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catriona176's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
4.0
Hazy and dreamlike - won’t be to everyone’s taste.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Gaslighting and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Alcohol and Lesbophobia
moorelaborate's review
2.0
I like the original premise, and it really spotlights the subtle road that gaslighting and mental illness leads you down. That said, the setting and themes clash and make it less relatable and more of a slog to get through.
shawcrit's review
5.0
This is a puzzling, challenging, but ultimately rewarding philosophical novel. I'm not sure if the characterization of this as a "psychological thriller" is just weird marketing or a tongue-and-cheek joke about what it feels like to be an academic and/or a thinking human. I feel like people read "psychological thriller" and think Gillian Flynn-esque books, and this is NOT that. There is a mystery here, but the mystery is not central, at least in my view. It starts off with a kind of dark academia mystery vibe and then upends that whole trope and the conventions of mystery novels. It focuses more on the interiority of the protagonist and how the "mystery" shapes their identity rather than the mystery itself. The reference to Dorothy Sayers' Gaudy Night at the beginning is telling, as I feel like the whole novel is working within and against that kind of narrative. There is a quality of meta-fiction here in that the novel draws attention to its sources and influences while very self-consciously departing from them.
This novel addresses so many themes, but if I had to narrow it down, these are the central issues it addresses:
-inheritance (what is passed down from family, what is passed on from culture, what is passed down in language - also what is lacking in what is passed down)
-language, language, language in general
-the performativity of gender/femininity and the "crazy woman" cliche, as well as mental illness in general
-academia (the toxicity of,)
-what it means to be a person who has to live in the world and navigate people, including the multiple selves we present to the world and the changing self over time.
I agree with other reviewers that the novel doesn't always know what it wants to be, but I think that's the point of it. It's always shifting and going in different directions, sometimes going off on tangents and surrealist passages that don't really end up anywhere. However, the tangents are pretty brilliant and somehow manage to address a wide variety of philosophical concepts and concerns.
As a woman who spent 10 years in academia and deals with mental illness, this book packs a punch and I strongly identify with it. It was not always a comfortable experience, but I truly appreciate what the author is doing here and I look forward to reading more from them.
This novel addresses so many themes, but if I had to narrow it down, these are the central issues it addresses:
-inheritance (what is passed down from family, what is passed on from culture, what is passed down in language - also what is lacking in what is passed down)
-language, language, language in general
-the performativity of gender/femininity and the "crazy woman" cliche, as well as mental illness in general
-academia (the toxicity of,)
-what it means to be a person who has to live in the world and navigate people, including the multiple selves we present to the world and the changing self over time.
I agree with other reviewers that the novel doesn't always know what it wants to be, but I think that's the point of it. It's always shifting and going in different directions, sometimes going off on tangents and surrealist passages that don't really end up anywhere. However, the tangents are pretty brilliant and somehow manage to address a wide variety of philosophical concepts and concerns.
As a woman who spent 10 years in academia and deals with mental illness, this book packs a punch and I strongly identify with it. It was not always a comfortable experience, but I truly appreciate what the author is doing here and I look forward to reading more from them.
prettyamy1's review
1.0
I don't even know what to say about this book. As other reviewers have said, this is definitely not a thriller. I was so close to not finishing but I wanted to find out what happens to the missing friend ... I still don't know what happened.
I was confused so many times in this book. I am sure there will be people who love it but it definitely wasn't for me. Also ... to add "queen psychological thriller" in there is SO misleading. There was a short fling between two women and that was it ... also, not thrilling at all.
I was confused so many times in this book. I am sure there will be people who love it but it definitely wasn't for me. Also ... to add "queen psychological thriller" in there is SO misleading. There was a short fling between two women and that was it ... also, not thrilling at all.
sephyhallow's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
It's not a thriller, so don't pick it up for that reason. And the LGBT+ rep is minimal, so again, not a selling point. But it is a strange, spooky, weird-ass book with some great writing and a sharp wit around the traditions and institutions of academia, along with a whole bunch of philosophy that I honestly took as a pretty funny look at the ridiculousness of how studies that take us so far outside common concerns are stomped on by ingrained social realities - sexism, homophobia, classism and unexamined tradition.
blundershelf's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
3.25
I'll be honest and say I picked this book up solely because Heather O'Neill blurbed it and I think she's brilliant. This book is slippery and I think that's because its unsure of itself. Is it a thriller, a social commentary, a plea, a nothing at all? I like the connections it made - I could feel my own neurons firing as I tumbled along its hallways and staircases. I just wanted it to go a bit more somewhere than it did.
bookcrone's review
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
2.0
This is not a psychological thriller. This is a slow book about a woman in academia. Nothing happens. The mystery isn’t solved. If you are into that, go for it.
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