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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this one, very satisfying to get some great inner reflections from the characters and what I thought was a unique writing style.
5 stars.
Diana Reid continues to form a legacy in Australian fiction. A phenomenal writer who has a signature of tone, she continues to prove just how well she can apply her craft to different stories. Seeing Other People is brilliant. Reid shows how she can bring questioning and uncomfortable truths into a narrative so many young people can put themselves in. She never answers the questions she puts out, but simply asks us to be adults and expand our mind. This is a romantic book like Love and Virtue, but never does it pretend these characters are all good. No one is a hero in Diana Reid's stories. They are all the anti-hero. She gives us the mirror and we have to admit the same.
Diana Reid continues to form a legacy in Australian fiction. A phenomenal writer who has a signature of tone, she continues to prove just how well she can apply her craft to different stories. Seeing Other People is brilliant. Reid shows how she can bring questioning and uncomfortable truths into a narrative so many young people can put themselves in. She never answers the questions she puts out, but simply asks us to be adults and expand our mind. This is a romantic book like Love and Virtue, but never does it pretend these characters are all good. No one is a hero in Diana Reid's stories. They are all the anti-hero. She gives us the mirror and we have to admit the same.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
slayed! love gay people, love intertwining relationships, love australian books. wish there was more shock value but that’s just bc i like thrillers. dialogue just was not realistic or believable at all but her books are just like that and i got over it and can have a laugh at it
The most HOTLY anticipated Australian release this year (well, for some of us), Seeing Other People is the sophomore release of Diana Reid. After loving her debut Love & Virtue absolutely sick, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy of this.
Seeing Other People spans a summer in Sydney, following the end of a long pandemic lockdown. Sisters Charlie and Eleanor could not be more different, but they have always been each other’s greatest love. So what happens when a third person enters the mix, and betrayal and lies come to the surface?
Like L&V, SOP explores the morally grey areas of life, and I frequently found myself considering the characters’ actions and trying to compare who was “worse”. But just like real life, this is nearly impossible. Apart from a few exceptions, no one is completely bad or completely good; we all make decisions in moments of pressure, which we think are the right ones at the time, in an effort to protect those we love the most. I never quite figured out who my “favourite” character was; they’re all so well-rounded, real and complex, which is really a testament to Reid’s fantastic writing.
I also really enjoyed hearing Reid speak at Readings a few weeks ago, as she spoke to how ultimately, people often see the version of us that they *want* to see, and not necessarily how we are. The title of this book is a double entendre; “seeing someone” usually being a euphemism for casually dating, but also referring to truly seeing someone for who they are at their core.
I did feel my attention waning slightly in the middle of this book, and I didn’t quite gobble it up in an afternoon like I did with L&V, but this was an excellent follow-up to a debut for whose success would have been exceptionally difficult to replicate. Reid has done a superb job once again, and I can say with absolute confidence that I would pretty much read anything she wrote at this point.
Seeing Other People spans a summer in Sydney, following the end of a long pandemic lockdown. Sisters Charlie and Eleanor could not be more different, but they have always been each other’s greatest love. So what happens when a third person enters the mix, and betrayal and lies come to the surface?
Like L&V, SOP explores the morally grey areas of life, and I frequently found myself considering the characters’ actions and trying to compare who was “worse”. But just like real life, this is nearly impossible. Apart from a few exceptions, no one is completely bad or completely good; we all make decisions in moments of pressure, which we think are the right ones at the time, in an effort to protect those we love the most. I never quite figured out who my “favourite” character was; they’re all so well-rounded, real and complex, which is really a testament to Reid’s fantastic writing.
I also really enjoyed hearing Reid speak at Readings a few weeks ago, as she spoke to how ultimately, people often see the version of us that they *want* to see, and not necessarily how we are. The title of this book is a double entendre; “seeing someone” usually being a euphemism for casually dating, but also referring to truly seeing someone for who they are at their core.
I did feel my attention waning slightly in the middle of this book, and I didn’t quite gobble it up in an afternoon like I did with L&V, but this was an excellent follow-up to a debut for whose success would have been exceptionally difficult to replicate. Reid has done a superb job once again, and I can say with absolute confidence that I would pretty much read anything she wrote at this point.
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes