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monkeelino's review against another edition
4.0
Andrea Celesti's Queen Jezebel Being Punished by JehuI was about to abandon this book ~100 pgs in. Lotto was insufferable as a character. The entire thing felt predictable and then Lotto goes to an artist's retreat to collaborate with the composer Leo Sen. This is when I decided to stick with it and from there, for me, it just kept getting better. Groff's writing has a wonderful, lyrical pace throughout that keeps things moving, and although many have mentioned the twists or surprises the second half delivers, it feels less like trickery/contrivance and more like the success of sucking the reader into Planet Lotto in the first half. The world revolves around him to such an extent that there's no time or breath to even ask why you never hear about Mathilde's family or her past. The text immerses you in the kind of overwhelming presence the husband is. He's not even unlikeable. He's just a vortex for any and all attention.
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WORDS I MIGHT NEVER LOOK UP
hallux | gamboling | harridan | eschat | morpho | lugentious |preturbrious | acciaccato | coupe de foudre | coupe de foutre | ursine | dissimulate | phlox | insouciant | frottage | cartouche | Spaldeen | tabac | boulangerie | mairie | langoustine | deshabille | undulant
| travertine | telegony | porte cochere
tracy_c's review against another edition
1.0
I got to the 2nd part of the book and didn't see it getting any better, so I stopped reading it. Too much description for me (and I typically like description), lack of plot as well. Not my cup of tea.
mirandakristin's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars, teetering on 5. I actually loved this book. Loved the premise, loved the unraveling of Lotto’s blissful ignorance in the second half. I think the negative reviews make good points but none of those points actually shake how much I enjoyed it. Prose was a little flowery in some places, but not enough so that I couldn’t enjoy it, and there was enough brilliant writing to balance it out for me.
anotherchriskelly's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book so much that I hunted down another copy at the library and traveled across city lines so I could continue reading it when my first copy became due. (I'm averse to overdue library books.)
idawgsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
If you like drama (socially and the extra-curricular activity), you will like this book. It's definitely over-the-top in a lot of ways, but an enjoyable read nonetheless.
jmcglo's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book in waves. Might have rated it higher if I'd read all at once. It was well written and sophisticated. Had to go back and figure a few things out, but I enjoyed it.
michrichter1's review against another edition
4.0
I liked Monsters of Templeton a lot, so was interested in reading this. But I put this down for a while after a party scene in part 1 made me question whether I could abide these people. I'm glad I went back to it after hearing others rave. The second part of the book, where we focus on Mathilde, is really where the book shines. She's one of the most fascinating characters I've ever read.
anneyryanmcintosh's review against another edition
1.0
This is a really good example of how and why whimsy can ruin a book. I think it’s supposed to be satirical and over the top? There’s something missing though, as it’s unclear in the author-narrator-character merge if Groff wrote it this way on purpose. And man, there’s so much ugly stuff that happens - the whimsical tone clashes with the grisly abusive events of the plot. I could not see any of the characters in my mind - except Chollie and Denton, who basically looked like the same person. They were all unlikable anyway. I feel like I learned so many great writer’s lessons from this book - mostly about what not to do.
mattingtonbear's review against another edition
4.0
this one took me a lil while to get into but by the second half I was as intrigued and engrossed as I've ever been. there's a lot to be impressed by, whether it's the highly stylistic and engaging writing or the insanely well realized characters or simply the structure of the novel itself. this is nothing short of incredible. I got the feeling that the story that was being told in the first part of the novel was a lil too good to be true and sure enough the second half shows the inherent fallacy of the love on display. but the wonderful thing is that while sure, love and relationships aren't as rosy and glorious and we'd want them to be (or as works of fiction lead us to believe), in the end this book is about a couple who truly loved each other and all the complications that might entail. Groff does all of this and makes it all sing, seriously the later half of this book reads like the best thrillers jumping back and forth through time w/ quite a few plot threads coming together in a super satisfying manner. if it wasn't for the more traditional and slower paced first have this book would have easily been 5 stars. even so easily one of the best novels I've read all year.