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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really don't know what it is with Irish writers that they can't write a book like normal people. I don't know if this need for experimental fiction is genetic or environmental, but something's up.
It's my second Anakana Schofield's book and I'm pretty sure her next one will just be a bunch of cut-up words offered in a plastic bag for home assembly by the reader. And I will buy it too, because I really like Schofield's words.
Her characters are not particularly pleasant people, however Bina (after whom this book is titled) is definitely more pleasant than the antihero of her Martin John novel who was a regular sex pest.
In the book Bina tells us she would give us a series of warnings, and if we have any sense at all, we would heed them. Of course, Bina's monologue doesn't have a beginning or an ending. It barely has a middle. Everything is chopped up, chaotic, and the reader needs to put it together patiently to learn Bina's story.
If this is not something you feel like reading in its entirety, let me just pass on some of Bina's warnings:
- tell men 'no'
- don't sacrifice yourself: men don't appreciate and women are too busy sacrificing themselves to notice.
- if a man (especially a tall one) rings your doorbell and wants something, do not open the door.
- if the police wants to search your house, they need a warrant
- if you find a man in a ditch, just leave him there.
It's my second Anakana Schofield's book and I'm pretty sure her next one will just be a bunch of cut-up words offered in a plastic bag for home assembly by the reader. And I will buy it too, because I really like Schofield's words.
Her characters are not particularly pleasant people, however Bina (after whom this book is titled) is definitely more pleasant than the antihero of her Martin John novel who was a regular sex pest.
In the book Bina tells us she would give us a series of warnings, and if we have any sense at all, we would heed them. Of course, Bina's monologue doesn't have a beginning or an ending. It barely has a middle. Everything is chopped up, chaotic, and the reader needs to put it together patiently to learn Bina's story.
If this is not something you feel like reading in its entirety, let me just pass on some of Bina's warnings:
- tell men 'no'
- don't sacrifice yourself: men don't appreciate and women are too busy sacrificing themselves to notice.
- if a man (especially a tall one) rings your doorbell and wants something, do not open the door.
- if the police wants to search your house, they need a warrant
- if you find a man in a ditch, just leave him there.
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this book. It certainly had entertaining moments and for personal reasons I found Bina's anger with Eddy particularly funny. It gave me some [b: Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead|51648276|Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead|Olga Tokarczuk|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565725457l/51648276._SX50_SY75_.jpg|8099373] vibes but the ending wasn't as satisfying.
3.5 rounded up.
3.5 rounded up.
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
slow-paced
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I thought the style was very interesting but ultimately difficult to get into.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Schofield's voice is truly unique. I haven't read a novel with quite the same raw intensity as Bina before, and I wonder if I will again.
The novel, centering around the titular older woman, is difficult to piece together, as the narrator (who is Bina, but sometimes isn't) keeps her cards close to her chest, all while lashing out at the reader (and asking the reader to keep going). What becomes clear, however, is that Bina has dealt with, and is fed up with, trauma at the hands of men. And this screed his her warning: women beware...and men better beware, too.
Toxic masculinity, gender, nationalism, and the carceral state are torn to shreds in this take-no-prisoners polemic of a novel. And it is un-put-down-able (sp.?). Anakana Schofield is truly a talent whose writing is something to behold. I hesitate to call her prose rollicking because it's far more incendiary than the word implies, but there's an exuberance that is often left out of other readers' reviews. And this exuberance makes Schofield a writer I will want to revisit.
The novel, centering around the titular older woman, is difficult to piece together, as the narrator (who is Bina, but sometimes isn't) keeps her cards close to her chest, all while lashing out at the reader (and asking the reader to keep going). What becomes clear, however, is that Bina has dealt with, and is fed up with, trauma at the hands of men. And this screed his her warning: women beware...and men better beware, too.
Toxic masculinity, gender, nationalism, and the carceral state are torn to shreds in this take-no-prisoners polemic of a novel. And it is un-put-down-able (sp.?). Anakana Schofield is truly a talent whose writing is something to behold. I hesitate to call her prose rollicking because it's far more incendiary than the word implies, but there's an exuberance that is often left out of other readers' reviews. And this exuberance makes Schofield a writer I will want to revisit.