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gemmascott's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
While I did enjoy this book, I’m not 100% sure it lived up to the hype, personally.
On paper, I’m the perfect audience: former classics student; working class background, elite university, but for some reason, it failed to completely hit the mark.
The prose was beautiful and the student archetypes were well constructed, as was the satire of this kind of university life. However, the first half of the book was a bit of a slog to read - very slow paced and could easily have been half as long!
Interestingly though, when I first read the book 8-9 years ago, this is the section I remembered - much more clearly than “Book 2”. What interested me most about this section was the way the characters talked about Bunny’s impending death in a sort of abstract sense, almost as though they were playing a game, as there was no real consideration of the impact of their actions, nor any sense of empathy. This may, of course, be due to the fact that the characters are horrible people, butgiven the way they reacted after Bunny’s death, I think this is unlikely. More likely, it shows both their immaturity and the extent of Henry’s manipulation .
“Book 2” was certainly the part of the book that gripped me most, as it dealt with the aftermath of the murder and it’s impact on the perpetrators, which is as far as I know, a concept rarely explored in literature.
A key moment for me was Richard’s realisation of what they’d done during the funeral - that sudden realisation of the gravity of the situation, that the person is never going to come back, is something I’ve experienced at funerals, although obviously in a very different context!
The various reactions of the students to the murder also speaks volumes as to their characters - while Henry is largely coded as a sociopath, the twins and Francis seem much more like highly damaged people, who have perhaps a weak moral centre, but some sense of empathy, as they each largely go “off the rails” following the murder. On the other hand, Richard, who paints himself as the most sympathetic character during the novel (even calling himself a “bystander” at one point), is largely able to move on with his life, at least outwardly. For me, this makes him one of the least empathetic characters and suggests he shares at least some characteristics with Henry - despite his purported horror at some of the events, we see very little genuine empathy or even feeling from him. Julian is also a key villain of the novel, and likely of the same mould as Henry and Richard - was Richard a social experiment in terms of allowing a working class boy to join the group, or just another vulnerable person Julian could control/isolate in order to satisfy his god complex?
In terms of my main criticisms of the book, these include the references spread throughout the novel. These gave an impression of almost an old journal article in Classical Studies, where the academics sought to prove their credentials at every possible moment (I once read an article with an entire paragraph in untranslated French, for no apparent reason), and made the book feel at once as though it was gatekeeping, and trying to flatter its readers as to their own academic prowess.
There were also some inconsistencies - Richard is suddenly proficient in Latin (despite Julian saying he won’t learn the language until next year - which I took to mean academic year), and while most of the references were “real”, from brands, to pop-stars to authors, there was an inexplicable inclusion of the “Isrami” government - if the author didn’t want to specify, just say a “Middle Eastern” government - for me a very strange and distracting choice.
I would also have liked to see the theme of class explored a little more deeply - none of the characters seem to mind Richard’s background (which they must have understood), despite their obvious distain for others of a similar socio-economic status.
Overall, an interesting book, but I wouldn’t say it completely lives up to the hype.
On paper, I’m the perfect audience: former classics student; working class background, elite university, but for some reason, it failed to completely hit the mark.
The prose was beautiful and the student archetypes were well constructed, as was the satire of this kind of university life. However, the first half of the book was a bit of a slog to read - very slow paced and could easily have been half as long!
Interestingly though, when I first read the book 8-9 years ago, this is the section I remembered - much more clearly than “Book 2”. What interested me most about this section was the way the characters talked about Bunny’s impending death in a sort of abstract sense, almost as though they were playing a game, as there was no real consideration of the impact of their actions, nor any sense of empathy. This may, of course, be due to the fact that the characters are horrible people, but
“Book 2” was certainly the part of the book that gripped me most, as it dealt with the aftermath of the murder and it’s impact on the perpetrators, which is as far as I know, a concept rarely explored in literature.
