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poisonenvy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Rob Flemming's life isn't quite going how he expected. His record store is nearly failing, and his long-term girlfriend has left him. He's in a rut, and can't quite figure out where he went wrong.
What went wrong is that he's a deeply unlikeable, self-centred guy. Everything is always about Rob, all the time. He never really considers other people's feelings. He's whiny, and expects things to just work out because he wants them to, not because he's willing to put any effort into it. He's misogynistic -- women only exist for what they can do for him, and what they can do for him is pretty much just sex.
But the book is captivating. It took a few chapters for it to really grab me, but once it did I was hooked and I ended up finishing this book in under 24 hours. The way it feeds you information -- it makes you sympathize, sort of, with Rob, only for it to drop bombs later that make you realize what sort of person he is. Rob never really got any better, but the book ends with him seeming like he might be on the right path, and I especially loved the idea that life is messy and terrible, and sometimes you just need to work at making things turn out instead of just jumping immediately to the next shiny object.
My reading was accompanied with a Spotify playlist made up of all the songs that are mentioned in the book which was nice.
I don't think I've ever seen this movie (even though it's one of the favourite movies of one of my best friends), and I didn't even know there was a new Hulu series until the cover of the copy was given to me mentioned it, but I'd probably give them both a shot.
What went wrong is that he's a deeply unlikeable, self-centred guy. Everything is always about Rob, all the time. He never really considers other people's feelings. He's whiny, and expects things to just work out because he wants them to, not because he's willing to put any effort into it. He's misogynistic -- women only exist for what they can do for him, and what they can do for him is pretty much just sex.
But the book is captivating. It took a few chapters for it to really grab me, but once it did I was hooked and I ended up finishing this book in under 24 hours. The way it feeds you information -- it makes you sympathize, sort of, with Rob, only for it to drop bombs later that make you realize what sort of person he is. Rob never really got any better, but the book ends with him seeming like he might be on the right path, and I especially loved the idea that life is messy and terrible, and sometimes you just need to work at making things turn out instead of just jumping immediately to the next shiny object.
My reading was accompanied with a Spotify playlist made up of all the songs that are mentioned in the book which was nice.
I don't think I've ever seen this movie (even though it's one of the favourite movies of one of my best friends), and I didn't even know there was a new Hulu series until the cover of the copy was given to me mentioned it, but I'd probably give them both a shot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Sexism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Rape and Ableism
The ableism is found in a single use of the r-word early on in the novel.
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