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3.22 AVERAGE
3.22 AVERAGE
I received this book as a free ARC via NetGalley.
This book is deceptively simple: it's a lot more nuanced, and a lot more moving, than I expected. I loved the slow buildup to its inevitable ending - the tension really does increase with each chapter, there's no way else this book could end. A thoughtful exploration of class, ownership, and privilege, and maybe also of just how hard it is to be truly understood by the people around you.
This book is deceptively simple: it's a lot more nuanced, and a lot more moving, than I expected. I loved the slow buildup to its inevitable ending - the tension really does increase with each chapter, there's no way else this book could end. A thoughtful exploration of class, ownership, and privilege, and maybe also of just how hard it is to be truly understood by the people around you.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
fast-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
A masterfully rendered novel. Absolutely perfect. So funny, gripping, and tender. I’ll be recommending this one widely.
If you love literary fiction with lots of inner monologue and little plot, this will be a great book for you. Not really enough action and a little too much navel-gazing for me.
3.5 stars! What a strange little story, yet an interesting one. It takes place in the span of a single day, with flashbacks and memories throughout. It’s almost like a quasi-thriller but far more tame. The characters were fascinating — some, like Ruby and Caroline, I recognize as true to life, because I know women like them and maybe have similar traits to them, myself.
The questions of humanity and how we treat people, the snap judgments we make about humans we don’t know and even those we know intimately — these themes were ever-present throughout the novel and genuinely made me think. A lot of ‘what would I have done in X situation?’ type of questions. A weird, fun, philosophical, psychological, slightly pretentious (read: privileged, university-educated white women in New York City with degrees in art) story with enjoyable, descriptive language. A lot can happen in a day.
The questions of humanity and how we treat people, the snap judgments we make about humans we don’t know and even those we know intimately — these themes were ever-present throughout the novel and genuinely made me think. A lot of ‘what would I have done in X situation?’ type of questions. A weird, fun, philosophical, psychological, slightly pretentious (read: privileged, university-educated white women in New York City with degrees in art) story with enjoyable, descriptive language. A lot can happen in a day.
[b:The Party Upstairs|51620186|The Party Upstairs|Lee Conell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1594330735l/51620186._SY75_.jpg|70682391] is—complete with an art shot with a rhino head, pigeon angst, quests for self-discovery, and family struggles, all set against the weirdly glorious and harsh backdrop of the NYC elite—equal parts poignant, funny, relevant and reasonable. I rooted for Ruby (despite her weirdly proximal relationship to wealth), and prison librarian Debra, and salt-of-the-earth Martin, and delightfully marxist Lily. At the heart of [a:Lee Conell|16761402|Lee Conell|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_50x66-6a03a5c12233c941481992b82eea8d23.png]'s debut is Martin and Ruby's wholesome father-daughter bond—love that is clumsy and messy and heartbreakingly real.
A good debut, especially for those interested in the "have-have not" stories of New York. It takes place over one day, featuring Martin (the super of an UWS building) and Ruby (his daughter) navigating their interactions with the tenants, their friends, and their pasts. It features a lot of tension in a father-daughter relationship, the tension in friendships between Ruby and her friend who lives in the penthouse, and the general angst that comes with both middle age and recent college graduates. It's not something I'm jumping up and down to recommend, but it was good. (TW: brief mentions of sexual assault).
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This story wasn't bad but it also wasn't as good as I hoped. The blurb on the back is suggests much more action than occurs. It is really a character study but the characters are a little too annoying. It is a commentary on rich and poor but with no real depth to it. It is a New York gentrification story but is superficial. It builds to "something" happening but when it does happens, it is almost an afterthought. I wanted to like this more than I did but it was just an okay read - 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.