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kpdoessomereading's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lola425's review against another edition
2.0
More privileged, over educated people who fancy themselves creative who are pissed that the world does not find them as fascinating as they do and so they create unnecessary drama and design neuroses for themselves in order to appear as interesting as they think they are. Unlikable characters throughout and the narrative goes nowhere fast. Also WTF on the epilogue? A case of trying to be artfully subtle, I guess.
lisagray68's review against another edition
1.0
Finished it, but hated it. Didn't like the style, didn't even understand the characters or what was happening, much less like them.
esselleayy's review against another edition
2.0
Lyrical and sparse. Occasionally beautiful, but mostly boring.
jessieadamczyk's review against another edition
2.0
The story was interesting, but I'm not a huge fan of Schutt's style. She reminds me of an abridged Sylvia Plath. While I can see and understand the merit in the actualization of her work, it doesn't resonate me. I'm unlikely to recommends it or pick it up again, and so it gets a 2 on my scale.
sophiei's review against another edition
4.0
Just another great work from an established author, but nothing too groundbreaking. The narrative felt a little too safe.
humblej's review against another edition
2.0
What was the point of the book, the resonating message I'm supposed to be left with? It's so vague. I don't like any of the characters and I don't know why the main couple bothered to get married in the first place. I understand more of why Dinah married James, Jimmy, Jimbo Card.
It's definitely meant to be read at night. The words flow in a really nice way sometimes, lulling. But during the day, I'm a bit jarred by the body shaming and the fact that these people are really awful to their core. And there is this line about Haitians and Guatemalans and white folks that rubs me the wrong way. I have no idea what the author meant by it because there's no context surrounding it. It just is.
It's definitely meant to be read at night. The words flow in a really nice way sometimes, lulling. But during the day, I'm a bit jarred by the body shaming and the fact that these people are really awful to their core. And there is this line about Haitians and Guatemalans and white folks that rubs me the wrong way. I have no idea what the author meant by it because there's no context surrounding it. It just is.
glabeson's review against another edition
2.0
not a fan of the writing style; plot utterly depressing.
furfff's review
3.0
Christine Schutt is such an incredible writer and Prosperous Friends is such a slog. The story itself is relatively unparseable and if that were the only way to judge it, I'd go far less than 3 stars. But her style is uncommon and grand. Poetic, yeah, but almost these blast-chilled sculptural sentences you walk around to admire:
"She pulled the curtain across his face all the while seeing his face grow long and desperate, putty mobility with a hole for howling and then the tub broke apart and all turned black with the blunt conclusiveness she knew for hell."
Boom.
But... for a book that's maybe at least for one thing about relationships, it doesn't feel like it truly knows it's males very well (a fault I know can also be pointed out of a lot of otherwise great male writers about their females). It's just, Schutt is so good, it feels like the unknowing comes from uncaring for the ones she's created. They're all louts.
Like she herself says, "'Moody?' It's no use talking about him,' she said ais fi they had been talking about Clive for a long time."
Have we been talking Clive? Or any of these guys? What have we been saying about them? Other than that they're glamourous, unfeeling predators? It just feels too easy for a book that's not easy.
All of that said, if you run out of poetry, and don't mind a semi-story that you look at instead of live in, you could do worse.
"She pulled the curtain across his face all the while seeing his face grow long and desperate, putty mobility with a hole for howling and then the tub broke apart and all turned black with the blunt conclusiveness she knew for hell."
Boom.
But... for a book that's maybe at least for one thing about relationships, it doesn't feel like it truly knows it's males very well (a fault I know can also be pointed out of a lot of otherwise great male writers about their females). It's just, Schutt is so good, it feels like the unknowing comes from uncaring for the ones she's created. They're all louts.
Like she herself says, "'Moody?' It's no use talking about him,' she said ais fi they had been talking about Clive for a long time."
Have we been talking Clive? Or any of these guys? What have we been saying about them? Other than that they're glamourous, unfeeling predators? It just feels too easy for a book that's not easy.
All of that said, if you run out of poetry, and don't mind a semi-story that you look at instead of live in, you could do worse.