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3.06 AVERAGE
3.06 AVERAGE
Wow! For a mere 180 pages, this packs quite the punch!
Looker is the story of an unnamed professor whose life and mind slowly start to unravel after a series of unsuccessful IVF attempts and the departure of her husband. All she’s left with is the cat, and she doesn’t even like it. The unnamed professor becomes fixated and obsessed with the unnamed actress who lives on her street. The actress has everything : good looks, a handsome husband, three children, a nice house and a career. Everything the professor doesn’t have.
This is not an easy read. It’s incredibly unsettling and made me rather uncomfortable at times. But it’s also intensely compelling and slightly voyeuristic in that way where you’re just standing by, watching someone fall apart. It’s like you want to look away but you can’t. While the professor might not be a character to specifically like, she is one to feel some sympathy for because it’s easy to imagine her pain and the jealousy she has to deal with when something that so many other women seemingly effortlessly have in their lives, is completely out of her grasp.
Laura Sims does an incredible job in blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. At times I myself was left to wonder what was real and what wasn’t. I wasn’t entirely sure about how much of the professor’s narration I could trust. Throughout the storyline, a feeling of extreme unease kept growing. This sinking feeling in your bones that lets you know something is coming but you have no idea what. And I didn’t have a clue, as I couldn’t predict the outcome at all.
I’m not entirely sure how to label this book. It isn’t your typical psychological thriller, although it seems to be marketed that way. I really hesitate to call it that. It’s more of a fascinating character study about a woman losing her grip on reality. Looker is slightly disturbing, somewhat sad and also creepy all at once. To be honest, at the end of it I was desperate for something fluffy. Yet, it’s brilliantly written and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Looker is the story of an unnamed professor whose life and mind slowly start to unravel after a series of unsuccessful IVF attempts and the departure of her husband. All she’s left with is the cat, and she doesn’t even like it. The unnamed professor becomes fixated and obsessed with the unnamed actress who lives on her street. The actress has everything : good looks, a handsome husband, three children, a nice house and a career. Everything the professor doesn’t have.
This is not an easy read. It’s incredibly unsettling and made me rather uncomfortable at times. But it’s also intensely compelling and slightly voyeuristic in that way where you’re just standing by, watching someone fall apart. It’s like you want to look away but you can’t. While the professor might not be a character to specifically like, she is one to feel some sympathy for because it’s easy to imagine her pain and the jealousy she has to deal with when something that so many other women seemingly effortlessly have in their lives, is completely out of her grasp.
Laura Sims does an incredible job in blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. At times I myself was left to wonder what was real and what wasn’t. I wasn’t entirely sure about how much of the professor’s narration I could trust. Throughout the storyline, a feeling of extreme unease kept growing. This sinking feeling in your bones that lets you know something is coming but you have no idea what. And I didn’t have a clue, as I couldn’t predict the outcome at all.
I’m not entirely sure how to label this book. It isn’t your typical psychological thriller, although it seems to be marketed that way. I really hesitate to call it that. It’s more of a fascinating character study about a woman losing her grip on reality. Looker is slightly disturbing, somewhat sad and also creepy all at once. To be honest, at the end of it I was desperate for something fluffy. Yet, it’s brilliantly written and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I started and finished this today... what was that!! My head is still reeling from it, what a story twisted and bizarre but I loved it... I think!
It is somewhat surprising to see that 'Looker' is such a controversial book in terms of ratings when it is actually very successful in achieving what it has set out to do.
It is a character study of the gradual breakdown of a woman. As such, it is written as a near-incessant stream of consciousness which gives it a somewhat surreal feeling. There is a constant sense of an unease as one reads through the misery that the main character goes through, the embarrassment, the horrors.
We have nearly lost the ability to write about sincerely loser women, horrible women, but 'Looker' is a near masterclass of the genre.
It is a character study of the gradual breakdown of a woman. As such, it is written as a near-incessant stream of consciousness which gives it a somewhat surreal feeling. There is a constant sense of an unease as one reads through the misery that the main character goes through, the embarrassment, the horrors.
We have nearly lost the ability to write about sincerely loser women, horrible women, but 'Looker' is a near masterclass of the genre.
