Reviews - In Watermelon Sugar

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1.39k reviews for:

In Watermelon Sugar

Richard Brautigan

3.51 AVERAGE

atomiic_sunshine's review against another edition

2.75

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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: No

It's a very romantic story about the apocalypse, even if the actual romance is not.

Let's not start with dishonesty, I read this because Harry Styles recommended it, and that is the only reason. And, to continue with this streak of honesty, between this and being a fan of Charles Bukowski, we might have some red flags. I don't really know how to put it into words, but something about the protagonist sets off alarm bells for me. He feels like a creep. Or an incel. But like - I couldn't give you an example as to why. It's just a feeling, like, you know when you know (who the fuck to avoid). It all started when it makes clear that he is having a relationship with a girl significantly younger than him (him being 29) and her exact age is never clarified. Honestly, I couldn't even enjoy the book because of the weird vibes I got from the protagonist. It is actually a deep and compelling story with a world I am dying to learn more about but I couldn't get past trying to figure out the main character's motivations.

It's got me, like, why do they only grow watermelons? What happened to the world? What is iDeath? What were the tigers supposed to symbolize? But all I could think about was how old that girl was.

Content Warnings

mirandaosmelak's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 8%

dark funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

emmakchambers's review against another edition

3.25

challenging funny mysterious reflective relaxing slow-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: No

this book is weird as hell. but still quite interesting

Content Warnings

somewhereinbooks's review against another edition

3.0

‘In Watermelon Sugar’ by Richard Brautigan is one of those books that I can’t decide whether I love it or hate it. It’s very surreal and trippy and it definitely won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. I was confused as I was reading but at the same time I was enjoying myself and I found that I didn’t really want to put it down. The language used is very poetic and entrancing, but I also felt somewhat high whilst reading.

This book is a very short, quick read and I would recommend it if you like books that are a little weird and quirky or if you’d like to try some of Brautigan’s work before committing to a longer length novel. I would definitely like to read more of Brautigan’s work after reading ‘In Watermelon Sugar’.