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caroisreading's review
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
3.0
This book laid bare all the wounds of my own tech startup traumas. You could read this seriously, or with the levity of dark comedy that it's sold as. It's so exact in its descriptions, the desperate conversations, branded swag, agonizing all-hands, diversity metrics (lack thereof), the hostile undertones that erupt eventually. I felt massive anxiety and nausea reading this.
Cassie is a marketing writer at Voyager, a user data startup promising ROI for its customers. She is far from home, not happy in San Francisco, barely affording rent and needing to buy outlet groceries despite being "senior" in a big tech job. Every day is a new nightmare, as she works endless hours and performs, to be told she's not performing. She relies on drugs, and a half-relationship with a chef, who admits he and his girlfriend are trying an open relationship. Throughout her life, she is followed by a black hole that grows and shrinks. She becomes infatuated with black hole research.
Sarah Rose Etter is a talented writer, and doesn't hold back in her relentless descriptions of late-stage capitalism, have and have-nots, sexism, depression, the helplessness and bitterness of an entire generation trying to survive pandemics and a housing crisis.
I had a hard time sorting through the many metaphors being thrown at us -- fruit and seeds, black holes and space, fire and filth, bloody meat, singularity. On top of this, dictionary definitions marked each chapter, which felt oddly campy and a bit of a disservice to the quality of the writing. All of this made for a distracting read, when I really just wanted to sit in the heart of the rage and recollections of our disintegrating narrator.
This is also a cast of horrible people that you'll need to be fine with hating. Even with Cassie, who endures verbal abuse at home and at work, you'll likely become frustrated, and belabored with the self pity displayed on each page.
You should still give this a try if you're okay mentally with a lot of depressing and triggering content, have survived the woman-in-tech experience (weak laugh), and like trippy, unstable narrator reads.
Cassie is a marketing writer at Voyager, a user data startup promising ROI for its customers. She is far from home, not happy in San Francisco, barely affording rent and needing to buy outlet groceries despite being "senior" in a big tech job. Every day is a new nightmare, as she works endless hours and performs, to be told she's not performing. She relies on drugs, and a half-relationship with a chef, who admits he and his girlfriend are trying an open relationship. Throughout her life, she is followed by a black hole that grows and shrinks. She becomes infatuated with black hole research.
Sarah Rose Etter is a talented writer, and doesn't hold back in her relentless descriptions of late-stage capitalism, have and have-nots, sexism, depression, the helplessness and bitterness of an entire generation trying to survive pandemics and a housing crisis.
I had a hard time sorting through the many metaphors being thrown at us -- fruit and seeds, black holes and space, fire and filth, bloody meat, singularity. On top of this, dictionary definitions marked each chapter, which felt oddly campy and a bit of a disservice to the quality of the writing. All of this made for a distracting read, when I really just wanted to sit in the heart of the rage and recollections of our disintegrating narrator.
This is also a cast of horrible people that you'll need to be fine with hating. Even with Cassie, who endures verbal abuse at home and at work, you'll likely become frustrated, and belabored with the self pity displayed on each page.
You should still give this a try if you're okay mentally with a lot of depressing and triggering content, have survived the woman-in-tech experience (weak laugh), and like trippy, unstable narrator reads.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Blood, Bullying, Infertility, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Abortion, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Excrement, Pandemic/Epidemic, Cursing, Drug use, Misogyny, and Addiction
amandajune97's review
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book. I am speechless. I was so entranced by the writing and the themes being discussed throughout the book. Topics like morality, happiness, and just overall being a millennial in our current society. It was mesmerizing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Pregnancy, Abortion, and Drug use
caseythereader's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Thanks to Scribner Books for the free copy of this book.
- RIPE is one of those books that's satire, but only just barely. I work in marketing, and though luckily I've never had this horrific a job, I see elements from the larger field taken to their logical endpoints all over this book.
- I loved the slight fantastical element of the black hole that follows Cassie around. I'm not sure the device got used to its full potential, but it kept the book from being simply a rote recitation of horrors.
- Although I think the black hole plot thread and the dictionary definition framing device didn't quite work as well as intended, we do a love a book where a character gets an ab0rtion simply because she just cannot have a child right now.
- RIPE is one of those books that's satire, but only just barely. I work in marketing, and though luckily I've never had this horrific a job, I see elements from the larger field taken to their logical endpoints all over this book.
- I loved the slight fantastical element of the black hole that follows Cassie around. I'm not sure the device got used to its full potential, but it kept the book from being simply a rote recitation of horrors.
- Although I think the black hole plot thread and the dictionary definition framing device didn't quite work as well as intended, we do a love a book where a character gets an ab0rtion simply because she just cannot have a child right now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Cursing, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Police brutality, Abortion, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, and Suicide
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Domestic abuse
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