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3.19 AVERAGE
3.19 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
these stories were all cut from the same cloth, which is mostly fine by me - I will say though, there’s a limit to how much I can enjoy a bunch of stories about women with body issues in competition with each other having sex with insufferable men - that being said, taddeo’s writing is so fucking brilliant that it works as well as short stories about these subjects could have for me (trans, gay, disabled, lmao) i think I will always be partial to Animal over this, but overall this is solid, enjoyable, written gorgeously as always, etc
After reading this and Three Women, I think I can safely say Taddeo is not for me.
The short stories in this book were all of the same cloth - women who hate their lives, romantic partners, bodies, and other women. I didn't care about any of the protagonists. The writing felt pretentious without much substance behind it.
I can see why those who liked Taddeo's other books would like this one, but I think I'm going to call it a wrap on her writing.
The short stories in this book were all of the same cloth - women who hate their lives, romantic partners, bodies, and other women. I didn't care about any of the protagonists. The writing felt pretentious without much substance behind it.
I can see why those who liked Taddeo's other books would like this one, but I think I'm going to call it a wrap on her writing.
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was incessantly bleak. It was a nine story meditation on how much women love men and hate themselves and how aging is not allowed under any circumstances. The recurring characters were LA, New York, fad diets, smoothies, waxing, skincare, loneliness, desperation, and self-loathing. The writing is good-at times. I loved the line “Five p.m. Pre-dusk late summer Manhattan. Pink like San Diego, blue and swan-cream like Paris. Holy if you’re happy.” And then there’s the other times, like where she refers to a vagina as “a fish trying to panfry itself”. I think one story about the perils and humiliation of getting older and how excruciating and dehumanizing certain aspects of desire are would have been fine, but reading a whole book about how pathetic women are when crippled by their need for men and what great lengths we go to to please them was brutal and exhausting. I was thrilled to finish so my skin could stop crawling and I could enjoy being a woman again. Maybe that the point?
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
dark
funny
fast-paced