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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
i do not know how to describe my feelings towards this novella, i’m left completely dumbfounded, this was not what i expected at all. the writing was unparalleled to anything i’ve ever read in my life, it somehow managed to engross me with the bleak and suffocating problematic storyline that i would have otherwise hated to read about. there is no doubt in my mind that Alfred Hayes was truly an under appreciated twentieth century genius. the story was so dark, yet narrated in such a contradictory (almost) conversational manner which gave it a sort of sinister feel. it was curious, thought-provoking, and an incredibly compelling read. despite the unsettling troublesome events, i found it rather amusing. overall, for a hollywood novella written in the 50s, it was undeniably great and entertaining enough but i definitely didn’t like everything about it: a solid 3.5 stars.
I was at the Lana del Rey concert in Liverpool, and the day after I saw this book. Intrigued I bought it, because of the cover and it was good. Short and good
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i enjoyed a lot of the writing style in this one. feels self aware, kind of a bojack horseman type beat in that way. i have mixed feelings about the ending, but overall wasn’t bad.
This book really caught me off guard with how much I enjoyed it. Spectacularly creeped out by the end in a way I didn't see coming.
dark
tense
medium-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
This is a shortie. A novel that chronicles a hot, sticky and eventually disastrous affair between a screenwriter from New York living in Hollywood for work and a young woman whose washed up career in acting has left her broken and struggling with her mental illness as she grapples with her fading youth and her tumultuous past.
I think that brief synopsis makes it sound very gripping and it was mostly interesting, especially since the beginning of the main characters' relationship comes out of his rescuing of her after she wades into the Pacific Ocean ostensibly to drown herself. What follows is, as I said, a torrid affair. The journey through the middle however was a bit rough.
The book winds up meandering a bit to get to the admittedly thrilling conclusion, and despite this being such a short book, I really struggled to finish it even with a whole week left to read it at the end of last month. And with this book centering around a straight man interjecting into the life of a woman slowly and then sharply unraveling, replete with some pretty cutting observations of her mannerisms and her overall character, it feels a bit homophobic that this counts toward my finished reads for Pride!
Alfred Hayes is definitely a talented and evocative writer, I can tell you that much. There's a lot of wit and even humor in his sharp voice that colors the novel. The way he shifts perspective during dialogue, to have the man assume both sides of the conversation at times and telling us what she is saying from his own internal perspective was interesting. I do think that while this was intriguing, it is a but overdone, and on top of some sentence structures that were a bit convoluted, this was a bit of a choppy read at several points.
Despite me not exactly loving the overall plot, I an interested to check out more or Hayes' writing to see if another book in his backlist connects more with me because I do think he has a great narrative voice here. I just wish I loved this way more than I actually did because an unhinged woman falling into a messy affair with a screenwriter should have been a slam dunk for me.
I think that brief synopsis makes it sound very gripping and it was mostly interesting, especially since the beginning of the main characters' relationship comes out of his rescuing of her after she wades into the Pacific Ocean ostensibly to drown herself. What follows is, as I said, a torrid affair. The journey through the middle however was a bit rough.
The book winds up meandering a bit to get to the admittedly thrilling conclusion, and despite this being such a short book, I really struggled to finish it even with a whole week left to read it at the end of last month. And with this book centering around a straight man interjecting into the life of a woman slowly and then sharply unraveling, replete with some pretty cutting observations of her mannerisms and her overall character, it feels a bit homophobic that this counts toward my finished reads for Pride!
Alfred Hayes is definitely a talented and evocative writer, I can tell you that much. There's a lot of wit and even humor in his sharp voice that colors the novel. The way he shifts perspective during dialogue, to have the man assume both sides of the conversation at times and telling us what she is saying from his own internal perspective was interesting. I do think that while this was intriguing, it is a but overdone, and on top of some sentence structures that were a bit convoluted, this was a bit of a choppy read at several points.
Despite me not exactly loving the overall plot, I an interested to check out more or Hayes' writing to see if another book in his backlist connects more with me because I do think he has a great narrative voice here. I just wish I loved this way more than I actually did because an unhinged woman falling into a messy affair with a screenwriter should have been a slam dunk for me.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Even though I can see how the author intended we see this almost as a film playing out on screen - story about actress, writer based in LA. And overall I quite liked how it came together towards the end, I just didn't get along with the writing for about half of the book: clunky and long-winded in a way that impeded the flow of story for me.