Reviews

Banal Nightmare: A Novel by Halle Butler

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marystygles's review against another edition

4.0

God I loved this. You’re tossed into this world of sad funny people as they set their lives on fire. It’s a satisfying mix of cringe and catharsis, glittery muck. The sour skittle of novels. I want to hear everything Halle Butler has to say.

eventhedevilreads's review

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dark funny reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

“I am normal… I am relaxed.”

After finishing a Halle Butler book I am always left feeling full and empty all at once.

Banal Nightmare follows a variety of women and men who are simply trying to navigate life, trauma, death and suffering — which is actually just all apart of life.

Going into this book I figured this would be a strange sci-fi book but as I read more into it the title of this book was incredibly fitting. Their lives (which are very reflective of our lives) are so very dull and depressing but incredibly interesting?!? It’s crazy how Halle Butler can take something so mundane and make it so abnormal that you can’t help but be anything but interested.

It took me a moment to get into this book but once I hit chapter 5 I was hooked. I throughly enjoyed how introspective each character was. It became ridiculous and borderline insane (yet realistic) how quickly they all spiraled into their thoughts.

I enjoyed getting POV’s from all of the characters, even those we didn’t know or care much about. It let me see outside of what just Moddie thought of these people, this life and all that goes on it.

If you are looking for a good laugh but also some intense introspection/reflection this is the book for you!

***please check tw’s before reading!!

Thank you Net Galley and Penguin Random House for providing me with this arc in exchange for a honest review!!

liesel's review

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dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Moddie: Sagittarius sun, Gemini moon, Scorpio rising
Nina: Gemini sun, Libra moon, Gemini rising
Pam: Cancer sun, Pisces moon, Virgo rising
Bethany: Aquarius sun, Scorpio moon, Libra rising
Kimberly: Cancer sun, Capricorn moon, Leo rising

punkweed's review

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dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

every friend group got the
dumb bitch (kimberly)
selfish coward (pam)
social flake with a shitty boyfriend (nina)
psychopathic young professional (bethany)
endearingly unstable clown (moddie)

halle butler is a national treasure. this book is as hilarious as it is miserable. found myself thinking “she’s just like me fr” every three pages, for better or worse. love love love these horrible people!!!

icanfixhim's review against another edition

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so sorry net galley but I just couldnt

naomivilla's review against another edition

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dark funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

Halle Butler is one of my absolute favorite authors, and when I saw she had a new book coming out, I knew I needed to get my stupid little hands on it. Banal Nightmare completely holds up to the Halle Butler standard. I laughed out loud innumerable times! I found her characters disgustingly relatable and familiar! We get many POVs in this book and I couldn't get enough of each. Butler grossly and intimately understands the millennial experience and today's political climate. As always, I don't care where the author takes me, I trust her writing implicitly.

"...she spent roughly half of every waking moment praying to become more stupid so that she could bear the crushing tedium and confounding horrors of her life."

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for the ARC. Banal Nightmare comes out 7/16!

isabella_acacia's review

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reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

emmrosa's review

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funny reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

readinglibraesq's review against another edition

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

4.75

Content Warnings

dogsbooksandpizza's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I enjoyed this book from start to finish: the people were simultaneously awful and lovable based on their vacillating behavior and dubious opinions of themselves and others. Laugh-out-loud satire, and often embarrassingly relatable (as a millenial). I will read anything Butler writes.

Content Warnings

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