The various reactions of the students to the murder also speaks volumes as to their characters - while Henry is largely coded as a sociopath, the twins and Francis seem much more like highly damaged people, who have perhaps a weak moral centre, but some sense of empathy, as they each largely go “off the rails” following the murder. On the other hand, Richard, who paints himself as the most sympathetic character during the novel (even calling himself a “bystander” at one point), is largely able to move on with his life, at least outwardly. For me, this makes him one of the least empathetic characters and suggests he shares at least some characteristics with Henry - despite his purported horror at some of the events, we see very little genuine empathy or even feeling from him. Julian is also a key villain of the novel, and likely of the same mould as Henry and Richard - was Richard a social experiment in terms of allowing a working class boy to join the group, or just another vulnerable person Julian could control/isolate in order to satisfy his god complex?
In terms of my main criticisms of the book, these include the references spread throughout the novel. These gave an impression of almost an old journal article in Classical Studies, where the academics sought to prove their credentials at every possible moment (I once read an article with an entire paragraph in untranslated French, for no apparent reason), and made the book feel at once as though it was gatekeeping, and trying to flatter its readers as to their own academic prowess.
There were also some inconsistencies - Richard is suddenly proficient in Latin (despite Julian saying he won’t learn the language until next year - which I took to mean academic year), and while most of the references were “real”, from brands, to pop-stars to authors, there was an inexplicable inclusion of the “Isrami” government - if the author didn’t want to specify, just say a “Middle Eastern” government - for me a very strange and distracting choice.
I would also have liked to see the theme of class explored a little more deeply - none of the characters seem to mind Richard’s background (which they must have understood), despite their obvious distain for others of a similar socio-economic status.
Overall, an interesting book, but I wouldn’t say it completely lives up to the hype.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Murder, Incest, Domestic abuse, and Sexual content
weswislar's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Incest, Homophobia, and Drug use
breadkingbread's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
Okay, so, how do i even start? Obviously it is very compelling and i thought the characters were interesting, and other than a few hiccups (some weird lines, the whole, uhm, (spoilers), siblings thing) also very *human*. I enjoyed reading about their "shenanigans". Also, at the same time, i definitely hear people when they say that (paraphrasing from memory here) it is a book *pretending* to be very smart and academic by using big words, but it's not holding up when you actually start to look into it. I did get that, too. Despite that i get what she was going for and she does to it pretty well, mostly, despite some smaller gripes i had with it while reading.
Also a smaller spoiler but the whole "Isram" thing feels incredibly out of place. Like this book references real life cultures and bigotry so many times but she felt the need to create a whole new place which is obviously just there as a stand-in for like any "Arab" country? Just feels like it was made specifically so that these short parts of the book had a sort of fictionalized cloak on them while leaving everything else largely realistic (in terms of cultures) for reasons unknown to me.
Also a smaller spoiler but the whole "Isram" thing feels incredibly out of place. Like this book references real life cultures and bigotry so many times but she felt the need to create a whole new place which is obviously just there as a stand-in for like any "Arab" country? Just feels like it was made specifically so that these short parts of the book had a sort of fictionalized cloak on them while leaving everything else largely realistic (in terms of cultures) for reasons unknown to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Murder, and Grief
Minor: Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Violence, Antisemitism, Classism, Islamophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Suicide
catievalentino's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Drug use, Death, Incest, Cursing, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Classism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Minor: Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug abuse, Vomit, Car accident, Child death, Gun violence, Medical content, Violence, and Blood
abbeyhatton1's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Murder, Alcoholism, and Suicide
Moderate: Death and Drug abuse
Minor: Incest
lia_paige's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Domestic abuse, Rape, Suicide, Drug abuse, Incest, and Alcoholism
valeriedittrich's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
she totally named the twins camilla and charles on purpose
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Classism
Moderate: Incest and Homophobia
jordan21's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A very slow burn with a cast of complex, unlikeable characters. The “first book” was addicting, tense and dark while the second felt disorganized and unsatisfying. And even still, I finished 500 pages in a week which is a rarity for my reading style.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Incest and Self harm
leiaamy's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Gore, Addiction, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Drug use, Cursing, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Incest, Murder, Violence, and Classism
faenth's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Sexism, and Homophobia