I wouldn’t characterize this book as a thriller of any kind, or even a mystery! It’s interesting all on it’s own and I can’t even think of a category it would fall under except a character study really. “Looker” focuses on one woman as we are given her complete internal dialogue and follow her slow descent into madness. It’s a very quick read with no separate chapters and I found it pretty unique. Overall, I did end up wanting more from this novel but I can appreciate it for what it is. (3.5 stars)
This book has me slightly confused on how to rate it! I loved the first half but hated the second half! This was a short thriller the description grabbed me but I was let down!! A woman becomes obsessed with a celebrity actress who lives on her block. Our narrator who remains unnamed has gone through a lot , her husband has left her after several failed pregnancy attempts, she seems to have let her self go and she lives in a fantasy world where she visions her and the actress best friends. At night she’s alone with her cat that really belongs to her ex husband and during the day she teaches at a university. Through her eyes we see her slowly losing her mind as she tries to rationalize the anger she has for her ex husband and her obsession for the actress. She watches the actress and her family relentlessly from her front step. She creates envious imaginary scenarios and they start turning into madness. Her breaking point comes when her ex husband shows up at the annual neighborhood party where she’s finally talking to the actress and her ex husband embarrasses her. The book had so much potential but the ending felt flat. All and all I give it three stars!
I don't really know the best way to review this book, except I did not like it. I want the time back I wasted reading this book while waiting for the excitement I was promised dammit!
First, I feel the publisher or blurb writer or whoever completely lied to readers about what the book was about. There was no mystery, no thrill, no nothing
Second, surprise animal abuse ....
Third, wtf was even really happening?
I know this is a woman's descent into madness and obsession, but it was not even really good. you know. That's actually all I'm going to say.
First, I feel the publisher or blurb writer or whoever completely lied to readers about what the book was about. There was no mystery, no thrill, no nothing
Second, surprise animal abuse ....
Third, wtf was even really happening?
I know this is a woman's descent into madness and obsession, but it was not even really good. you know. That's actually all I'm going to say.
ACTUAL RATIN 3.5
I wanted to read this one because the synopsis vaguely reminded me of another book I loved. I immediately got Girl On The Train vibes from this one, which I was loving, and quite frankly expecting. Even though I felt that way, I thought the whole plot was had it’s own unique take on the whole situation. I loved the cover of this one, it really made me want to pick it up.
It was absolute a character driven story, which worked well. I loved the details on each relationship in out main character’s life, love, friends (or lack there of), acquaintances, neighbors, etc. I found the main character’s obsessions intriguing and absolutely frightening at times. The mental illness aspect of the story was portrayed pretty well in my opinion.
I thought this one was a a pretty solid psychological thriller with many amazing qualities. I feel like it just fell a bit flat for me towards the end, and I almost didn’t care what was going to happen to the main character and side characters. I found it a quick enjoyable read that I would recommend to fans of Girl On The Train.
I wanted to read this one because the synopsis vaguely reminded me of another book I loved. I immediately got Girl On The Train vibes from this one, which I was loving, and quite frankly expecting. Even though I felt that way, I thought the whole plot was had it’s own unique take on the whole situation. I loved the cover of this one, it really made me want to pick it up.
It was absolute a character driven story, which worked well. I loved the details on each relationship in out main character’s life, love, friends (or lack there of), acquaintances, neighbors, etc. I found the main character’s obsessions intriguing and absolutely frightening at times. The mental illness aspect of the story was portrayed pretty well in my opinion.
I thought this one was a a pretty solid psychological thriller with many amazing qualities. I feel like it just fell a bit flat for me towards the end, and I almost didn’t care what was going to happen to the main character and side characters. I found it a quick enjoyable read that I would recommend to fans of Girl On The Train.
I love taking a chance on a book with lower ratings and finding that I loved it. This short little thriller packs a punch. The narrator is highly unreliable and definitely grating with how unlikable she can be at times. But at the same time I felt for her and could even understand her feelings about the people around her. I really loved this one and would recommend giving it a try, as it's so short and quick to read.
Oof, this one was rough. Can't say I particularly enjoyed it as it all seemed a bit...pointless? It wasn't badly written or hard to follow, but I can't quite pinpoint what I should have gotten out of it. But at just under 200 pages at least I didn't waste a lot of time with it.
A snapshot into a spiraling womans life. I simultaneously hated and sympathized with the narrator. While I could see where she was coming from I couldn't condone any of her actions. Constantly playing out scenarios over and over again in her mind was relatable - though not to that extreme perhaps. The ending really left me wanting more and yet it made complete sense.