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3.12 AVERAGE
3.12 AVERAGE
An amazing whirlwind of emotion and repressed emotion. A confusing swirl of life. Poetry, and if this was poetry I might even like it.
2.5 Conta a estória de uma prostituta em Isrsel num estilo fragmentado e desconexo que acaba deixando o livro "vazio". É mais uma viagem psicológica interior da protagonista que parece infeliz e dopada ao revelar pedaços de sua vida dentro e fora da profissão secreta que exerce. Senti falta de uma exploração do ambiente e da cidade, já que é um lugar rico em História,multicultural e complexo nas relações sociais e humana.
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This story of a prostitute is told in highly stylized writing that is very well executed, but at the end of the day, it's a book I can admire more than actively like.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Sexual content
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
"You had sex in public restrooms, dance clubs, on the steps of the lifeguard tower on the beach, in a luxury hotel, in your own bed. You got in the car that waited for you in the evenings with the same case that you got out of it in the morning. What did you have to lose? You didn't have anything?"
This is the life Libby engages in "Love", a book that wraps itself around in the topic despite facing a lack of it. A girl in an unknown city in Israel, Libby is a prostitute, finding herself in new beds and odd occasions within her job. Under the current is the desire to live a normal life, away from the streets, and independent. And one huge event changes that.
Knowing the length, as well as the language involved, I thought that this would be like a book of poems, in which they tell a greater story. In reality, it read more like a book of vignettes, coming up with images which float around at times. Even in the beginning, where we have phrases like "You were an only child. You were born in a large family, after years of treatments, you were adopted..." (3), it seemed like Libby was a different character at times, with no true identity.
And at least in the first half of the book, it's just that. We have some backstory, like whom she works with and how she changed her name to Libby, but nothing much. One piece which stands out is how men would stare at Libby, then "they called me names; sweetheart, love. They kissed me with their eyes closed and stroked their face with their fingertip" (14). She's a prostitute which gives pleasure to others, and not much.
However, we show specks of humanity in her, so as to emphasize with her. The part where she pleasures an ultra-Orthodox man from Bnei Brak made me laugh, as I don't think that men of his kind should frequent with prostitutes. Another is how they're perceived by society--"we lied to our parents. We lied to the law. We lied in cheap restaurants, we lied in bars, we lied in factories for assembling aluminum tools..." (42). There's a darkness in that part, which leads to the second part of the novella...
...which really came all of a sudden. Libby kills a man, seemingly because she felt like it. What's weirder is that she not only doesn't get arrested, but also finds a new love, which is delved into in the second part. In between two worlds, Libby balances "a life that had suited me, and now I planned to unravel it" (85). It felt a bit jarring, especially with the seemingly bland normality of the first half. While Eitan has some good passages, I'm not fully satisfied with the arc of the story.
Overall, I'm not sure how "Love" works best--as a concept poetry book, or an actual story?
This is the life Libby engages in "Love", a book that wraps itself around in the topic despite facing a lack of it. A girl in an unknown city in Israel, Libby is a prostitute, finding herself in new beds and odd occasions within her job. Under the current is the desire to live a normal life, away from the streets, and independent. And one huge event changes that.
Knowing the length, as well as the language involved, I thought that this would be like a book of poems, in which they tell a greater story. In reality, it read more like a book of vignettes, coming up with images which float around at times. Even in the beginning, where we have phrases like "You were an only child. You were born in a large family, after years of treatments, you were adopted..." (3), it seemed like Libby was a different character at times, with no true identity.
And at least in the first half of the book, it's just that. We have some backstory, like whom she works with and how she changed her name to Libby, but nothing much. One piece which stands out is how men would stare at Libby, then "they called me names; sweetheart, love. They kissed me with their eyes closed and stroked their face with their fingertip" (14). She's a prostitute which gives pleasure to others, and not much.
However, we show specks of humanity in her, so as to emphasize with her. The part where she pleasures an ultra-Orthodox man from Bnei Brak made me laugh, as I don't think that men of his kind should frequent with prostitutes. Another is how they're perceived by society--"we lied to our parents. We lied to the law. We lied in cheap restaurants, we lied in bars, we lied in factories for assembling aluminum tools..." (42). There's a darkness in that part, which leads to the second part of the novella...
...which really came all of a sudden. Libby kills a man, seemingly because she felt like it. What's weirder is that she not only doesn't get arrested, but also finds a new love, which is delved into in the second part. In between two worlds, Libby balances "a life that had suited me, and now I planned to unravel it" (85). It felt a bit jarring, especially with the seemingly bland normality of the first half. While Eitan has some good passages, I'm not fully satisfied with the arc of the story.
Overall, I'm not sure how "Love" works best--as a concept poetry book, or an actual story?
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
this was weird and dark and sad and hard to stomach at times but very…interesting? I guess? idk how to describe it bc I didn’t LIKE it but I also don’t think ur supposed to like it…idk it’s gonna stick with me for a while
challenging
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content
Minor: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder, Alcohol
dark
tense
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Sexual harassment