Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - Bunny

Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

khanyisile13's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is like watching a theatre play written by Margaret Atwood and Gillian Flynn while tripping on acid. But in the best way. Mona Awad is such a unique talent.

It’s so unexpected, so different from anything I’ve ever read. It is pure imagination. One of those books that you have to unpack and unpack and unpack to see that all along, there were bits and pieces hiding in plain sight. The recurring themes and the ode to Alice in Wonderland in a university setting that makes you wonder what’s real and what’s not. But I think the strongest thing that stuck with me was this

metaphor (or not) for the creative process, for creation itself the fact that Samantha’s imagination literally controls her and her surrounding and her actions - and it’s spurred on by intense feelings of loneliness.

It’s an insane concept that somehow works.

How did Mona Awad even pitch this to her agents? It’s so ludicrous that it’s genius. I can’t not give it a five stars, not because of how it made me feel or that I related with any depth to any part of the story, but because of the sheer magnitude of the creation of this story. As you are reading you are falling down down down the rabbit hole, but you’re not even sure if you’re in the rabbit hole. It’s absurd and brilliant and I can’t think of anyone to compare Awad to. I would even say this is the kind of book teenagers should be studying from in English class with it’s string of references and comparisons, with its unique ability to put you directly into someone’s mind. Bizarre and thrilling, and not in a normal way.

Content Warnings

andreyuhh's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I’m conflicted about this book. At first it was so slow that I didn’t think I could get through it. Eventually something happens that instantly gets me hooked & I don’t want to put my kindle down. I enjoyed how manic it felt at times. If you like being on your toes this book is for you!

The ending is a bit lackluster but also made complete sense.

Content Warnings

laran_s's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense

3.75

Content Warnings

dajul73's review

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

I will have to rate this book at a later date. I both hated it and yet was addicted to it. I'm not sure what I just read and need time to digest this book.

Content Warnings

mallotar's review

Go to review page

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

wannabe_lee's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

loxeletters's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

What an interesting read! I especially enjoyed the themes of faux-feminism, the absurdity of academia, and the relationship between you and your creation. Regarding that last point, I think I might have benefitted from having read Frankenstein? It seems there's some links here, but that's just guess work. I still really enjoyed this, and though I didn't cry, the ending broke my heart.

It was quite depressing at times, which is why I couldn't rate this as "funny" even though the satirical aspects worked well. I guess that is the horror of this book for me - I wasn't very affected by the gore, I was never really scared, more just very depressed by the ongoing loneliness of our MC.

I can't say I could've guessed most of the major twists, which is a plus :)
Speaking of which, I agree that it's quite disorienting and difficult to figure out what is real and what isn't, but I think that's the point. I mean... They even discuss in the book how disorientation can be valuable for writing lol.

I did think the final scene was maybe a bit too clean-cut.

Maybe the way her relationship to Jonah is portrayed could have used some more nuance. He was always nice, sure, but I feel like her realisation that he just doesn't care about others' judgement doesn't really make up for the contempt she had for him throughout the book. He is always portrayed as so pathetic, and I can't really reconcile this with her attitude towards him at the end.

But this is somewhat nit-picky!

My second issue was the prose - overall it was good, but some phrasings were a bit repetitive for me. Maybe some adjectives could've been cut out as well. But that's just my personal taste, I think.

Overall, a very interesting book, which leaves you questioning what is real and what isn't, while providing some much-needed cultural criticism — exactly my cup of tea!

Content Warnings