she’s not a very good one. Annoying? Yes. Scary? Not really. After her husband left her, apparently because of the failed IVF attempts, but I suspect more because she’s just simply insufferable, this woman spends her time obsessively watching the also unnamed actress across the road, imagining she can become that other lady. All day long, fantasizing about her, her husband, she sinks deeper and deeper into despair.girlhasnoname
She has this woe-is-me attitude, even though the whole time she made it sound like she only went along with attempting to get pregnant, because her husband wanted a child. Not her. Considering she’s the sort of person who should never become a mother, is almost beside the point.
She’s petty and vengeful. When her husband files for divorce some drama ensues and all of a sudden they are fighting for custody of Cat, the unnamed cat who belongs to the husband. After he made multiple attempts to pick up his cat from the house, the woman suffocates poor kitty with a pillow, because that’s obviously what anyone would do in this situation. I pretty much had enough of it at this point.
Even though I accepted the fact that this book has been marketed as a thriller for basically no reason, I just couldn’t find anything to enjoy about it. I mean, maybe the cover. That’s nice.
So we have lived the day when my first, and so far only one star review has been born. Knowing I’m such a ruthless monster who drops books at the first sign of displeasure, you may be wondering why on earth did I suffer through this. Well, let’s just say I became quite obsessed with finding out just where exactly are we heading with this one. The irony isn’t lost on me.
What the hell did I just read? No, seriously… First of all, let me tell you, this is not a thriller. Maybe a character study of sort, albeit not an enjoyable one, unless you like some truly fucked up shit. A 180 pages of drivel and never-ending crazy talk…
Because what is a thriller?
“…what gives the variety of thrillers a common ground is the intensity of emotions they create, particularly those of apprehension and exhilaration, of excitement and breathlessness, all designed to generate that all-important thrill. By definition, if a thriller doesn’t thrill, it’s not doing its job.” James Patterson
The Looker not only didn’t do its job at giving me exhilaration, and all kinds of excitement, it was rather boring. Our unnamed protagonist a totally deranged nut-job, sure, but even as a stalker she’s not a very good one. Annoying? Yes. Scary? Not really. After her husband left her, apparently because of the failed IVF attempts, but I suspect more because she’s just simply insufferable, this woman spends her time obsessively watching the also unnamed actress across the road, imagining she can become that other lady. All day long, fantasizing about her, her husband, she sinks deeper and deeper into despair.girlhasnoname
She has this woe-is-me attitude, even though the whole time she made it sound like she only went along with attempting to get pregnant, because her husband wanted a child. Not her. Considering she’s the sort of person who should never become a mother, is almost beside the point.
She’s petty and vengeful. When her husband files for divorce some drama ensues and all of a sudden they are fighting for custody of Cat, the unnamed cat who belongs to the husband. After he made multiple attempts to pick up his cat from the house, the woman suffocates poor kitty with a pillow, because that’s obviously what anyone would do in this situation. I pretty much had enough of it at this point.
Even though I accepted the fact that this book has been marketed as a thriller for basically no reason, I just couldn’t find anything to enjoy about it. I mean, maybe the cover. That’s nice.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Infertility issues trigger events that push the protagonist to the brink. Where is she headed? Nowhere good. Mesmerizing read.
A great character study of a woman unraveling. The protagonist was horrid but couldn't stop reading, the dread mounting, though there was very little action overall.
If animal cruelty is a showstopper for you, skip this book.
If animal cruelty is a showstopper for you, skip this book.
I knew very soon into reading this book that she would I get that a lot of people wouldn't like this as it is marketed as a thriller, and while I think it does fit the bill, it's not as obvious. it's one of those character study books instead with a compelling unreliable narrator. loved it!
Spoiler
kill the cat. I just knew it. I thought when I got to that point that I wouldn't be able to continue, because despite the fact that I want to read/watch things on their own merit, when animals get killed my soft little heart can't take it. that said, I thought the way it was done here was actually really compelling. it didn't feel like a cheap shot, it felt like the most natural thing in the world that would happen next as she escalated her chaotic destructive behaviour from beginning to end.
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There are lots of really interesting themes woven into this short novel by the inimitable Laura Sims. The narrator is a poetry professor who is incredibly bitter about her infertility and the consequent dissolution of her marriage. Surrounded by the invasiveness of motherhood, she becomes increasingly obsessed with her neighbor—a famous actress—and the seemingly idealistic life she leads with husband and children in tow. Does she want to know her, be her, or keep her? Looker is a novel about personhood as performance with phenomenal narration by Katherine Fenton, for whose performance I’d listen to nearly anything.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, Stalking