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meagvaug's review against another edition
4.0
I have no idea what I just read, what the timeline was, or how it ended… but I loved it and I will be searching for another book that gives me the same feeling
lynnly's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.25
smalltownbookmom's review
3.0
3.5 - This is unlike anything I've read before! Very unique style, it is not linear at ALL and has a strong short story collection vibe but it is a novel. There's a lot of jumping around in time and points of view that can get confusing but the writing is sharp and insightful and can all of a sudden really hit a poignant point in the midst of a sort of rambling style. Very different. Lots of universal themes like familial love and relationships, loss, motherhood, etc. I feel like people will either love this or hate it. I enjoyed it and recommend for anyone wanting to try something new.
moonaby's review against another edition
2.0
I can’t say I enjoyed reading this.
Throughout the story, I kept wondering, “Is this literary genius or pretentious, nonsensical bullshit?”
On one hand, we have sharp prose that is often thought provoking, but most of the time it comes off as full of itself. Almost every sentence is ridden with references that seem like they’re trying to hide the fact that the writing isn’t as immersive as it should be.
Lucy as a character is intangible. She is a completely unreliable narrator, which I don’t have a problem with, except for the fact that she’s utterly boring and void of any depth. It seems like the author is projecting her own thoughts and ideas through Lucy instead of letting Lucy speak for herself, as if she is only a vessel for the author’s self indulgent writing.
I was disappointed to find that this novel reads like a short story collection. The confessions take up most of the spotlight but I came with the expectation that the focus would be on Lucy or a hint of a coherent storyline, but no, there is none of that. And due to Lucy’s lack of depth and Gartner’s wishy-washy storytelling, everything lacks tension or value. Events that should be emotionally captivating, aren’t. We don’t get a full grasp of Lucy’s motivations, desires, or internal conflicts, and because of that, I’m left thinking “So what?” at everything that happens to her.
Despite how I wanted to roll my eyes at the writing and despite how I often had an expression of What the fuck? at whatever absurd passage Gartner threw my way, in some ways the story grew on me and I can’t say I regret reading this book. I appreciate experimental fiction as well as morally grey characters and the prose is a good source of inspiration for other writers who want to challenge their creative barriers.
Throughout the story, I kept wondering, “Is this literary genius or pretentious, nonsensical bullshit?”
On one hand, we have sharp prose that is often thought provoking, but most of the time it comes off as full of itself. Almost every sentence is ridden with references that seem like they’re trying to hide the fact that the writing isn’t as immersive as it should be.
Lucy as a character is intangible. She is a completely unreliable narrator, which I don’t have a problem with, except for the fact that she’s utterly boring and void of any depth. It seems like the author is projecting her own thoughts and ideas through Lucy instead of letting Lucy speak for herself, as if she is only a vessel for the author’s self indulgent writing.
I was disappointed to find that this novel reads like a short story collection. The confessions take up most of the spotlight but I came with the expectation that the focus would be on Lucy or a hint of a coherent storyline, but no, there is none of that. And due to Lucy’s lack of depth and Gartner’s wishy-washy storytelling, everything lacks tension or value. Events that should be emotionally captivating, aren’t. We don’t get a full grasp of Lucy’s motivations, desires, or internal conflicts, and because of that, I’m left thinking “So what?” at everything that happens to her.
Despite how I wanted to roll my eyes at the writing and despite how I often had an expression of What the fuck? at whatever absurd passage Gartner threw my way, in some ways the story grew on me and I can’t say I regret reading this book. I appreciate experimental fiction as well as morally grey characters and the prose is a good source of inspiration for other writers who want to challenge their creative barriers.
whichthreewords's review against another edition
4.0
Is it the narrator who is unreliable, or is it the entire universe? Wonderful use of language, ambitious concept that didn’t *quite* get all the way there. But close. 3.5 stars.
sarah_grey's review against another edition
I... have no words except what and why
silentcat7135's review against another edition
4.0
Well this was a quirky read. I enjoyed it quite a bit but don't know who I'd recommend it to. I downloaded it from the library because the synopsis sounded a bit like a friend of mine, who seems to have an invisible neon sign on her forehead that announces to people that she's open to hearing your deepest secrets. Nothing as dark and bizarre as the secrets shared in The Beguiling, but still. Thankfully, I don't give off the same vibes, but I've seen hers in action. (That was a fun spa trip, let me tell you.)
The story meanders through a number of revelations shared with the protagonist, Lucy, almost but not quite like a string of separate short stories connected by Lucy's story. By the end, this book goes places I won't spoil but definitely was not expecting.
As well as the general quirkiness of the story, I loved Zsuzsi Gartner's writing style. The book is awash with allusions, far-ranging and fun. The author's Goodreads bio doesn't give her age, but based on the scope of things alluded to, I'd guess she's relatively close to my age (I'm in my late 50s). This is no Ready Player One, steeped in the culture of young'uns. She references Gatsby, Gollum, and Gumby and Pokey, the cracks that let the light in in Leonard Cohen's poetry and the cracks in Japanese pottery mended with gold, mythology, the "Merrie Melodies' high-stepping ragtime frog," and a million other things. I've read some novels where frequent allusions felt forced and ended up annoying, but in this case, it all just flowed over me, giving me a sense that the author lived in the same world I did, with the same cultural reference points, however out there the story was.
