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brashcandicoot's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Violence, Alcohol, Stalking, and Animal death
chuckstafer's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Another really good novel/novella from Laura Sims! The protagonist in this story is so unhinged yet you can't help but feel for her and what she's been going through in the story. As the story progressed, most of the time was focused on things that were not what I expected which only added to the main character's spiraling mental state. Once things reached a tipping point, the story spiraled quickly to an unexpected ending. Really good debut for Laura Sims!
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death
jahoffie's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Would not read again, will be donating the book. I'm feeling quite disturbed following reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Moderate: Stalking
marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
There are lots of really interesting themes woven into this short novel by the inimitable Laura Sims. The narrator is a poetry professor who is incredibly bitter about her infertility and the consequent dissolution of her marriage. Surrounded by the invasiveness of motherhood, she becomes increasingly obsessed with her neighbor—a famous actress—and the seemingly idealistic life she leads with husband and children in tow. Does she want to know her, be her, or keep her? Looker is a novel about personhood as performance with phenomenal narration by Katherine Fenton, for whose performance I’d listen to nearly anything.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility
Moderate: Sexual content, Animal death, and Stalking
angelakay's review against another edition
dark
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
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
amberthepanda_008's review
dark
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
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
opldxblqo's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Murder, and Pregnancy
imperfectcj's review
dark
tense
medium-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
3.25
I appreciate how Sims puts us in the mind of a woman who's gradually becoming unhinged. I like the exercise of trying to figure out from the clues the narrator gives how a scene would look from other characters' perspectives. But being inside the head of that kind of narrator always leaves me with a vague sense that I have done something wrong, which is unpleasant until it fades. So, I like the book but I need a palate cleanser.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
rosie_mac's review
dark
sad
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
2.5
Like many other reviewers, this book wasn’t what I was expecting. It’s not really a thriller at all, but focuses on the gradual unravelling of the protagonist’s mental state. In this regard it was pretty successful, and it did well at highlighting the pressure that women are put under to have children - this was one of the main causes of her anguish, even though I couldn’t tell if she even actually wanted them (she certainly didn’t come across as maternal). But overall I can’t say I really enjoyed it, the characters weren’t at all likeable, which isn’t necessarily a problem for me, but they weren’t even particularly interesting - so I wasn’t invested in any of them, and didn’t have anyone to root for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Infertility and Mental illness
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