Reviews with content warning for Violence - Acts of Desperation

There was really nothing redeemable about this book for me. The main character, who is nameless, is unlikeable, emotionally immature, and oddly introspective. The book focuses heavily on the main character's relationship with men and herself, which is an interesting take. Though, it's executed poorly. It's as if the author took every social struggle a woman may go through and crammed it into a short 300-page book. The writing itself is pretentious and moody. The separation fo the chapters is weird and doesn't make sense with the direction of the plot. The ending is terrible and provides no real resolution to the events of the book. I understand that maybe the author wanted the reader to put themselves in the main character's shoes, but it reads like a bad diary entry more than a novel about the ways in which women interact with men for love and societal gain. Also, there are very random acts of violence and sexual harm, that don't add anything to the book at all. I don't recommend it.

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msameliee's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional fast-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

4.0

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neledeich's review against another edition

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challenging sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

“Female suffering is cheap and is used cheaply by dishonest women who are looking only for attention - and of all our cardinal sins, seeking attention must surely be up there.” (ch. 5)

A woman falls in love with an older man. When he later in the relationship rejects her, she quickly becomes obsessed with remaining in control of her life and relationship. It explores womanhood and how society treats women through a definitely struggling main character and a well-crafted set of side characters. The book brings up multiple interesting ideas about loneliness, independence, pain and female relationships. The book includes multiple scenes containing sexual violence. While I understand that it is part of the book's idea and its premise, the way it was almost brushed over itched me the wrong way.

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candournat's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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redflyingbook's review against another edition

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Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

this surely was a quick read!

the narrator is a woman in her twenties, who meets a guy who she becomes immediately infatuated, and quickly downright obsessed with. here begins a - in the eyes of probably any clear thinking bystander - highly toxic relationship that mainly made me want to spit the guy right in his face for the excessively shitty behavior towards her. along the way, the book also explores the narrator's struggles with alcoholism, dependence, identity, body image, lust and love.

some trains of thought felt wildly familiar and definitely expressed complex feelings very boldly and clearly.
although the focus was probably also supposed to be more on the relationship dynamic , somehow i felt that the characters still lacked substance in some way? the ending part also felt unexpectedly extreme and not entirely well-paced in my opinion. still an interesting read that urges you ponder about uncomfortable but important topics.

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