Reviews

Pretty Things by Virginie Despentes

meso24's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-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

3.75

chillcox15's review

4.0

An extremely cinematic novel about fame, femininity, and doubling, like a pop music Persona (hasn't that already been done?) Would fit in well with Brady Corbet's 2018 film Vox Lux, which also took a less-than-optimistic view on music superstardom.

gommette's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

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

4.5

Vraie fiction féministe avec des portraits de personnages très réalistes. Instrigue pas très originale.

silee's review against another edition

2.0

Je n'arrive pas à accrocher avec les personnages, ils sont tous détestables, d'une façon qui ne m'a pas donné envie de poursuivre. Peut-être y reviendrai-je un jour, mais je ne suis pas sûre d'apprécier Despentes en tant qu'autrice de romans : son style percutant qui fait la force de ses essais me déplait dans ce roman.

hanatomic's review

dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

luciejzql's review against another edition

dark funny fast-paced

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

4.0

i_sane's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.5

samantha_winkel13's review

2.0

This book felt like a chore to read. I kept losing interest and felt my mind wander.

gracehageman's review

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

3.0

yaarit's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

2.0

Virginie Despentes a compris des choses très importantes et vraies sur la féminité, le patriarcat, la socialisation féminine, les rapports de domination sociale, entre autres.
Malheureusement, Virginie Despentes a aussi beaucoup plus envie d'être une vraie punk, super trash et super cool, que de développer un style d'écriture efficace. Du coup on se retrouve avec un livre répétitif, qui traîne, écrit comme un producteur télé pense que les jeunes parlent, et qui multiplie les scènes trash sans rien ajouter à l'histoire ni à ses thèmes.
Je foncerais quand même, c’est vite lu. Si on s’attend à des réflexions extrêmement pertinentes noyées dans une histoire maladroite et qui tourne en rond, on n’est pas déçue!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Misogyny, Self harm, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Torture, Violence, and Alcoholism