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lucakocsis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.75
Then my ears went funny, and I noticed a big, smudgy-eyed Chinese woman staring idiotically into my face. It was only me, of course.
I'm not sure why it is, but I love food more than just about anything else. No matter how much I eat, I never put on weight.
Avocados are my favourite fruit.
I hate technicolour. Everybody in a technicolour movie seems to feel obliged to wear a lurid new costume in each new scene and to stand around like a clothes-horse with a lot of very green trees or very yellow wheat or very blue ocean rolling away for miles and miles in every direction.
I was so busy thinking how very fat he was and how unfortunate it must be for a man and especially a young man to be fat, because what woman could stand leaning over that big stomach to kiss him, that it didn't immediately realize what this student had said to me was an insult.
'Well what do you say?'
' I said Gladys was free, white and twenty-one.'
I thought the TB (tuberculosis) might just be a punishment for living the kind of double life Buddy lived and feeling so superior to people.
He could almost have been an American, he was so tan and had such good teeth, but I could tell straight away that he wasn't.
I'd always spoil what I did so nobody would ask me to do it again.
She was a fat, middle-aged woman with dyed red hair and suspiciously thick lips and rat-coloured skin
But everything concave about Buddy had suddenly turned convex. A pot belly swelled under the thight white nylon shirt and his cheeks were round and ruddy as marzipan fruit. Even his laugh sounded plump.
'He's from Peru.'
'They're squat,' I said. 'They're ugly as aztecs.'
The face in the mirror looked like a sick Indian.
My grey suitcase rode on the rack over my head, empty except for The Thirty Best Short Stories of the Year, a white plastic sunglasses case and two dozen avocado pears, a parting present from Doreen.
I peered at him from the corner of my eye. He didn't look a day over sixteen.
'Do you know how old I am?' I said accusingly. The sailor grinned at me. 'Nope, and I don't care either.' It occurred to me that this sailor was really remarkably handsome. He looked Nordic and virginal.
Once, on a hot summer night, I had spent an hour kissing a hairy, ape-shaped law student form Yale because I felt sorry for him, he was so ugly.
His name was Cal, which I thought must be short for something, but I couldn't think what it would be short for, unless it was California.
Then I rode from the table, passing round to the side where the nurse couldn't see me below the waist, and behind the negro, who was clearing the dirty plates. I drew my foot back and gave him a sharp, hard kick on the calf of the leg.
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Ableism, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Homophobia, and Excrement
emilyjamison14's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Mental illness and Suicide attempt
Minor: Racism, Fatphobia, and Homophobia
booksandmoe's review
4.0
It’s beautifully written, and some passages are among the most moving I’ve ever read, however it’s also a novel of its time and has some very misogynistic, racist and homophobic rhetoric.
Additionally, there are some graphic references to SA, suicidal thoughts and acts of suicide , if you are sensitive to any of those topics I would approach this one with caution.
All in all I can see why this is a modern classic and is definitely a great novel to analyse and dissect
Graphic: Self harm, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, and Racism
jkandert2's review
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Suicide
intofolkloreee13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Racial slurs, Homophobia, Racism, and Suicide
sjhonarvar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Rape, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, and Self harm
annahollamby's review against another edition
- 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
2.0
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Medical trauma, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Classism, Antisemitism, and Homophobia
stilestastic's review against another edition
- 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
2.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Suicide attempt, Dysphoria, Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicide
Moderate: Classism, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Medical content, Racism, Body shaming, Addiction, Homophobia, and Racial slurs
em_anderso42's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Death, Mental illness, Rape, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Suicide
Minor: Racism and Homophobia
rhiannonmohar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Self harm, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Addiction, Suicide, Rape, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis