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unphilosophize's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I don’t normally do trigger warnings but I have for this one.
I’d be interested in reading from this author again because I really loved the writing style, I just really struggled with the plot
Graphic: Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Death of parent, Suicide, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Abortion, Addiction, and Rape
kelly_e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Author: Téa Mutonji
Genre: Short Stories
Rating: 3.50
Pub Date: April 1, 2019
T H R E E • W O R D S
Beautiful • Tragic • Raw
📖 S Y N O P S I S
A woman contemplates her Congolese traditions during a family wedding, a teenage girl looks for happiness inside a pack of cigarettes, a mother reconnects with her daughter through their shared interest in fish, and a young woman decides on shaving her head in the waiting room of an abortion clinic.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Shut Up You're Pretty came to me via the 2024 Canada Reads shortlist and at first I was incredibly resistant. What a wild ride! This is the type of book that offers the gentle reminder of why diverse voices are absolutely necessary.
This was one of those books that I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. Written as a collection of interconnected stories it tackles difficult themes including, pain, poverty, identity, sexuality, tense familial relationships, abuse, teenage pregnancy, and in a bigger sense womanhood. It packs a punch with vivid imagery and explicit content.
While I didn't love the story itself, I did fall absolutely in love with Téa Mutonji's writing. It's just incredible! I could feel her passion leaping off the page, and at times it read so much like narrative non-fiction I kept having to remind myself it was fiction and that it was a debut. There is no doubt in my mind this is the first of many works from this gifted Canadian writer.
In my opinion, I think it would have worked better as a complete story. At the end of each story I was left wanting more, and on the bigger picture there is no real resolution at the end. I left Loli not knowing what would become of her and that was unfortunate after becoming so invested in her story and watching her make bad decision after bad decision.
Shut Up You're Pretty is one of those books the left me feeling uncomfortable and that is exactly why it is necessary. It was flawlessly and beautifully defended by Kudakwashe Rutendo on Canada Reads. Her passion and arguments as to why this should be the one book all of Canada should read was evident and it made me reconsider my original perspective and thoughts. I most likely wouldn't have picked up this book on my own, so I am grateful to Canada Reads for including in on this year's shortlist and challenging me.
📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• coming-of-age stories
• short stories
• Canadian literature
⚠️ CW: racism, toxic relationship, adult/minor relationship, pedophilia, rape, sexual assault, sexual violence, emotional abuse, child abuse, mental illness, depression, eating disorder, drug use, drug abuse, addiction, alcohol, alcoholism, suicide, poverty, sexual content, cursing, death, death of parent, grief, abortion
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Her sadness was overwhelming. Her sadness was an illusion. She'd pretend to be fine but then wash the same dish for twenty minutes."
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Racism, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Child abuse
Moderate: Eating disorder, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Addiction, Cursing, and Grief
Minor: Suicide, Death, Death of parent, and Abortion
depression, povertyraspberryreads0's review
3.0
Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Rape, Drug abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Child abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Abortion, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Violence, Classism, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, and Racial slurs
micheala's review
I really didn't like the first story, it made me uncomfortable and not in a good thought provoking way, just in a "wish I wasn't reading this, can't personally get anything out of it because I just want to not have read it".
I was hoping that the rest would be better however it continued in the same manner. The second story starts with the main character acting as look out for her friends to "initiate" the new girl (aka sexual assault)
I only made it to page 59 (45%) before I tapped out. Gritty literary fiction is clearly not something I vibe with and that is ok. If you are interested in this work, I would suggest looking up content warnings from people who did finish reading it as I feel like it is likely that the rest of the book also comes with some heavy warnings.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, and Violence