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dark
funny
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
This book was deliciously awful. While an antagonistic narrator can often be a bleak and draining reading experience, Ventura has a streak of wicked dark humour running through the narrator's account of her actions. Instead of getting exhausted by the character's obsession, I found myself gripped by her mental spiralling, thrilled to see what horrendous breach of dignity she would stoop to next.
I found the ending appropriately dreadful and wickedly funny, similar to the ending of Gone Girl when you realise that the two awful repulsive people are perfect for each other.
The only bung note for me was the bedtime scene with the MC and her daughter. I didn't think the main character would have enough self awareness of her own parenting to know that her mask had "slipped".
Maybe if I was in a different headspace, where I was struggling to read this without a hint of irony, I would have found it less enjoyable, but as it was, I found it to be a perfect plane read.
I found the ending
The only bung note for me was the bedtime scene with the MC and her daughter. I didn't think the main character would have enough self awareness of her own parenting to know that her mask had "slipped".
Maybe if I was in a different headspace, where I was struggling to read this without a hint of irony, I would have found it less enjoyable, but as it was, I found it to be a perfect plane read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment
dark
emotional
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infertility, Stalking
Minor: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
๐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถโ๐ท๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ช๐ต ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ. ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ด๐ฃ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ง๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ. ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ
สแดแดแด๊ฑ แดกษชแดส แดแดสแดสสส ษขสแดส แดสแดสแดแดแดแดส๊ฑ แดสแด แดสแดกแดส๊ฑ แด แดสแดแด๊ฑแดสแด แดแด สแดแดแด .
๐ผ๐ข ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐ by Maud Ventura (translated by Emma Ramadan) is a fresh novel about a 40-year-old woman who is obsessed with her husband. She loves him, the idea of him, and would die without him.
Stunning looks, a beautiful house, two children, and 15 years of marriage with an ideal man are a dream for many. No matter how perfect life can get, sometimes our unnamed protagonist doubts whether her husband is truly in love with her, like she is madly in love with him.
So in order to spark their romance, she does things above and beyond for her husband. She plans every encounter she will have with him. And do things one may think are already beyond the line. ๐ฝ๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ก๐ค๐ซ๐, ๐๐จ ๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ง๐ช๐ก๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ง๐ค๐ฃ๐?
I enjoyed the short novel. I loved how our main character was unreliable. I also really liked seeing her thoughts and how she processed everyday situations. She analyzes a certain encounter over and over again. She overthinks that she is on the verge of panicking, then reassures herself a little while later. I found it fascinating to know her thoughts, reassurances, and doubts.
Over the span of a week, I could see how the dynamics worked in their family. And many reviews say the ending was unexpected. For me, it was predictable, but it was still okay.
Overall, the book was okay. A read that is fast, analytical, pathetic, and, of course, obsessive. I'd only half-recommend this since I didn't love it. But still, it is a novel that many should try to read. Especially those who loved ๐ฒ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐๐.
๐ | 44
โญ | 3.5
โขโขโข
My Rating System
5 ๐ - Life changing, a new favorite read
4 โญ - I loved it
3 โญ - I liked it
2 โญ - It was okay
1 โญ - I hated it but decided to not dnf
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting
Moderate: Body shaming, Sexism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts