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baileysbunchesofbooks's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Simultaneously disliked this book and it’s characters but also really appreciated what it stood for. A very toxic, draining relationship, a coming of age moment that you cling to, and a girl who’s only personality is that she reacts to what others want/need from her.
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
5.0
Anna is in her first year of training at a prestigious London conservatory to be an opera singer. She's struggling financially, working in a jazz bar and renting a room in a truly dire house, but she loves her craft. Then she meets an older man and begins a casual relationship with him and her life spins out of control.
I love novels in which women destroy their own lives and this is a variation of that, although Anna is less self-destructive than simply an over-whelmed person who make an occasional bad, but understandable, decision that balloons into disaster. It's less watching someone burn down their own life than it is a reminder at how precarious life is for so many. In Imogen Crimp's novel, Anna is hampered by having been raised by an anxious and over-protective mother and parents who do not support her, financially or emotionally. This is also a novel about the process of studying to become an opera singer, how competitive, repetitious and exciting that world is and how hard it is for someone without outside support and resources to make a go of it, regardless of talent. This is a well-written book that I enjoyed enormously.
I love novels in which women destroy their own lives and this is a variation of that, although Anna is less self-destructive than simply an over-whelmed person who make an occasional bad, but understandable, decision that balloons into disaster. It's less watching someone burn down their own life than it is a reminder at how precarious life is for so many. In Imogen Crimp's novel, Anna is hampered by having been raised by an anxious and over-protective mother and parents who do not support her, financially or emotionally. This is also a novel about the process of studying to become an opera singer, how competitive, repetitious and exciting that world is and how hard it is for someone without outside support and resources to make a go of it, regardless of talent. This is a well-written book that I enjoyed enormously.
mfulms21's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
izzief's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
metalikebeta's review against another edition
4.0
This book made me uncomfy at times because Anna’s attempt at navigating early adulthood get so familiar; trying to fit into boxes to please other people, pursuing your passions even though it scares the shit out of you, and undercurrent of worrying where your rent money is coming from.
wallflowerperks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
slow-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
3.5
vivid and accurate descriptions of many of the thoughts/feelings/experiences had as a young woman in the world. an inevitable train wreck i at times was bored by, and other times I couldn’t look away from. ending was a choice? idk i have mixed feelings!
literamoi's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
booksaremypeople's review against another edition
3.0
Anna is an aspiring opera singer who also moonlights as a nightclub singer. She’s having trouble finding her bearings; she and her roommate are constantly moving and she hates the fact that she has to “entertain” the gaggle of businessmen who end up at the fancy bar where she performs. After meeting one of these men, Max, she becomes transfixed by the ways in which he is everything she is not: stable, successful, mature. As her career blooms, can her relationship grow alongside it? This is a novel that explores ambition, complicated relationships and careers and I think that fans of Sally Rooney will enjoy this writing. There’s a meandering quality to the prose that unfortunately, took me out of the reading experience. Thank you to Goodreads and Henry Holt & Company for the advanced review copy.
momofrank's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.5