Reviews

A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride

Only show reviews with written explanations

catherine_triel's review

Go to review page

dark sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

adayafterautumn's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

sarahwiltshire's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.5

This is a hard and necessary read. Being so close to this young woman's internal world we are both looking out and fiscerally with her. This is a tough read, the more so in the way the author has used a stream of consciousness style with lots of full stops that makes the reading very abrupt but also so effective. What must it have been like for Eimear McBride to have been with this story as the writer - thank you to her for bringing it to the world.

Content Warnings

theeuphoriczat's review

Go to review page

4.0

This was very painful to read. It took me a bit to get used to the writing but once I did I flew through this book. Our MC went through so much pain, that at some point I just started crying on her behalf. This books is a collage of experiences that make up the MC's life. From growing up in the shadow of her sibling who had brain tumor, to being raped by her uncle, to becoming hypersexual as a young adult and how that shaped the trajectory of her relationships and warped her view of love; including self love. Religion plays a huge role in this book; only that it made her feel unseen and intangible which put a rift between her and her mother. [I don't to even get into her relationship with her mother]. The ending was the part that made me cry so much, on one hand, I think she killed herself in the lake; on the other hand, I am hoping she just took a dip in place of a baptism; because I refuse to accept such a tragic ending to a pain filled life.