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chrissssssss's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sandiet's review against another edition
5.0
Let me first start by saying that if you suffer from or know someone who struggles with mental illness this will be a tough read. That being said, I absolutely LOVED this book. My first attempt at reading this was probably about 2-3 years ago but I wasn't in the right frame of mind. Tackling it again and I realized I really enjoy reading Gavin Extence. Abby discovers her neighbour's body when she goes to borrow a can of tomato sauce and this discovery is the beginning of a downward spiral in her mental health. As her family and doctor try to reel her in we get an inside look at what it's like to be on the other darker side of mental well being. Told with dark humour and incredible insight Gavin Extence takes the reader on Abby's journey to what is her state of normal.
I urge you to read either book by this author, you won't be disappointed. His character's are quirky just like he is and you'll enjoy reading about them because you probably know someone just like them.
I urge you to read either book by this author, you won't be disappointed. His character's are quirky just like he is and you'll enjoy reading about them because you probably know someone just like them.
racheltheripper's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
katykelly's review against another edition
4.0
A different subject matter, a different style to Extence's debut. I enjoyed his first so much that I went for this without reading much about it, so it was knowing little that I encountered Abby and her world.
I didn't realise until she was in the middle of her mania exactly what kind of individual our protagonist is. Abby seems reasonable at first, very introspective and cool, sometimes impetuous and of the moment. Her crash (speaking psychologically) is sudden and hard, shocking as well.
Starting with Abby finding her neighbour's recently deceased body, we see Abby's slightly abnormal reactions, then get a feel for her life and glimpses of her family and past. She's a journalist, has a partner, has a psychiatrist. And things take a turn for the surreal as her control spins out of...
You might wonder at the title. I didn't. But it does come to make sense near the end, where a twist I didn't anticipate jumped out. I didn't really warm to Melody though, didn't really see her as a fully formed character, and didn't really understand some of her opinions and choices.
Extence likes to branch out and touch on taboo subjects, though this is very different to Alex Woods. Alex was upsetting in a different way, Abby's story has its shocks and insights.
I'm trying hard not to give anything away as it does help to not see where Abby's life is about to go, to feel the loss of control along with her.
Extence writes a woman well, he writes her life well, it's a journey you feel fulfilled by, strengthened and buoyed up by somehow.
I did prefer Alex Woods I think, but I couldn't stop reading this either. A fascinating insight into a little-known world
Review of a Love reading advance copy.
I didn't realise until she was in the middle of her mania exactly what kind of individual our protagonist is. Abby seems reasonable at first, very introspective and cool, sometimes impetuous and of the moment. Her crash (speaking psychologically) is sudden and hard, shocking as well.
Starting with Abby finding her neighbour's recently deceased body, we see Abby's slightly abnormal reactions, then get a feel for her life and glimpses of her family and past. She's a journalist, has a partner, has a psychiatrist. And things take a turn for the surreal as her control spins out of...
You might wonder at the title. I didn't. But it does come to make sense near the end, where a twist I didn't anticipate jumped out. I didn't really warm to Melody though, didn't really see her as a fully formed character, and didn't really understand some of her opinions and choices.
Extence likes to branch out and touch on taboo subjects, though this is very different to Alex Woods. Alex was upsetting in a different way, Abby's story has its shocks and insights.
I'm trying hard not to give anything away as it does help to not see where Abby's life is about to go, to feel the loss of control along with her.
Extence writes a woman well, he writes her life well, it's a journey you feel fulfilled by, strengthened and buoyed up by somehow.
I did prefer Alex Woods I think, but I couldn't stop reading this either. A fascinating insight into a little-known world
Review of a Love reading advance copy.
kayteaface's review against another edition
3.0
I guess, after reading [b:The Universe Versus Alex Woods|15984268|The Universe Versus Alex Woods|Gavin Extence|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1352436020s/15984268.jpg|21738568] and loving Extence's writing, I had pretty high hopes for The Mirror World of Melody Black. While I still really love Extence's style of writing and the way he weaves a story, I unfortunately found myself quite underwhelmed with this one - and I can't place exactly why or what was the reason for this. I can't pinpoint anything I felt was lacking or anything I disliked .. it's just one of those books that didn't do it for me. I did, however, really appreciate the serious look at Abby's downward spiral into her illness; I have no experience with Bipolar Disorder myself so I found it a definite eye-opener.
anne318's review against another edition
1.0
Ich habs nicht geschafft das Buch zu beenden, weil irgendwie nichts richtig passiert. Die Thematik klang zuerst ansprechend und man hätte sicher was daraus machen können, aber mir war das Ganze deutlich zu monoton und ich konnte mich null in die Hauptfigur reinversetzen.
jacki_f's review
5.0
I loved this. Much like a nervy pregnant woman, I didn't think I could find room in my heart to love another book by Gavin Extence as much as I loved the one I already had ([b:The Universe vs Alex Wood|22379895|The Universe vs Alex Wood|Gavin Extence|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|21738568]), but I do. Melody Black is quite a different book, but at its core there are similarities. Both are about a quirky misfit and both are told with both heart and humour.
