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izzyf16's review
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Rape, War, and Racial slurs
nenya's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
3.75
I read this book as the start of manic hot girl summer (and also to celebrate the end of my reading slump) and while I read this relatively fast, I must say I expected it to be far more triggering and manic than it ended up being. And I‘m not gonna lie, I kind of wish it would have been, because I enjoy being creeped out by books - but this was pretty chill actually. I had expected the suicides to be skin crawlingly gore-y but instead they were two pages of slightly disturbing but heavily announced death. What I must say was really interesting though, was the narrative being told in first person plural and, in addition to that, unreliably - something I haven’t encountered before and really enjoyed, but even here, I feel like there was a lot more room for mystery and manipulation of the reader. However, it is most definitely not a bad book - I‘m just not sure whether I‘d like to re-read it one day.
(Oh also: there is the mention of the N-word which really threw me off, as well as casual racism and other problematic themes that were normalized in the novel and not addressed or seen as problematic by the narrators)
(Oh also: there is the mention of the N-word which really threw me off, as well as casual racism and other problematic themes that were normalized in the novel and not addressed or seen as problematic by the narrators)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Sexual content, Child death, Alcohol, Medical content, Gore, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, and Stalking
Moderate: Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Rape, Pregnancy, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail
jenny_librarian's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
This is a book about the patriarchal tendency of dehumanizing women. Which should be enough to tell you why I didn’t like it at all.
The writing itself is good, but that’s about the only redeeming quality to this book. The rest is just men being… well, men. I get what the author wanted to achieve with this, but why it needed to be written in this way is beyond me.
I keep hoping the next “classic” I read is going to be better, and I keep being disappointed because those “classics” were written by allocishet white men in a time women were seen as little more than property.
The writing itself is good, but that’s about the only redeeming quality to this book. The rest is just men being… well, men. I get what the author wanted to achieve with this, but why it needed to be written in this way is beyond me.
I keep hoping the next “classic” I read is going to be better, and I keep being disappointed because those “classics” were written by allocishet white men in a time women were seen as little more than property.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Grief, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Misogyny, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Eating disorder, Medical content, Mental illness, Alcohol, Confinement, Racism, Rape, Stalking, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
Minor: Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Drug use, Pedophilia, Vomit, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Homophobia, and Infidelity
kayleencyane's review
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Very interesting to read such a well written story of obsession and infatuation without heavy romance or any romance at all really
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt
Minor: Rape and Racial slurs
stumbling's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Sexual content
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Rape
Minor: Self harm
devourfiction's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I have such conflicting feelings on this one.
Can Jeffrey Eugenides write? Yes. Are his metaphors solid, shocking, haunting? Yes, yes, yes. Is this book full of ambition? Yes. Did I enjoy it? ...
As I read I couldn't help but think to myself: what is the point of treating the subject of girls' suicide and sexuality in this way? In this book, neighbourhood boys narrate their obsession with this group of girls only to find out they were unknowable, with this knowledge spurring their growth into men. Hold on, isn't this the manic pixie dream girl again? No, surely there is more to this - the writing seems so profound. Perhaps this book's racism and ableism (with Joe the R*****), praise of statutory rape as long as it happens to a boy (Trip, anyone?), and especially its constant objectification of underage girls is more than just that - maybe they are an attempt to reveal the insidiousness of the male gaze rather than promote it (the way Nabokov's Lolita had tried to with pedophilia)?
More and more red flags appeared. I didn't want to be a lazy reader, or one who wants to make certain subjects taboo for literature. As in the case of Lolita, I stand by the fact that literature can powerfully depict immoral actions. But in this case, to what end? My inability to read the novel charitably won over at a prolonged and graphic scene of one of the boys kissing one of the girls without her consent while not wanting to actually speak with her. There, I thought, is a clear statement of the grossness of these boys' treatment of girls. Except boom! The girl actually turned out to have liked it, forms a connection with him and wants to continue the relationship. Huh? So the point is that actually it's all good now, and you can just do whatever you want because you can't ever actually get into these girls' heads anyway? There is a thin line between depicting a perspective and supporting it, and I don't think Eugenides walked it well. Over the book, few of the boys' perceptions came under any kind of resistance. In a world full of the sexualisation and objectification of girls, where does that leave us?
I had a lot of hopes for this book. I was intrigued by the ambition of using solely outside male perspectives. I was hooked by the concept, in what it could reveal about sexual relationships and mental health. I was mesmerised by the skill of Eugenides's prose. But ultimately, it came down to this: either this book is full-on promoting rape culture and the like, or its 4D chess game is so complex that it is obscuring its own point and promoting rape culture anyway. And I just can't vibe with that, not even for literature's sake.
Can Jeffrey Eugenides write? Yes. Are his metaphors solid, shocking, haunting? Yes, yes, yes. Is this book full of ambition? Yes. Did I enjoy it? ...
As I read I couldn't help but think to myself: what is the point of treating the subject of girls' suicide and sexuality in this way? In this book, neighbourhood boys narrate their obsession with this group of girls only to find out they were unknowable, with this knowledge spurring their growth into men. Hold on, isn't this the manic pixie dream girl again? No, surely there is more to this - the writing seems so profound. Perhaps this book's racism and ableism (with Joe the R*****), praise of statutory rape as long as it happens to a boy (Trip, anyone?), and especially its constant objectification of underage girls is more than just that - maybe they are an attempt to reveal the insidiousness of the male gaze rather than promote it (the way Nabokov's Lolita had tried to with pedophilia)?
More and more red flags appeared. I didn't want to be a lazy reader, or one who wants to make certain subjects taboo for literature. As in the case of Lolita, I stand by the fact that literature can powerfully depict immoral actions. But in this case, to what end? My inability to read the novel charitably won over at a prolonged and graphic scene of one of the boys kissing one of the girls without her consent while not wanting to actually speak with her. There, I thought, is a clear statement of the grossness of these boys' treatment of girls. Except boom! The girl actually turned out to have liked it, forms a connection with him and wants to continue the relationship. Huh? So the point is that actually it's all good now, and you can just do whatever you want because you can't ever actually get into these girls' heads anyway? There is a thin line between depicting a perspective and supporting it, and I don't think Eugenides walked it well. Over the book, few of the boys' perceptions came under any kind of resistance. In a world full of the sexualisation and objectification of girls, where does that leave us?
I had a lot of hopes for this book. I was intrigued by the ambition of using solely outside male perspectives. I was hooked by the concept, in what it could reveal about sexual relationships and mental health. I was mesmerised by the skill of Eugenides's prose. But ultimately, it came down to this: either this book is full-on promoting rape culture and the like, or its 4D chess game is so complex that it is obscuring its own point and promoting rape culture anyway. And I just can't vibe with that, not even for literature's sake.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Self harm, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, and Ableism
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