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ellemir's review against another edition
4.0
Ich wollte schon lange mal wieder etwas von Lionel Shriver lesen - und diese Novelle schien mir der geeignete Wiedereinstieg. Das Thema hat früher mehrfach in meinem Bekanntenkreis für Aufregung gesorgt - kann ein Mann mit einer Frau platonisch befreundet sein?
Die drei Figuren in diesem Roman stehen vor genau dieser Frage. Weston und Jillian sind seit sehr langer Zeit befreundet. Vor sehr langer Zeit haben sie erfolglos versucht, ein Paar zu werden. Nun findet Weston eine Partnerin - Paige. Paige kann Jillian nicht leiden und sie stellt Weston ein Ultimatum - die Freundschaft zu Jillian oder ihre Beziehung.
Die Autorin schafft es, die Gefühlswelt von Jillian und Weston und deren Entwicklung im Verlauf der Geschichte treffend herauszuarbeiten. Paige als Eindringling in die Freundschaft bleibt außen vor und wird hauptsächlich aus der Sicht von Weston, aber auch aus der von Jillian geschildert.
Als Leser kann man jede Position zu einem gewissen Grad nachvollziehen, beobachtet gebannt, wie sich das Verhältnis zwischen den Personen ändert und wie kläglich sie dabei versagen, miteinander zu kommunizieren und konstruktiv an der Situation zu arbeiten. Am Ende muss jeder für sich selbst entscheiden, auf wessen Seite er steht. Die Autorin selbst enthält sich sogar am Ende, als Weston eine Entscheidung trifft, jeglicher Wertung.
Die drei Figuren in diesem Roman stehen vor genau dieser Frage. Weston und Jillian sind seit sehr langer Zeit befreundet. Vor sehr langer Zeit haben sie erfolglos versucht, ein Paar zu werden. Nun findet Weston eine Partnerin - Paige. Paige kann Jillian nicht leiden und sie stellt Weston ein Ultimatum - die Freundschaft zu Jillian oder ihre Beziehung.
Die Autorin schafft es, die Gefühlswelt von Jillian und Weston und deren Entwicklung im Verlauf der Geschichte treffend herauszuarbeiten. Paige als Eindringling in die Freundschaft bleibt außen vor und wird hauptsächlich aus der Sicht von Weston, aber auch aus der von Jillian geschildert.
Als Leser kann man jede Position zu einem gewissen Grad nachvollziehen, beobachtet gebannt, wie sich das Verhältnis zwischen den Personen ändert und wie kläglich sie dabei versagen, miteinander zu kommunizieren und konstruktiv an der Situation zu arbeiten. Am Ende muss jeder für sich selbst entscheiden, auf wessen Seite er steht. Die Autorin selbst enthält sich sogar am Ende, als Weston eine Entscheidung trifft, jeglicher Wertung.
jazzy_cat's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyed this book more than I anticipated. The whole 'Can men and women be only friends?' is old but this story definitely gripped me. It certainly challenged me to consider my view on the matter.
wendoxford's review against another edition
4.0
Shriver writes so pithily about the untruths and need for control that can overwhelm relationships. In this pittiless small piece, can men and women ever just be friends, she captures so perfectly how possessiveness turns angry .
flohbeutel's review against another edition
2.0
## Furchtbare Menschen tun furchtbare Menschen-Dinge ##
(In der absolut langweiligsten Weise)
(In der absolut langweiligsten Weise)
j04nna's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sharondblk's review against another edition
2.0
Lionel Shriver has written a few really good books (Big Brother, The Post-Birthday world, we Need to Talk about Kevin) a few books based on good ideas that don't quite work, mainly because she seems to struggle with endings (Game Control, New Republic).
This novella feels like it could be the result of a writing prompt - Take two old friends, add in a new girlfriends, see what happens. that's not the problem. The problem is the verbosity, the over writing and the lack of anything really happening. The characters characters are explained in great detail though, so there is that.
This was free through Kindle Unlimited, but I regret the hour and a half I wasted reading it.
This novella feels like it could be the result of a writing prompt - Take two old friends, add in a new girlfriends, see what happens. that's not the problem. The problem is the verbosity, the over writing and the lack of anything really happening. The characters characters are explained in great detail though, so there is that.
This was free through Kindle Unlimited, but I regret the hour and a half I wasted reading it.
ladybirder's review
funny
reflective
tense
medium-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
I didn't expect to like a book about relationships so much. I found it so relatable, but it’s hard to explain why. Sometimes it was a thought that matched exactly what I was thinking at the time, sometimes whole situations were just like those I’d been in myself. It really helped me to connect to what was just a very simple story.
After reading the blurb I went into this expecting to read Jillian as a calculating character who takes a dislike to her friend’s new girlfriend/fiancee and does passive aggressive things to wind her up, but it turned out to be a lot more subtle. It is unclear who, if anyone, is in the wrong throughout, and my opinion changed from chapter to chapter as I saw certain scenes and discussions repeated through the eyes of different characters.
I disliked Paige, but mainly because of the way she’s written. She was a walking cliche - vegetarian (why not vegan?), anti-fur, anti-fracking, opinionated, self-appointed art critic. Each character at some point described the relationship between Weston and Paige as mismatched, disjointed, etc, and when you did get an explanation on why they worked well together, it focused a lot on sex. Weston spent more time describing their amazing sex life than he did her personality, and Paige dismissed the thought of incompatibility by bragging about how the shape of her breasts drove him wild...was this the only thing she had going for her, or did I miss something? It’s as if Shriver heard the phrase “She must be great in bed because I don’t know why he’s with her…” and created a whole character out of it.
When Weston finally tells Jillian that he can’t see her anymore, the reveal was a disappointment. She took it all in too quickly and didn’t seem to need much explanation or closure despite being apparently unaware of how deeply Paige disliked her. It didn't feel big enough to be the end of a 25 year friendship.
The ending was so frustrating. Without spoiling too much, it was hard to see what the whole thing descended into. It reminded me a little of the end of Cat Person. It was final, disappointing, and very realistic.
After reading the blurb I went into this expecting to read Jillian as a calculating character who takes a dislike to her friend’s new girlfriend/fiancee and does passive aggressive things to wind her up, but it turned out to be a lot more subtle. It is unclear who, if anyone, is in the wrong throughout, and my opinion changed from chapter to chapter as I saw certain scenes and discussions repeated through the eyes of different characters.
I disliked Paige, but mainly because of the way she’s written. She was a walking cliche - vegetarian (why not vegan?), anti-fur, anti-fracking, opinionated, self-appointed art critic. Each character at some point described the relationship between Weston and Paige as mismatched, disjointed, etc, and when you did get an explanation on why they worked well together, it focused a lot on sex. Weston spent more time describing their amazing sex life than he did her personality, and Paige dismissed the thought of incompatibility by bragging about how the shape of her breasts drove him wild...was this the only thing she had going for her, or did I miss something? It’s as if Shriver heard the phrase “She must be great in bed because I don’t know why he’s with her…” and created a whole character out of it.
When Weston finally tells Jillian that he can’t see her anymore, the reveal was a disappointment. She took it all in too quickly and didn’t seem to need much explanation or closure despite being apparently unaware of how deeply Paige disliked her. It didn't feel big enough to be the end of a 25 year friendship.
The ending was so frustrating. Without spoiling too much, it was hard to see what the whole thing descended into. It reminded me a little of the end of Cat Person. It was final, disappointing, and very realistic.
elise_allberry's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0