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writtenontheflyleaves's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The Giant Dark by Sarvat Hasin ⛈️
🌟🌟🌟🌟✨
⛈️ The plot: Aida is the indie rock darling of a generation, her every movement traced lovingly by her devoted fans. Ehsan is her long-ago ex, battling despondency until he sees her again at a dinner party. They fall headlong into a blissful love affair that takes Aida away from her heartbroken fans, but the bliss can't last forever. In fact, they seem doomed to repeat the tragic patterns of mythic lovers before them.
Everyone has those books you know you'll love before you read them, and I was right about this one. The prose is beautiful, and even though I finished it months ago it still comes to me in vivid images, like memories from my own life. I especially loved the chapters told in the collective voice of Aida's fans - they were brilliant and chilling at points, capturing the hunger and entitlement that lurks in the underbelly of fan culture. How divorced our images of celebrities are from their lives, who they are as friends and lovers and family members.
Slight spoiler ⚠️ there is a dark twist in this tale that maybe I should have seen coming but really shocked me. I thought what followed was a really interesting reflection on grief and the parts of us that remain unknowable to our romantic partners. I thought this book was amazing at showing the ways Aida and Ehsan both acutely understood and misunderstood each other. It reflected the fan relationship in a way, that we see what we want or maybe need to see in the people we love.
⛈️ Read if you like vivid, tragic portraits of relationships and stories about fame that aren't focused on glamour.
🚫 Avoid it if stories that include suicide are painful for you right now, or if you want a love story with more hope at its heart.
🌟🌟🌟🌟✨
⛈️ The plot: Aida is the indie rock darling of a generation, her every movement traced lovingly by her devoted fans. Ehsan is her long-ago ex, battling despondency until he sees her again at a dinner party. They fall headlong into a blissful love affair that takes Aida away from her heartbroken fans, but the bliss can't last forever. In fact, they seem doomed to repeat the tragic patterns of mythic lovers before them.
Everyone has those books you know you'll love before you read them, and I was right about this one. The prose is beautiful, and even though I finished it months ago it still comes to me in vivid images, like memories from my own life. I especially loved the chapters told in the collective voice of Aida's fans - they were brilliant and chilling at points, capturing the hunger and entitlement that lurks in the underbelly of fan culture. How divorced our images of celebrities are from their lives, who they are as friends and lovers and family members.
Slight spoiler ⚠️ there is a dark twist in this tale that maybe I should have seen coming but really shocked me. I thought what followed was a really interesting reflection on grief and the parts of us that remain unknowable to our romantic partners. I thought this book was amazing at showing the ways Aida and Ehsan both acutely understood and misunderstood each other. It reflected the fan relationship in a way, that we see what we want or maybe need to see in the people we love.
⛈️ Read if you like vivid, tragic portraits of relationships and stories about fame that aren't focused on glamour.
🚫 Avoid it if stories that include suicide are painful for you right now, or if you want a love story with more hope at its heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Grief
Moderate: Suicide, Sexual content, Blood, and Vomit
spacebornfew's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
Moderate: Abortion, Alcohol, Drug use, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, and Vomit
Minor: Body shaming
abbie_'s review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Abortion
the_literarylinguist's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol
Minor: Racism, Islamophobia, Abortion, and Vomit
happyladyjadereads's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
A genderbent take on Orpheus and Eurydice, the intoxicating story of Aida, a global superstar musician and her greatest love, Ershan, is one of the best things I have read this year. Like a blend of Circe with Daisy and the Six, this blend of myth retelling and the sweaty heady sheen of rock star lifestyle, this story of their whirlwind relationship has a mystical element as I was questioning whether this almost obsessive relationship is toxic but feeling that it is fate they are destined to be together. It swops between three perspectives, including powerfully to me was the third person perspective of her infatuated fan base, which sounds almost Greek Chorus but really captures the relentless hysteria of a fandom and a meteoric rise to fame beautifully. It can feel like reading multiple books in one go, keeping it interesting, and also this drops nuggets of information throughout that would be the crux of a different story. There is a shock gasp moment at 50%, which causes Aida to go to the edge, teetering on the precipice of mental illness, so could be hard for others to read. I sped through this in just over a day, as I was enraptured by this read, in particular the enrapturing character of Aida.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Self harm
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