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gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was a delight: fraught complex characters in an art college/in the NYC art world, with all intertwined relationships (not always romantic, but sometimes just competitive). The prose was great, each character felt well fleshed out and real whether you agreed with their choices or not.
While all 4 of them live in their privileged bubble of the art scene in 2011-2012, it was fascinating to see their character growth when all they need to worry about is how they’ll make money off their art, how they as people are perceived (which is tied to how to make money), their relationships with art and other artists.
The characters find their own muses in a way that feels genuine to them, even if ultimately I felt like shaking them by the shoulders to be like “OMG what are you DOING”.
This academia novel was a delicious jewel to listen to.
While all 4 of them live in their privileged bubble of the art scene in 2011-2012, it was fascinating to see their character growth when all they need to worry about is how they’ll make money off their art, how they as people are perceived (which is tied to how to make money), their relationships with art and other artists.
The characters find their own muses in a way that feels genuine to them, even if ultimately I felt like shaking them by the shoulders to be like “OMG what are you DOING”.
This academia novel was a delicious jewel to listen to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, and Rape
Minor: Drug use and Addiction
paradicsomleves's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Moderate: Death of parent, Rape, and Sexual assault
Minor: Suicide
kthumphrey's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved how this book made me feel when reading it. Seeing how each of the characters grew (especially Robert ❤️) was so lovely. I love how the author used the book to explain the “why” behind art in so many different points of view. 5 stars!!!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Mental illness
ashleynoel555's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Rape
noahbenoit's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
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
3.75
beautifully written, but i'm getting tired of all queer books having the same kind of vibe and narrative (broken unreliable cold modern characters have toxic relationships together and dread on life), this is for sure playing that trope with very little plot! i feel like this masterful prose + fertile context could have given way more
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Suicide and Domestic abuse
calicot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse
Minor: Rape
1414's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Death
Minor: Child abuse and Rape
erinpoo's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
“Often, Karina would come home to find that Louisa had spent the evening painting swampy landscapes or fantastical birds or great, greedy, oceanic swaths of sky, the kind of sky that didn’t exist in New York and never would.”
my reverence for this book transcends all limits of language. in every way, this was a breathtaking kunstlerroman. it was magnetic, and it holds your attention even as it is fractured into different voices and perspectives; you’re never really broken out of the story until you arrive at the very ending (which still haunts me to this day). it’s just such an enrapturing depiction of the [contemporary] art world, of ambition and academia. at some point it unraveled a provocative discussion around how cutthroat the industry is, and how brutal it is to even pursue art in itself with capitalist forces, competition, commercialism, class, or generally the influence art has on its creators and audiences of all genders and ages. one thing i noted was also how it touches on the individualism that is demanded, if not coming naturally, in order to survive in the creative trenches lol
whilst this would have been a five star if there were no men (i don’t even say this to be funny, i genuinely thought their point of views were rather unnecessary and contributed nothing very substantial, louisa and karina is a love story for the ages and i stand by that!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Mental illness, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Racism, and Rape
Minor: Suicide
dixiecarroll's review against another edition
emotional
informative
lighthearted
slow-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? It's complicated
4.5
This was beautifully done. It was extremely dense and took me a while to get through, so beware if that is something you don’t like. I felt like I learned something new as I am unfamiliar with the art world or art in general and I loved how each character navigated the world. The prose was poetic and lovely, though I think it was a little overdone at times - it felt a little pretentious to use vocabulary that caused me to use a dictionary 3 times on one page. BUT I loved it because I think that’s the point!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Rape, Abandonment, Death of parent, Dementia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, and Vomit
hannakutlu's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape