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spartynole's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sarahhare's review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
lauranisbet's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
walking_library's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
nzstr's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
jeswil62's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
rskey's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Super interesting to see the main character devolve into the villain. Thought-provoking.
madeleinegeorge's review against another edition
4.0
Not the absolute best book to be reading while in the throes of publishing theatrics yourself, but a tour de force nonetheless. Kuang is meticulous and steadfast in her character-building, and it is an exquisite descent from annoyance to amusement to affection to horror to disgust with this protagonist. June is painfully Gen Z and is online as all get out. Her idea of luxury, of unimaginable success, is healthcare, a stable income, and enough money saved to buy a new computer when hers crashes. This, too, is my unimaginable-levels-of-success fantasy. O, to be born in the new millennium.
A book about writing and writers is sorely underexplored. Kuang’s age (she is twenty. seven. read Babylon. read the Poppy War. then read that again: twenty. seven. moving on) and her success give her the perfect voice for this piece-- it sings with all the vigors and insecurities of youth, the paranoia and complications of the digital age, the exhaustion and torment of young womanhood. The whole premise is enough to make your skin crawl-- and it does! Progressively! Throughout! But with unexpected complexities, fresh and exciting characters and dilemmas, and an exploration of the creative and capitalistic mind that is as real as it is horrific. A real treat. Will be reading again.
“ ‘I don’t want to work an office job like you and my sister.’ [...] What’s so important about this next book? I can’t rely on my old work, though I know I can’t make her understand. I need to write the next best thing. And then another. Otherwise the sales will whittle down and people will stop reading my work and everyone will forget about me. [...] I hadn’t realized how much this terrified me: being unknown, being forgotten. [...] When I die I won’t have left any mark on the world, it will be like I was never here at all.”
“ ‘Writing isn’t the whole world, Junie. There’s plenty of careers that won’t give you such constant heartbreak.' But writing IS the whole world. How can I explain this to her? Stopping isn’t an option. I need to create, it is a physical urge, a craving, like breathing, like eating. When it’s going well it’s better than sex. And when it’s not-- you can’t take pleasure in anything else. I want to move people’s hearts. I want the world to wait with bated breath for what I have to say next. I want my words to last forever. I want to be eternal. Permanent. When I'm gone I want to leave behind a mountain of pages that scream SHE WAS HERE. AND SHE TOLD US WHY.”
“I sit with her ghost. I invite her to speak.”
“It was so nice to know someone who understood this exact dream, who understood how mere words became sentences can become a completed masterpiece. How that masterpiece can rocket you into a wholly unrecognizable world where you have everything. A world you wrote for yourself.”
P.S. hundredth book of the year! whoo!
A book about writing and writers is sorely underexplored. Kuang’s age (she is twenty. seven. read Babylon. read the Poppy War. then read that again: twenty. seven. moving on) and her success give her the perfect voice for this piece-- it sings with all the vigors and insecurities of youth, the paranoia and complications of the digital age, the exhaustion and torment of young womanhood. The whole premise is enough to make your skin crawl-- and it does! Progressively! Throughout! But with unexpected complexities, fresh and exciting characters and dilemmas, and an exploration of the creative and capitalistic mind that is as real as it is horrific. A real treat. Will be reading again.
“ ‘I don’t want to work an office job like you and my sister.’ [...] What’s so important about this next book? I can’t rely on my old work, though I know I can’t make her understand. I need to write the next best thing. And then another. Otherwise the sales will whittle down and people will stop reading my work and everyone will forget about me. [...] I hadn’t realized how much this terrified me: being unknown, being forgotten. [...] When I die I won’t have left any mark on the world, it will be like I was never here at all.”
“ ‘Writing isn’t the whole world, Junie. There’s plenty of careers that won’t give you such constant heartbreak.' But writing IS the whole world. How can I explain this to her? Stopping isn’t an option. I need to create, it is a physical urge, a craving, like breathing, like eating. When it’s going well it’s better than sex. And when it’s not-- you can’t take pleasure in anything else. I want to move people’s hearts. I want the world to wait with bated breath for what I have to say next. I want my words to last forever. I want to be eternal. Permanent. When I'm gone I want to leave behind a mountain of pages that scream SHE WAS HERE. AND SHE TOLD US WHY.”
“I sit with her ghost. I invite her to speak.”
“It was so nice to know someone who understood this exact dream, who understood how mere words became sentences can become a completed masterpiece. How that masterpiece can rocket you into a wholly unrecognizable world where you have everything. A world you wrote for yourself.”
P.S. hundredth book of the year! whoo!
sarahreads143's review against another edition
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0