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I really struggled with a lot of things in this book, first being the writing quality. I read “Blue Sisters” first before this and I’m glad because had I read this first, I would have never picked up Mellors’ second novel. There are so many hideous little metaphors in this book like “you sound like how biting into an apple sounds,” or “[it] felt like a punch to the vagina.” Dear god, spare me. Also there are syntax and grammatical typos in the copy I read that I am surprised were not picked up sooner by the copy editors for this work.
Secondly, I struggled with the content of the work when it came to characterization. The last conversation between the two protagonists is the only shred of self reflection we get as to why these two incredibly emotionally immature individuals behave the way they do. The reason why? It’s because (surprise, surprise!) they didn’t have a loving father and mother or a stable home environment so they’re always looking to perform for love. This is such a problematic and shallow explanation for people’s behavior that it just really showcases to me the depth of the maturity of the author herself.
Thirdly, and perhaps the most grave issue with this book is the way it treats race, sexuality, and gender. The plot synopsis is extremely misleading, claiming we are going to get a discussion of topics such as gender dysphoria. Instead, that topic is mentioned once and relegated to the back, to be left behind while the trope of drug addiction and internalized misogyny are brought forward. It’s weak and uneducated writing, not to mention an absolutely weak marketing strategy to try and get people to be interested in this book. Additionally, there are extremely tiring racist tropes in this book and microaggressions that just painfully demonstrate to everyone but the author how blindingly white and privileged and sheltered and willfully uneducated she is on these topics. For a book that took over seven years to craft, she somehow forgot to include any social nuance or vantage point beyond her comfortable rich white lifestyle in New York or London.
It’s truly surprising to me sometimes the type of literature that people will call “good,” especially when we’re talking about works like this. Maybe it’s a sign of my age and different interests, but I don’t want to read about two pretentious, selfish, and emotionally immature individuals who desperately need therapy. The writing tropes are overworked and quite frankly lame, the characterization is a joke, and the excessive focus on drug use is just wearisome (and the fact that it’s featured so heavily in “blue sisters” means it’s more of this author’s penchant in her writing). This was very much a massive miss for me and another well deserved lesson on how I am very much not the target audience for this melodramatic and slipshod literature that glorifies emotionally immaturity and self destructive behaviors.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Transphobia, Abandonment, Classism
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Toxic friendship
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Transphobia, Sexual harassment
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal death, Transphobia, Death of parent
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Racial slurs
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Classism
"Wherever you're going is waiting for you" is a phrase that will stay with me.
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Blood, Suicide attempt, Alcohol
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Death of parent
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Transphobia, Vomit
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol
Moderate: Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail