Reviews with content warning for Drug use - Ripe

This feels like a less-good mashup of SEVERANCE and MY YEAR OF REST AND RELAXATION. The "black hole" metaphor for the main character's depression is too on-the-nose for me, and every character is a caricature, too easy to hate. Etter also brings up social issues like homelessness and drug use but only to make simple observations with no actual feeling, message, or point. (There are lots of references to shit in the streets, supposed to serve as a sign of the prevalence of the unhoused in the money-hungry, tech-obsessed city, though Etter makes small [if obvious] attempts to humanize them as well.)

A quick pandemic warning: I couldn't help but say "Ugh" when, very early in the novel, a certain virus is mentioned, but thankfully, it's only a small presence lurking in the background of the novel. The story takes place before things really get crazy, starting with the very first headlines and ending with everyone only just beginning to mask. So if you, like me, fear, loathe, scoff at, etc., the dreaded "pandemic novel," no worries, this isn't really one.

I did like how stylized everything in the novel was, from the repeated pomegranate imagery to the black hole drawings to the dictionary definitions at the start of each chapter. I just wish I liked the content inside the form more.

All that being said, it was a very easy and quick read, and it broke me out of my reading slump. Thanks, Etter!

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solasuaine's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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absolute_bookery's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Loved this! A very sharp and witty reflection on the 'corporate hustle'. Sad to read but so relatable! Would recommend?

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dee97's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

As a depressed girlie working in the tech world, this book hit a little too close to home. It is one of those books that gets under your skin. I was so deeply affected by this book, the writing is bleak and the author uses magic realism namely a “black hole “ to highlight the depressing atmosphere. Every thing Cassie felt , i have felt at some point and i was unsettled by the end. The theme of loneliness, class difference, mental health, lunacy of the cooperate world and the existential dread is brilliantly handled . This will stay with me for a long time.

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samagra's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

hits a little too close to home……basically my life rn exaggerated to an intolerable degree 😮‍💨

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avocadotoastbee's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Ripe is for people with mommy issues who cried watching Ladybird and enjoyed My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfeigh, as well as Sarah Rose Etter's previous novel The Book of X.

Just as in The Book of X, we follow the protagonist, Cassie. Perhaps it is a different version of Cassie from The Book of X. The novel is set in Silicon Valley, where Cassie works at a tech start-up and struggles with life in the late capitalist world - housing crisis, a deadly virus, working 90 hours a week and appearing to cope with it all.

"A single choice made with the best intentions can become a terrible life. Imagine biting into a seemingly ripe fruit, only to have your mouth filled with rot."

What makes the story so bizarre is that Cassie was born with a black hole always hovering next to her.
If you've read The Book of X and liked Etter's writing style, you'll love Ripe, too.
Throughout the book, Sarah Rose Etter inserts facts about black holes, physics, and word definitions.

"it was just me and the black hole, which spiraled wider. I stared into the abyss and wondered, not for the first or the last time, what would become of me if I let myself fall inside."

I just wished the ending hadn't been so abrupt. I would have liked to know more about Cassie's thoughts after the abortion and how she felt at her last meeting at work. I feel like the last few pages could have been stretched out a bit more.

All in all, I was stunned by Ripe. I related to it on a deep level and at times I felt like Etter was in my head, taking my life and thoughts as inspiration. The way she describes certain themes is unmatched. I can't wait to read more from her.
She has easily become one of my favorite authors this year.

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