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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
some parts i loved and some i didn’t understand at all, this is her first book i will definitely read her next
dry and witty. main character made me want to murder someone sometimes due to her toxicity. pinnacle of literary fiction. fantastic debut.
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I ABSOLUTELY FUCKING LOVE THIS BOOK. I honestly don't know if I've ever had more fun reading a book than when I read this one. Like it was stereotypically my fav genre of insane girl thinking about things, but like done so well. This book is if sally rooney was gay. Sometimes when I read I want to just rush through to finish, but in this book I really wanted to just savor every moment soak up every word for exactly what it was (especially since word choice was such a theme of the book.) I resonated a lot with the main character, Ava. My only complaint is that she sometimes did things that were frustrating, but really that just makes her characterization all the more fascinating. READ THIS!!!
When I started listening to this 2 years ago, it was torturous, honestly. But, because I hate to DNF, I picked it up again on this random work Sunday and it wasn’t half bad. Although, I really just can’t stand how this is written and maybe the narrator too. I’m sorryyyy
Considering it’s called exciting times ironically this is the most boring, dull book I’ve ever had the displeasure to read.
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i actually came back to this book after putting it down a couple of years ago a couple of chapters in. i put it down because i found it was too much of a sally rooney rip off - honing into the mean milennial girl trope who is a bad feminist. however, after a friend recommended i go back to it on account of it dolan being 'more communist and more gay' than rooney, i conceded and i am so glad i did. this time around, i let myself relish the acerbic wit of the book and found the stringent, complex & highly grammatically focused narration of Ava brilliant and the deliberations on class and the damage of English colonialism across the globe in tune with my own - but also expansive. as someone who works in an English boarding school, the neo-colonialism of a TEFL programme is not far removed from my daily experiences and it was enlightening to watch dolan's disassemble the destructive power structures inherent in the systems of these institutions.
i came to find Julian beguiling and could shamefully relate to Ava's feelings towards him - envious, wanting of approval but also despising him. her relationship with Edith contrasts against her relationship with Julian but also reinforces Ava's deep-seated intimacy issues and her acerbic narration is revealed as fearful under the illumination of her and Edith's relationship.
thank you friend who made me return to this book. i loved it.
i came to find Julian beguiling and could shamefully relate to Ava's feelings towards him - envious, wanting of approval but also despising him. her relationship with Edith contrasts against her relationship with Julian but also reinforces Ava's deep-seated intimacy issues and her acerbic narration is revealed as fearful under the illumination of her and Edith's relationship.
thank you friend who made me return to this book. i loved it.