Reviews

Mean by Myriam Gurba

aelzz93's review against another edition

challenging dark funny fast-paced

4.0

juliastern__'s review against another edition

dark funny sad

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, and Rape

Moderate: Drug use, Eating disorder, and Homophobia

handyj's review against another edition

funny reflective medium-paced

3.0

upward_not_northward's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

4.0

jemmers's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

A very honest, funny, lean book about Myriam’s life from childhood through college. Empathetic and not as mean as the title implies. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to step into the shoes of someone else, to Chicanes, writers, poets, artists, gays, shes, theys and queers. CW: This book centers around a gender/sex-based crime and the author’s experience with sexual assault and PTSD.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Bullying, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Alcohol, Blood, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Fatphobia, Racism, Racial slurs, Vomit, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Drug use, Abortion, Violence, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Pedophilia

dregina's review against another edition

dark funny reflective sad medium-paced

3.75

eviemm's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

3.0

chillcox15's review against another edition

5.0

A brilliantly written autofiction, Myriam Gurba's Mean tracks the author's coming of age in a society that physically preys on women, and especially women of color. You know, ours. It captures a full range of emotions, but what most stuck out to me was how good Gurba is at crafting jokes, both microjokes of a few words or less, and macrojokes that she sets up over the course of the entire work. This is maybe the single funniest books of the year, and it only speaks to Gurba's strength as a writer that the humor feels perfectly in tune with the depth of other, more somber emotions running through the book.

mattleesharp's review against another edition

4.0

Sometimes a little too tangential, but always brash. Really dug this.

ruxandra_grr's review against another edition

4.0

This one was a bit of a difficult read. So I need time to emotionally process what happened to me emotionally.