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3.12 AVERAGE
3.12 AVERAGE
3.5 ⭐️
the way this was written just sinks its claws into you and doesn’t let you go until you’re done.
the way this was written just sinks its claws into you and doesn’t let you go until you’re done.
3.5 stars. A beautiful book that I kind of hate about an Israeli everygirl prostitute named Libby. (Though she is first described as several different races and ethnicities, she turns out to be white. I'm not sure how to write about this exactly. I have many vague thoughts on introducing a white character through an everygirl lens, most of which boil down to, if Libby had been left as a multiethnic everygirl it would have still been a story untouched by the complexity of race and racism. Which is fine, that's not what this author was doing, though the gaze definitely others nonwhite characters.) The prose is gorgeous, and there are a few chapters I'm in love with, including the one where Libby laughs and laughs because she cannot cry, and the chapter at the end with all the men touching her. For the most part, though, this book neatly elides the messiness of trauma, choosing the path of lyrical writing as opposed to pain. This book is not nearly painful enough. What's the point of all this gorgeous writing if none of it actually does the messy work of excavating human emotion?
But I'm still clicking 4 stars because it's beautiful, and because it captures the pulse of objectification, and the way it feels to viewed through the panopticon of male judgment.
But I'm still clicking 4 stars because it's beautiful, and because it captures the pulse of objectification, and the way it feels to viewed through the panopticon of male judgment.
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What did I just read? I have literally no idea what happens in this book.
This book is written so beautifully, with such care given to tone and meaning and repetition. I absolutely adored the narration style, the continuous circling back and rewriting of the narrative. It felt just the right length, and everything seemed so careful and painstaking. Truly a great novella.
not very effective or interesting weird sort of fetishization of the mind of a sex worker/young woman.