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jrmarr's review against another edition
4.0
I nearly didn't finish this book. The opening section left me with such a sense of foreboding I wasn't sure I would enjoy it. But I gave it one more read and was hooked. A story of love and belonging, trauma and paranoia, there was moments of great beauty but also scenes that were quite chilling. There is no secret that something terrible happens, but I was still desperately hoping for a different outcome. I'm not sure I liked the protagonist very much, but I think his flaws were just human enough to make it true to life. A good book, if perhaps a little sad, but also filled with great love.
stefanie_ann's review against another edition
4.0
A study of the terror in regular lives, in small moments, in nothing really happening, with a mysterious ending. We may never know other people, we willingly and unwillingly miss their details. Oh, Ann. With your long everything (feet, hands, legs, hair), you're an artist reformed and haunted. Oh, Tom. You're so often unlikeable, but I felt your pain so clearly and sadly. Sincerely in love with Ann, even though you presented no reasons for her to love you even half as much.
marthagal's review against another edition
4.0
This book confused me. I'm not even really I sure I understand what happened, let alone what it meant. Despite the fact that I am apparently too stupid for it, I liked this book a lot.
dalstonhal's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
maplessence's review against another edition
5.0
& I'm blown away by Ms Perkins writing gift. Every detail of the Stones' life & the world around them. is minutely observed & I really felt like I was back in London.
It's not an easy read mind, in spite of this book's short length. It is completely bleak & depressing. As someone who has made unwise financial choices in their past I could sympathise with the young couple's plight although the level of spending with no real money (Ann's job must have been very well paid) was staggering. I was wondering how much you can rack up on a credit card in the UK. & I kept thinking
The end just shattered me. I had finished the book after coming home from a night out. A couple of hours later, I realised what I had read & sat bolt upright in bed. Now that is how great fiction should affect you. I was going to deduct ½ a ★ for a couple of bits of nitpickery but have changed my mind.
& totally awesome cover!
It's not an easy read mind, in spite of this book's short length. It is completely bleak & depressing. As someone who has made unwise financial choices in their past I could sympathise with the young couple's plight although the level of spending with no real money (Ann's job must have been very well paid) was staggering. I was wondering how much you can rack up on a credit card in the UK. & I kept thinking
Spoiler
You have pride Tom? Swallow it & get a job- any job!The end just shattered me. I had finished the book after coming home from a night out. A couple of hours later, I realised what I had read & sat bolt upright in bed. Now that is how great fiction should affect you. I was going to deduct ½ a ★ for a couple of bits of nitpickery but have changed my mind.
& totally awesome cover!
floppynz's review against another edition
3.0
Very well written, extremely descriptive. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. I was a bit upset at the ending. It felt a little unfinished. I went back and re-read parts thinking I had missed something. But no, I had not. Would I read it again? No, probably not. Would I recommend it? Possibly.
iammandyellen's review against another edition
4.0
my only complaint is that foreshadowing is a delicate and subtle art (in other words, do i really need charlotte perkins gilman's "yellow wallpaper" in the beginning to drive the madness home? the worst is, perkins gilman's presents her characters' madness so subtly that its final revelation is devastating, and the contrast, inevitable by the inclusion, is not favorable, i think). but perkins' writing is good and hard. i can't remember the last time i read a woman writing a man. i like it. i like it even though there are moments when i find myself a bit dubious (and those moments are likely dominated by my own prejudices/experience/etc.).
nighthawk's review against another edition
4.0
Really 3.5 stars. Fantastically written; really nice, exquisite details about the nuances of interacting with people (a feeling like a hand shoving into your chest when you first enter into the home of a man you already dislike; the ease of talking about a mundane thing with a friend to avoid the real thing; and lots and lots of what's kinda creepy about love). It's very dark and while the pervasive feelings of fear and dread allow for a lot of these taut, precise observations, they are also a bit contagious off of the page in a kind of neo-Gothic way (not just ghosts, but the specter of credit card debit, too, ooooooo ooooooo oooooo). It made me laugh out loud a few times, and I was impressed with Perkins' ability to render a convincing male consciousness. There was something pleasantly queer about it.
suburban_ennui's review against another edition
4.0
This really did my head in. I kept wanting to look Emily Perkins up in the phone book and ask her questions. Generally, it was brilliant and decidedly creepy, but let me with some many unanswered questions that I really need to read it again.