I knew very little about the story when I picked up this book. The description on the book's inside cover is extremely vague and the title also gives nothing away - it sounds like a story about a drag queen! - and in any case has only a tenuous link to the plot. My issue, and I suspect the publisher's concern, is that if you know what the book is about you might say "huh, sounds like a downer" and not read it. And yet it's anything BUT a downer. It's clever, it's engaging, it's witty, it's truthful and it's cautiously optimistic. So read the next paragraph with all of that in mind.
The book is narrated by Abby, a freelance journalist in her late 20s who lives with her boyfriend Beck. One evening she goes to borrow a can of tomatoes from their neighbour and finds his dead body in his living room. (This is not a thriller - the death is from natural causes.) The discovery affects Abby. She develops insomnia and starts to have increasingly wild ideas. Gradually we learn that Abby has bipolar disorder and that the incident has triggered a spiral into mania. Which is what the book is about - what happens to Abby next.
As Gavin Extence explains in the Author's Note at the end of the book, he has some experience of mental illness on which he has drawn to create Abby's completely fictional story. Perhaps this is why the descriptions of how she feels and behaves seem so real and comprehensible. The book is littered with the kind of sentences that you want to read out to someone. One example I loved is when Abby is talking about her sister Fran: "Fran was never someone who was likely to understand her little sister's mood disorder. In terms of her own mental health, she was the equivalent of the person who has never caught a cold."
I loved this book. Abby got under my skin and I am sorry to be saying goodbye to her. Bravo Gavin Extence.
I knew very little about the story when I picked up this book. The description on the book's inside cover is extremely vague and the title also gives nothing away - it sounds like a story about a drag queen! - and in any case has only a tenuous link to the plot. My issue, and I suspect the publisher's concern, is that if you know what the book is about you might say "huh, sounds like a downer" and not read it. And yet it's anything BUT a downer. It's clever, it's engaging, it's witty, it's truthful and it's cautiously optimistic. So read the next paragraph with all of that in mind.
The book is narrated by Abby, a freelance journalist in her late 20s who lives with her boyfriend Beck. One evening she goes to borrow a can of tomatoes from their neighbour and finds his dead body in his living room. (This is not a thriller - the death is from natural causes.) The discovery affects Abby. She develops insomnia and starts to have increasingly wild ideas. Gradually we learn that Abby has bipolar disorder and that the incident has triggered a spiral into mania. Which is what the book is about - what happens to Abby next.
As Gavin Extence explains in the Author's Note at the end of the book, he has some experience of mental illness on which he has drawn to create Abby's completely fictional story. Perhaps this is why the descriptions of how she feels and behaves seem so real and comprehensible. The book is littered with the kind of sentences that you want to read out to someone. One example I loved is when Abby is talking about her sister Fran: "Fran was never someone who was likely to understand her little sister's mood disorder. In terms of her own mental health, she was the equivalent of the person who has never caught a cold."
I loved this book. Abby got under my skin and I am sorry to be saying goodbye to her. Bravo Gavin Extence.
pebbles1984's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
Alex Woods was an unexpected surprise, and because of that, I expected something similar. I appreciate how personal this book is and it gave an honest account of bipolar disorder. However, I never felt as engaged with the book or characters as I did with Alex Woods, and some events in the book didn't make ful sense.
Alex Woods was an unexpected surprise, and because of that, I expected something similar. I appreciate how personal this book is and it gave an honest account of bipolar disorder. However, I never felt as engaged with the book or characters as I did with Alex Woods, and some events in the book didn't make ful sense.
lissi_k's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
zimnotutaj's review against another edition
3.0
An enjoyable book that handled the topic of a bipolar disorder pretty well. I have to admit I liked the author's other book a bit more tough. I kind of dislike the title of this one, too. Melody Black is a suprisingly little and meaningless part of this book, so don't expect to read a story about her. Also - the last 1/3 of the story is the weakest part in my opinion.