Reviews tagging 'Death'

Biography of X by Catherine Lacey

25 reviews

bluedilly's review against another edition

2.0

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War

Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Cancer, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Classism

barfbabe's review against another edition

4.25

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, War

mirandakellymacbeth's review against another edition

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I found the world this book is written in (an alternate time line USA) to be super interesting but the characters to lack anything relatable or even enjoyable about them. Like the more I learned about X the more annoyed I was with her and the more annoyed I was for her wife’s obsession (or “love”) for her. Ultimately I decided to stop reading it because it felt a little bit like a drag. I would have preferred a tradition first or third person story form int his world rather than the biography form. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting

Minor: Death, Homophobia, Racism, Abortion, War

vinacasti's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting

savvylit's review against another edition

4.0

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This ambitious novel takes place in an alternate version of the United States in which the South seceded from the rest of the country in the 1940s. For fifty years, the South remained impenetrable to Westerners and Northerners. Then, in the 1990s, reunification began. This unique setting and political context frames the entire "biography."

Biography of X is a sort of literary mystery that's entirely narrated by her widow, C.M. Lucca. C.M. intertwines her discoveries about X's secretive past with memories of her own toxic relationship to her. Readers come to discover alongside C.M. that X was an incredibly unlikeable and manipulative narcissist. At first, her narcissism is harder to see as X hides behind her art. Performance, film, novels - at some point, X did it all. From nearly the beginning of her life, X adopted so many different personas that she became a notorious and inveterate con artist.

X's fictional life as depicted in this story is both glamorous and fascinating. C.M. recounts X's friendships with real-life superstars such as David Bowie, Tom Waits, and Susan Sontag. However, it's not X's glamorous life that makes this novel so compelling to read. Rather, it's the immersive effect of the narration by C.M. C.M. is haunted by X and her controlling ways. Even years after X's passing, C.M.'s life revolves exclusively around X. As she embarks on her investigation, C.M. continues her pattern of deferring her own personality and interests to those of X. Ultimately, this novel offers a fascinating look into the long-term effects of an intimate relationship with a narcissist.

Thank you @netgalley and @fsgbooks for the advanced reader copy of Biography of X in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug use