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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
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
I enjoyed this one much more than I expected to! Sharply funny and thoughtful. I most appreciated how the author played with language and communication and what is lost in translation (and I think “played” is the right word, it felt very playful). It’s about a generally terrible white man whose terribleness is in part an attempt to conceal his deep-seated anxiety, so only read if you’re not categorically put off by that sort of thing.
challenging
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
well-written but boring. i didnt care about the protagonist and he repeated himself a lot
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not sure what my enjoyment of this says about me based on the reviews I'm reading, lol
I love lies, I love lying. There's so much exaggeration, suppression, and outright fabrication in the way we communicate. I'm incredibly attracted to our unhinged and petty protag. I haven't gotten palpable social anxiety from a book until I read this.
The prose is goated. I've never seen a burnout's inner world rendered so thoughtfully, so fully, in all shades of dissociation, envy, and intense vacillation. The protag's self hatred also effectively covers up their rare moments of genuine insight and artistic talent, which bubble up over the course of the book like a welcome surprise.
This is a complete, scathing, vulnerable portrait of a wastrel, a twenty-something abroad. Kudos to Ben for confronting his depravity, as this protag feels eerily close to a self report in a way that suggests Ben has long accepted readers might come to this conclusion.
My only issue is the resolution here feels rushed and unearned. Add another 20 pages, don't tie the bow so cutely, and you've got an all-timer for me. Delicious and messy.
I love lies, I love lying. There's so much exaggeration, suppression, and outright fabrication in the way we communicate. I'm incredibly attracted to our unhinged and petty protag. I haven't gotten palpable social anxiety from a book until I read this.
The prose is goated. I've never seen a burnout's inner world rendered so thoughtfully, so fully, in all shades of dissociation, envy, and intense vacillation. The protag's self hatred also effectively covers up their rare moments of genuine insight and artistic talent, which bubble up over the course of the book like a welcome surprise.
This is a complete, scathing, vulnerable portrait of a wastrel, a twenty-something abroad. Kudos to Ben for confronting his depravity, as this protag feels eerily close to a self report in a way that suggests Ben has long accepted readers might come to this conclusion.
My only issue is the resolution here feels rushed and unearned. Add another 20 pages, don't tie the bow so cutely, and you've got an all-timer for me. Delicious and messy.
challenging
funny
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
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Such great prose and intelligence