Long Story Short: New York in a whirlwind of art, sensible depictions of mental illness and heartbreak seasoned with a strong sense of irony.

Coco Mellors has terrific writing skills: each POV reads like being inside the character's mind, and the recurring humor never gets old. I particularly enjoyed the switching between Cleo and Frank and their friends and acquaintances. The pacing helped to maintain a constantly refreshed narrative while providing each character with the breathing time they needed to be explored and developed. This includes the city as well since we get the feeling that New York is always present, its lights glistering in the background.
Perfect for anyone who enjoys Sally Rooney's representation of toxic relationships looking for a more hardcore read!

Content Warnings

bookshelfhannah's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-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

4.0

Content Warnings

sammyjogeara's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

4.75

I finally fucking finished this book. And I want to cry about it. This was an emotional roller-coaster and a real coming of age story — of all ages. Self-harm, self-hate, self-sabotage, trauma, depression, dysmorfofobia, addiction, alcoholism, co-dependency. I’m really happy I paced myself reading this since it turned out to be one of the best — yet most painful — books I’ve read this year. I feel empty and full at the end of this and through it all still a message of hope, of overcoming once own adversities and somewhat killing your darlings. I genuinly recommend you to read this. However beware — you’re going to need to eat your feelings at the end of it.

Content Warnings

kashmore's review against another edition

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dark sad fast-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

1.5

I thought that this book was satire until I realized it wasn’t. To me, much of conversation between characters seemed contrived, and I initially thought that could be intentional. I found parts of book compelling—particularly the Eleanor chapters—but overall felt the changing perspectives in each chapter were more gimmicky than constructive. Plot points are introduced and then abandoned, or major events/conversations overlooked or only referred to as having happened off screen. I’m thinking specifically about

Quentin’s character and how he is sidelined soon after being introduced — there’s little we hear from him after his introductory chapter, only to have it revealed at the end of the book that he’s been struggling with drug addiction, with little followup or commentary from any of the other characters

. I did finish the book and found it to be a quick read, and despite it dealing with some very serious issues, did not find it weighed down or overly dragging.

Content Warnings

milanaradic's review against another edition

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dark funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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