Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - A Novel Obsession

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

A Novel Obsession by Caitlin Barasch

11 reviews

kshertz's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was so creepy. The protagonist is so unlikeable. The amount of therapy they need… it’s shocking. The idea that they need to meet the ex girlfriend and stalk them was so sad and depressing. I was hooked though! The ending was satisfying.

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kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This is one of the most unhinged novels I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading! I didn’t know going into it what it was going to be about but by the second chapter I was hooked. The narrator is extremely unreliable and actually quite possibly a lunatic. The plot is mind-boggling. The chapters are long and I hate that, but all in all, this is a fantastic read.

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goatsrsexy's review

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challenging dark tense medium-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

4.5

What a terrifying story. And having read Yellowface last month, it seems this is my summer of books about narcissistic authors.

I went into this book mostly blind, I had it on hold at the library but I keep things on hold for a really long time so who knows when I added it. The whole time I was reading I just felt this sense of dread, I was so so uncomfortable.

Some parts of it, especially the climax, felt a little bit rushed and unrealistic, but I did really enjoy the experience. I like seeing an unlikeable protagonist that is still a deep character with explanations for her actions, and this was done very well.

There's a fair amount of trauma dumping and descriptions of SA and grooming.

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greatlibraryofalexandra's review against another edition

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dark funny tense fast-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

5.0

Unhiiiiiiiinnnnnged.

This book was great. Like a psychological, cerebral, millennial 'Misery.' A meditative "Ingrid Goes West" that had a condemning and satisfying ending (whereas that movie was terrible). I was absorbed in this book even when I was horrified. I understood where this was going to go on page 127 of the book, but it did not deter my enjoyment - and I was even sure I was wrong for a while. I loved the way it played with the perception of self that warps us, as children of the millennia half-obsessed with social media, and how it walked this clever line of being clearly unstable...but also almost convincing you it was a little justifiable, because Caleb...well, he was lying!

It also had a subtle way of accepting its unoriginality by facing it, relying on the repeated theme of "yes, but there are lots of books that focus on women stalking other women" - a tongue-in-cheek acknowledgement of stories recycled, and twisted into something unique, and successful because we all keep going back to the same old thing, and the same old lesson learned. This was just really grody and fun to read and fun to live vicariously through. Am I ever going to behave like this? No, it's psychotic. Do I sometimes want to? Hmm.

There's a voyeur in all of us and Caitlin Barasch is calling us out.

TW: There's a rape scene in this book, but (oddly) I think it's...important. It explicitly discusses the difference between a bodily reaction and a verbal reaction, and the representation of the FMC's mental state over the incident while it is happening is done very very well done.

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