Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Boy Parts

ohhh my god the main character was absolutely insufferable, narcissistic, pretentious, manipulative and unlikeable. i'm amazed at how well that was written to the point i felt like i was supposed to be collecting reasons to dislike the MC. i really liked the author's writing style it felt so easy to read... the air of nonchalance carried by the MC through the whole thing was executed so excellently - especially with how even the most horrifying stuff was described in the same nonchalant tone. the loss of control and loss of sense of self was portrayed so well. this was also a little heartbreaking especially towards the end of it like the most jarring things get revealed when you're caught off guard. a bit stomach-churning to see how a victim can end up hurting other people the same way they were hurt. like she's definitely an incredibly fucked up person to the point it's sad to see because you know exactly how she got to be that way.

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lizzie_w123's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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abhi_vijay94's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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twentythreeandahalf's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.25

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unhingedreader's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

My current favourite book, I have recommended it to too many people to count. I have listed some trigger warnings attached to this review and this book will certainly not be for everyone. I would recommend the audiobook version as the author narrates it and it really adds to the experience.

This book is a very visceral read, without giving too much away it has an unreliable narrator and many twists and turns.

Irina is the kind of friend that you warn people about, she is manipulative and gaslights those around her. Somewhat similar to a car crash scene that you know you shouldn’t look at, but can’t quite look away from. She has some interesting pastimes including drug and alcohol abuse, which she seems to utilise as a crutch to escape her current reality of the under appreciated artist. Apart from her bar job her main career focus is photographing generic looking men that she scouts on the streets of Newcastle. Her photography specialises on fetish art and the book follows her attempting to revive her career whilst being entirely horrible to anyone in her vicinity.

There’s many reasons I enjoyed this book, it sticks with you. Irina’s perspective will have you want to laugh at her dark wit and recoil at her true desires.

I have had the pleasure of meeting the author Eliza Clark who is a very down to earth person that writes some pretty messed up books. I would look into some of her interviews because I really think it adds to the overall narrative of the book.

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documentno_is's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I went into Boy Parts largely blind and was better for it, the shock factor and depravity of the slow unveiling of the nature of our protagonist was more impactful than had I known what to expect. I hated every moment of being in this character's head and yet grapple with

the ways in which she can be both predator and victim. Our main character is a master of manipulation and drowning in her own narcissism yet we see the multitude of ways she is failed by those around her, fueling her perversions.

In many ways reading this novel felt unbearable, both in the situations conjured up and the thought processes we are made privy to. This book felt cutting and revolting in the same ways

Lolita does

. My only complaint was the plot post London visit, for as shocking and fast paced as it was for the first 4/5ths of the story it puttered out

rather ungracefully to an unsatisfying ending of repetitions as is common of unveiling your central underlying "secret" too early on. We are left in liminal space of not knowing how much of our character's recollection is psychosis and how much is sociopathy, undoing much of the suspense of earlier on.

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pantslint's review against another edition

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dark funny tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I wouldn't call this an enjoyable read, but it certainly is an engaging one. It's really accessible, with contemporary speech and pop culture references. And it's like watching a catastrophic train wreck happening in slow motion, on a foggy day,

until suddenly you get clocked in the head with a giant camera.

Irina is hilarious and a great unreliable narrator—she had me feeling like I was descending into a k-hole with her, questioning her version of reality alongside everyone else around her.
I love how women are written here, how they (and ultimately, we) are both victims and perpetrators of misogyny and the male gaze.

Mom to Irina. Irina to Flo, Sera, and literally everyone else.

I wonder what the fuck I have to do for people to recognise me as a threat, you know? It's like... am I even doing this shit? Have I even fucking done anything?

Irina's pretty privilege doesn't make her immune to gender based violence (the opposite, actually), but her literal crazy psychotic bitch behavior is just chalked up to 💅 hot girl shit. Men literally don't see her as dangerous in the same way that women find men dangerous.

Lots to ponder from this book—makes me want to explore other books with similar themes that other reviewers mentioned, like My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh and Tampa by Alissa Nutting.

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