Scan barcode
lisawhelpley's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this one better than his novel Cleanness. Gorgeous sentences and easy to really get into the emotions of the main character.
chuckyinspace's review against another edition
challenging
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
average_jane's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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
3.5
bookjerm's review against another edition
4.0
This is so beautifully written, it was quite the surprise. I wasn't going to read it because the description on the back of the book didn't appeal to me, but decided to pick it up after talking to a book group member about it. I'm glad I did.
mol_iver's review against another edition
5.0
wow holy shit
a provocative and deeply melancholy examination of queer desire and its proximity to shame. i absolutely adored the setting: it captured the absurdities and severity of eastern europe so well; it couldn’t have been set anywhere else. also the use of language and translation to confuse and clarify was fucking magnificent !! and the prose goddamn !!
honestly too many good things i can say about this book just read it
a provocative and deeply melancholy examination of queer desire and its proximity to shame. i absolutely adored the setting: it captured the absurdities and severity of eastern europe so well; it couldn’t have been set anywhere else. also the use of language and translation to confuse and clarify was fucking magnificent !! and the prose goddamn !!
honestly too many good things i can say about this book just read it
mbowenn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
abarkmeier's review against another edition
3.0
I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that tried harder to be lofty and intellectual (or British). Within the first few pages I wondered if the (American) author was aspiring to emulate Ishiguro or Camus, but came to the conclusion that he mostly wished to secure himself as a provocative and poetic elite. At times he accomplishes this, though with unnecessary and fairly obvious barriers for the reader.
I was unsurprised, upon finishing the book, to learn that part of it has previously been published as a novella, as the whole time I read it I thought, “this should be a novella.”
It’s clear that the writer is intelligent and there are moments of the alluring poetry the book is hellbent on achieving, and the story and writing finds its stride in the last third of the book—with the brief exception of a chapter in which we get to watch the narrator watch a kid be bored.
Perhaps the biggest limitation for this book in novel form is that I never latched on to caring about anything or anyone. The thread of the novel was unclear, with the exception of a tragic if very stock-seeming character, whose predictability outweighed the need for a whole novel about his mysterious presence.
I was unsurprised, upon finishing the book, to learn that part of it has previously been published as a novella, as the whole time I read it I thought, “this should be a novella.”
It’s clear that the writer is intelligent and there are moments of the alluring poetry the book is hellbent on achieving, and the story and writing finds its stride in the last third of the book—with the brief exception of a chapter in which we get to watch the narrator watch a kid be bored.
Perhaps the biggest limitation for this book in novel form is that I never latched on to caring about anything or anyone. The thread of the novel was unclear, with the exception of a tragic if very stock-seeming character, whose predictability outweighed the need for a whole novel about his mysterious presence.
krobart's review against another edition
3.0
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2019/03/18/review-1328-what-belongs-to-you/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2019/03/18/review-1328-what-belongs-to-you/