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hannairene3's review against another edition
3.0
Super interesting, super uncomfortable, and super valid, but far from super. Pretty dry, and I get that's partly the point, but it didn't really work for me. Maybe it's just because I spend so much time in academia that these characters were too real. At least I guess.
Spoiler
the dog doesn't diejsrogers123's review against another edition
5.0
I, for one, am stunned. This is such a display of skill. I have no idea how you can possibly craft a story around a loathsome protagonist who is disgusting in a way that is all too believable at all, let alone turn it into a story you can't put down. I'm blown away. Also, so deeply angry at a fictional man
udfirefly's review against another edition
5.0
I didn’t saw that ending coming.
The Laughter was a slow burn following a right-winged professor obsessed with a Middle Eastern colleague as he weaves his way into her life including befriending her nephew. The conflict is palpable and his experiences with his colleague and her nephew challenge his beliefs and fears about how the world is changing. I’ll be thinking about this one for a while.
The Laughter was a slow burn following a right-winged professor obsessed with a Middle Eastern colleague as he weaves his way into her life including befriending her nephew. The conflict is palpable and his experiences with his colleague and her nephew challenge his beliefs and fears about how the world is changing. I’ll be thinking about this one for a while.
dasfaultier's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Starts off at a slow pace, but will eventually pull you in its grip and won't let you go. I couldn't put it down. It's one of those books I will be thinking about for a long time to come. Don't miss it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, and Racism
Moderate: Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Racism, Islamophobia, and Xenophobia
laurenleyendolibros's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
gabipowell's review against another edition
4.0
If You's Joe Goldberg is the prototype for sociopathic creep, Dr. Harding is the primordial ooze from which he sprung. I haven't disliked a narrator so intensely, credit to Jha.
This book takes on so many charged topics, but perhaps too many. Toxic masculinity, codeswitching, racial biases, and more – all set against a backdrop weeks before the 2016 election – WOOF. However, Jha has written an important book here. The Laughter is one to be discussed.
This book takes on so many charged topics, but perhaps too many. Toxic masculinity, codeswitching, racial biases, and more – all set against a backdrop weeks before the 2016 election – WOOF. However, Jha has written an important book here. The Laughter is one to be discussed.
catiecullen's review against another edition
5.0
Perhaps the most detestable narrator I’ve ever encountered in a book, but I couldn’t stop reading. Tense, thought-provoking, disquieting. Jha created something really special and powerful here.
s0las's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
4.0
This is a tenured English professor's account of what led to an incident involving a colleague who teaches law. Oliver Harding is fascinated by Ruhaba Khan, a much younger professor who comes from Pakistan and who wears a head covering. When her nephew arrives to live with her, Oliver sees his opportunity to form a connection. As a divorced man with an estranged adult daughter, Oliver has plenty of free time to spend with Ruhaba's nephew and he happily hires him to walk his dog and takes him on hikes, all with the intention of getting closer to her. But these are tense times at the university, with indications that the curriculum is being pushed away from the dead white guys, a change that would certainly affect a professor in late middle-age who gained tenure due to his focus on G. K. Chesterton. And Oliver is hearing hints that Rhuhaba is under investigation by the university and he's getting visits from the FBI, asking about her nephew.
Oliver is telling the story and he's more concerned with making himself look good than accuracy, we're talking Humbert Humbert levels of manipulation. It's a fun exercise to peer past the narrator to try to see the events as they really are. The reader learns quickly that Oliver is unreliable, but what about Rhuhaba? Is she as blithely unaware of Oliver's attitude towards her? And why is she under investigation by their university? Is it for the same reasons the FBI is interested in her nephew? Jha seems to delight in writing from the point of view of Oliver Harding and she doesn't pull any punches in this excellent campus novel.
Oliver is telling the story and he's more concerned with making himself look good than accuracy, we're talking Humbert Humbert levels of manipulation. It's a fun exercise to peer past the narrator to try to see the events as they really are. The reader learns quickly that Oliver is unreliable, but what about Rhuhaba? Is she as blithely unaware of Oliver's attitude towards her? And why is she under investigation by their university? Is it for the same reasons the FBI is interested in her nephew? Jha seems to delight in writing from the point of view of Oliver Harding and she doesn't pull any punches in this excellent campus novel.
bretts_book_stack's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5