Gartner also has a way with writing about the dark side of our psyches. To give just a few examples:
Here's her take on childhood:
"Mothers think they know everything, but they know sorely little about their own flesh and blood, who cleave to them the moment they're born. Newborns would sever the umbilical cord themselves with their teeth if they had any and flee as fast as their rubbery little limbs would allow before letting themselves fall prey to the Stockholm syndrome that is childhood."
Here's her description of labour pains:
"The pain came screeching into the station right on schedule -- at first bold and show-offy, a Norma Desmond, a Lady Gaga of pains; then cavernous, voracious, lacerating my nerve sheaths like a skua gull tearing apart a baby penguin."
Lastly, her description of a male adolescent's brain:
"Hell may have no fury like a woman scorned, but the hot, churning rage birthed from a male adolescent's bubbling hormonal cauldron is a thing to be reckoned with as well. A ghastly, dripping, monomaniacal amygdala-shaped golem, divorced from prefrontal cortex and all the rest of his thinking machinery."
That kind of writing and delving into darkness either appeals to you or doesn't. I lapped it up.
Finally, a couple of random sentences I jotted down simply because they struck me:
"The crows all had something to say. None of it good and only some of it true." I want to read a fairy tale that starts with that sentence!
And, "Someone's freedom is always someone else's damage." Maybe just me, but I heard this in the voice of Wynona Ryder in Heathers. Shouldn't some emo or goth chick be getting that tattooed on their arm?
So, a quirky book with lush, allusive, dark, dark, dark writing that meanders and ultimately goes to some very unexpected places. If you're the type of reader who thinks they would enjoy that, you know who you are.
The story meanders through a number of revelations shared with the protagonist, Lucy, almost but not quite like a string of separate short stories connected by Lucy's story. By the end, this book goes places I won't spoil but definitely was not expecting.
As well as the general quirkiness of the story, I loved Zsuzsi Gartner's writing style. The book is awash with allusions, far-ranging and fun. The author's Goodreads bio doesn't give her age, but based on the scope of things alluded to, I'd guess she's relatively close to my age (I'm in my late 50s). This is no Ready Player One, steeped in the culture of young'uns. She references Gatsby, Gollum, and Gumby and Pokey, the cracks that let the light in in Leonard Cohen's poetry and the cracks in Japanese pottery mended with gold, mythology, the "Merrie Melodies' high-stepping ragtime frog," and a million other things. I've read some novels where frequent allusions felt forced and ended up annoying, but in this case, it all just flowed over me, giving me a sense that the author lived in the same world I did, with the same cultural reference points, however out there the story was.
Gartner also has a way with writing about the dark side of our psyches. To give just a few examples:
Here's her take on childhood:
"Mothers think they know everything, but they know sorely little about their own flesh and blood, who cleave to them the moment they're born. Newborns would sever the umbilical cord themselves with their teeth if they had any and flee as fast as their rubbery little limbs would allow before letting themselves fall prey to the Stockholm syndrome that is childhood."
Here's her description of labour pains:
"The pain came screeching into the station right on schedule -- at first bold and show-offy, a Norma Desmond, a Lady Gaga of pains; then cavernous, voracious, lacerating my nerve sheaths like a skua gull tearing apart a baby penguin."
Lastly, her description of a male adolescent's brain:
"Hell may have no fury like a woman scorned, but the hot, churning rage birthed from a male adolescent's bubbling hormonal cauldron is a thing to be reckoned with as well. A ghastly, dripping, monomaniacal amygdala-shaped golem, divorced from prefrontal cortex and all the rest of his thinking machinery."
That kind of writing and delving into darkness either appeals to you or doesn't. I lapped it up.
Finally, a couple of random sentences I jotted down simply because they struck me:
"The crows all had something to say. None of it good and only some of it true." I want to read a fairy tale that starts with that sentence!
And, "Someone's freedom is always someone else's damage." Maybe just me, but I heard this in the voice of Wynona Ryder in Heathers. Shouldn't some emo or goth chick be getting that tattooed on their arm?
So, a quirky book with lush, allusive, dark, dark, dark writing that meanders and ultimately goes to some very unexpected places. If you're the type of reader who thinks they would enjoy that, you know who you are.
otherbunny's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
danast's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
if abusing parentheses was a crime punishable by jail time zsuzsi gartner would have a life sentence. it seemed like she was more concerned with sounding intellectual as opposed to creating a story with a cohesive plot and characters that are actually likeable - the writing is painfully pretentious imo. too all over the place for me, was not a fan, last 20 or so pages felt incredibly rushed and were not a good way to tie together the previous 250 pages.
dixit's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5