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gizmo_gadget's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Holy shit.
This book would have been five stars if it wasn’t for:
a) Steve (somehow #1 most hateable character despite only being portrayed in a positive light)
b) The fact I read Edenglassie first, and Lucashenko touches on some topics surrounding what it means to be Indigenous with more nuance and resolution there
c) The portrayal of domestic abuse was far too matter of fact for my traumatised ass, and getting through the middle of the book, where tensions were at their highest and everything was painfully up in the air, was a slog. It was too realistic for its own good, 10/10 hopeless drudgery, 0/10 revelatory or novel content for me
That being said, the end 100 pages of the book were fucking amazing. Trauma and all. Lucashenko has her satisfying-but-unresolved endings down to an art (though once again, slight preference for Edenglassie), particularly in the sense that all the book’s previous symbolism is braided together, and provides that final little shove that develops the characters to their final form.
I appreciated that the full cast of family characters showed the range of traumas and trauma responses that can come out of a fucked situation, and very maturely avoided hoisting unwarranted blame on the shoulders of individuals subject to the Trauma Cycle™️ and its intergenerational implications. I also enjoyed that the main character has like . the least character development out of her close family. She clearly has some Shit To Sort Out. But it would have sullied the flow of the book to pull her out of the role she was serving as the audience’s eyes to the whole-of-family conflict (emphasis on whole). The novel is not about any one person, but the web of intricately spun tensions that had weaved itself over lifetimes of successive dispossession.
Finally: Elvis’ demise made me sob like a fucking baby and if I had to pick a most important book character it would be him. Thank you for your sacrifice, Elvis :((
This book would have been five stars if it wasn’t for:
a) Steve (somehow #1 most hateable character despite only being portrayed in a positive light)
b) The fact I read Edenglassie first, and Lucashenko touches on some topics surrounding what it means to be Indigenous with more nuance and resolution there
c) The portrayal of domestic abuse was far too matter of fact for my traumatised ass, and getting through the middle of the book, where tensions were at their highest and everything was painfully up in the air, was a slog. It was too realistic for its own good, 10/10 hopeless drudgery, 0/10 revelatory or novel content for me
That being said, the end 100 pages of the book were fucking amazing. Trauma and all. Lucashenko has her satisfying-but-unresolved endings down to an art (though once again, slight preference for Edenglassie), particularly in the sense that all the book’s previous symbolism is braided together, and provides that final little shove that develops the characters to their final form.
I appreciated that the full cast of family characters showed the range of traumas and trauma responses that can come out of a fucked situation, and very maturely avoided hoisting unwarranted blame on the shoulders of individuals subject to the Trauma Cycle™️ and its intergenerational implications. I also enjoyed that the main character has like . the least character development out of her close family. She clearly has some Shit To Sort Out. But it would have sullied the flow of the book to pull her out of the role she was serving as the audience’s eyes to the whole-of-family conflict (emphasis on whole). The novel is not about any one person, but the web of intricately spun tensions that had weaved itself over lifetimes of successive dispossession.
Finally: Elvis’ demise made me sob like a fucking baby and if I had to pick a most important book character it would be him. Thank you for your sacrifice, Elvis :((
through_my_eyes81's review against another edition
5.0
Kerry Salter returns home reluctantly to what at first seems the same place that she thought she escaped from. She finds Durrungo has changed or maybe it’s her that has. Her backpack is stolen by the Greedy Mayor and her goal is to regain it and leave town.
renss's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
booksandlattesaddict's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault
jess_mango's review against another edition
4.0
Too Much Lip is at its heart a story about a woman on the run, from her family, from jail, and from the burden of being indigenous in Australia. Kerry Salter is close to being locked up when she hears that her grandfather, Pop, is dying. so, she hops on a stolen Harley and heads to her hometown. She wants to just stop in and see Pop and then be on her way, but she quickly becomes embroiled in family issues. There is the battle between siblings of who will take over the leadership role once their patriarch dies and then there is the issue where outsiders are trying to increase development on the family's beloved river.
This was an interesting and often wryly comic read about a brash young woman who as much as she wants to escape the life she was born into, can't help but trying to figure out what is best for her family. There is a lot of discussion in this book about the relationship between indigenous Australians and white Australians. The author herself is part Goorie, making this an #ownvoices read. This novel was nominated for several literary awards and won the Miles Franklin Literary Award in 2019. This book was finally released in the States in late 2020, but was well worth the wait for me.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!
This was an interesting and often wryly comic read about a brash young woman who as much as she wants to escape the life she was born into, can't help but trying to figure out what is best for her family. There is a lot of discussion in this book about the relationship between indigenous Australians and white Australians. The author herself is part Goorie, making this an #ownvoices read. This novel was nominated for several literary awards and won the Miles Franklin Literary Award in 2019. This book was finally released in the States in late 2020, but was well worth the wait for me.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!
amydotreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
tildahlia's review against another edition
4.0
An unapologetic and addictively energetic portrait of an Aboriginal family told through a fierce, funny and loveable protagonist. There is real pain and trauma that meets belly laugh funny moments; the pages will turn effortlessly.
taniemaree's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
studiouspoppy's review against another edition
i didn’t really enjoy it, the mv identifying as a lesbian & then going full insta love on a cis guy was really weird and during lesbian visibility week? no thank you. like if she’s gonna question her identity fine i have no issue with that, but she didn’t it was like she was never a lesbian in the first place or like her not dating men (and not dating white people in general) was a childish thing with no relevance. i felt uncomfy with that; i also refuse to read straight smut with no warning
ari767's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75