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3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
Not sure I buy all the dead bodies, but creative use of women in science anyway.
ugh this book was so tantalizing and so frustrating!!! There was tons of potential - a book focused on women, female friendship/competition, women's health - all great topics! But the execution had lots of problems. I felt like the first third of the book needlessly dragged out Diane's "secret" and set expectations too high for me, such that the revelation that she killed her father seemed anticlimactic. Alex felt like a throw away character, although not as much as his fiancee was! I still don't get the logistics of what happened to his body, or what poor Serge was really up to. Basically, it didn't feel like the plot held up. Furthermore, the whole setup seemed like it was centered on a really neat idea, but the details didn't pan out either. There were enough details in place to set up Alex's death, but what kind of columns were they always running? How did the cells they were growing connect to the chemistry they were doing, and why was Kit thinking her cell culture might be contaminated, but not doing anything about it?! As someone who worked in biology labs for 15 years, the setting didn't feel realistic to me - it felt like there were enough details to try to make it seem realistic, and maybe it was to someone who hasn't been in a lab, but the lab environment didn't ring true to me.
As a sidenote, this issue made me wonder about some of the other details in the book. I appreciated that one character grew up in modest circumstances, but I wonder if someone would find that that rang false as well.
Having said all this, the twist at the end was pretty fun and I would probably watch a movie of the book.
Overall I just found this book really frustrating, which seems to be my general reaction to Megan Abbott.
As a sidenote, this issue made me wonder about some of the other details in the book. I appreciated that one character grew up in modest circumstances, but I wonder if someone would find that that rang false as well.
Having said all this, the twist at the end was pretty fun and I would probably watch a movie of the book.
Overall I just found this book really frustrating, which seems to be my general reaction to Megan Abbott.
Very well written. The author did a good job of putting blood, thrust, & red all throughout the novel. Maybe it was overkill, though? The last chapter went on a little too long.
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Because the bad things you do become part of you, literally. This is no metaphor. They become part of you on a cellular level, in the blood.”
"Are women so much more ferocious in their violence?"
“She began to have crazy thoughts about what she might do, and slowly the thoughts seemed less crazy.”
Ok so the LAYERS to this. The critique of academia and lack of research on women’s biology… the way privilege pits talented women against each other for coveted spots because only one woman gets to be the token… the competition between mothers and daughters and how men are incompetent creeps that weasel in and have everything forgiven and handed to them.
Deranged women and toxic female friendship dynamics that border on unspoken lesbian codependency are my favorite subjects to read about.. I need to read more Megan Abbott books.
"Are women so much more ferocious in their violence?"
“She began to have crazy thoughts about what she might do, and slowly the thoughts seemed less crazy.”
Ok so the LAYERS to this. The critique of academia and lack of research on women’s biology… the way privilege pits talented women against each other for coveted spots because only one woman gets to be the token… the competition between mothers and daughters and how men are incompetent creeps that weasel in and have everything forgiven and handed to them.
Deranged women and toxic female friendship dynamics that border on unspoken lesbian codependency are my favorite subjects to read about.. I need to read more Megan Abbott books.
My second Megan Abbott book and it is just as dark and cruel as the last. Abbott has a very distinctive writing style: it's almost as if she's vivisecting her characters with her words. There is a careful, sharp, ruthlessness to her prose.
I love that Megan Abbott's books are all about intense, competitive females — and this one really went above and beyond in dark secrets and chilling twists.
I also enjoyed that this was a story about smart, female scientists, which is something I don't read enough about!
I also enjoyed that this was a story about smart, female scientists, which is something I don't read enough about!
I read this book on a recommendation from a friend. I work in a lab so it piqued my interest. This was my first Abbott book so I didn't know what to expect. The tone and symbolism throughout were great! It was refreshing to read something that wasnt afraid to talk about "women's health", but more so to see femininity turned on its head. I highly recommend this book and will definitely be seeking out more of Abbott's works.
mysterious
slow-paced