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northernblonde's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage
Moderate: Racism, Police brutality, and Abortion
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Gun violence
nicolaparty's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug abuse and Medical content
Minor: Racial slurs
bookmark_ishara's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
3.75
No plot just vibes
Tense
No real plot mostly vibes
Intensions we’re unclear and people motivation shifting - true of life
A black woman finding herself through other people, which has its strengths and weaknesses
Tense
No real plot mostly vibes
Intensions we’re unclear and people motivation shifting - true of life
A black woman finding herself through other people, which has its strengths and weaknesses
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Sexual content, Violence, and Police brutality
novella42's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I noticed this book at my library because of its gorgeous cover, and I took it home because I am polyamorous and the blurb mentioned "an open marriage—with rules."
I just need to say... Please don't take this book's depiction of non-monogamy as representative of how to do an ethically open marriage. Holy hell. I feel at a loss to list all the ways Edie and Eric and Rebecca torture each other needlessly. It's a fascinating train wreck to watch, and I found myself looking at my own polycule with renewed gratitude and affection. Leilani doesn't let any of the characters off the hook, and if a lot of their behaviors seem inexplicable to you, well, you won't be alone.
As to the book itself, I appreciated the lyrical, almost psychadelic writing. (If you don't like pose poetry or stream-of-consciousness writing, maybe pass on this one.) Leilani revels in dark Millennial existential dread that kept shocking laughter out of me. She's fantastic at descriptive phrases that catch you off-guard with their originality. I marveled at some of them, their poetic pacing and expansive assumptions, so much I started collecting a list:
"I am suspended in a lurid hypnagogic loop."
"It is impossible to see another black woman on her way up, impossible to see that meticulous, polyglottal origami and not, as a black woman yourself, fall a little bit in love."
"A sudden and swiftly contained conniption."
"Hooked into peripheral intuition."
"The city's breakneck, multilingual carousel."
"Some inconceivable boss-level of concentrated loneliness."
"The bike lanes in Manhattan already terrifying at 11:00 a.m., filled with delivery boys and girls who jet into traffic with fried rice and no reason to live, along with the sentient abdominals who do this for fun."
"The lawn buzzed and alkaline, the vinegar in the wine and carnage in the dew, everywhere the perfume of things that want to live."
I can't imagine what it's like to narrate this as an audiobook, because the rhythm of the words is beautiful and also relentless. Leilani is skilled at pulling you deep into the bewildering internal labyrinth of mental illness and immersive, uncomfortable experiences.
If you carry any traumas, I recommend browsing the full list of content tags. I almost couldn't make it through the scenes with gore and body horror, though Edie's dissociative skills and the eye of an artist made it slightly more bearable. I'm glad I got it in hardcopy instead of audio, so I could skim over difficult dark passages. There were lots of those. I'm not sure why I kept reading, except that I was fascinated. It was hard to look away.
One last thing, a recommendation for anyone who likes disco. I genuinely think one reason I enjoyed this book as much as I did was that in the first 15 pages, Edie references her connection to Idris Muhammad's 1977 song "Could Heaven Ever Be Like This." On a whim, I made a Spotify station out of it and I have to say, it complimented the book and let me surrender to the undertow.
Beautiful writing about broken people living a surreal, twisted story.
I just need to say... Please don't take this book's depiction of non-monogamy as representative of how to do an ethically open marriage. Holy hell. I feel at a loss to list all the ways Edie and Eric and Rebecca torture each other needlessly. It's a fascinating train wreck to watch, and I found myself looking at my own polycule with renewed gratitude and affection. Leilani doesn't let any of the characters off the hook, and if a lot of their behaviors seem inexplicable to you, well, you won't be alone.
As to the book itself, I appreciated the lyrical, almost psychadelic writing. (If you don't like pose poetry or stream-of-consciousness writing, maybe pass on this one.) Leilani revels in dark Millennial existential dread that kept shocking laughter out of me. She's fantastic at descriptive phrases that catch you off-guard with their originality. I marveled at some of them, their poetic pacing and expansive assumptions, so much I started collecting a list:
"I am suspended in a lurid hypnagogic loop."
"It is impossible to see another black woman on her way up, impossible to see that meticulous, polyglottal origami and not, as a black woman yourself, fall a little bit in love."
"A sudden and swiftly contained conniption."
"Hooked into peripheral intuition."
"The city's breakneck, multilingual carousel."
"Some inconceivable boss-level of concentrated loneliness."
"The bike lanes in Manhattan already terrifying at 11:00 a.m., filled with delivery boys and girls who jet into traffic with fried rice and no reason to live, along with the sentient abdominals who do this for fun."
"The lawn buzzed and alkaline, the vinegar in the wine and carnage in the dew, everywhere the perfume of things that want to live."
I can't imagine what it's like to narrate this as an audiobook, because the rhythm of the words is beautiful and also relentless. Leilani is skilled at pulling you deep into the bewildering internal labyrinth of mental illness and immersive, uncomfortable experiences.
If you carry any traumas, I recommend browsing the full list of content tags. I almost couldn't make it through the scenes with gore and body horror, though Edie's dissociative skills and the eye of an artist made it slightly more bearable. I'm glad I got it in hardcopy instead of audio, so I could skim over difficult dark passages. There were lots of those. I'm not sure why I kept reading, except that I was fascinated. It was hard to look away.
One last thing, a recommendation for anyone who likes disco. I genuinely think one reason I enjoyed this book as much as I did was that in the first 15 pages, Edie references her connection to Idris Muhammad's 1977 song "Could Heaven Ever Be Like This." On a whim, I made a Spotify station out of it and I have to say, it complimented the book and let me surrender to the undertow.
Beautiful writing about broken people living a surreal, twisted story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Vomit, and Car accident
Minor: Cancer, Rape, Excrement, Stalking, and Abandonment
st0bbit's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
this book was messy and a little haywire, but i honestly mean that in a good way… i gobbled this book up so fast. the writing style made it really easy to lose myself in the stream-of-consciousness and get wrapped up in everything. my jaw dropped at quite a few lines and i wish i owned a physical copy to just mark out lines and pages that jumped out at me 😭 anyway this is a fast paced book and serves as a snapshot of edie’s life, so naturally there’s not going to be much character development and it will feel a tad rushed, but i also feel like that is the point. i just notched off that 0.5 because the unhingeness does sort of spill over and i wish there’d been a stronger resolution to satisfy my curiosity. but am definitely excited to look out for more of what this author writes as i believe it’s her debut novel!! imo a v strong foundation set up for future works 🫡🫡🫡
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Suicide, and Death of parent
Moderate: Racism and Police brutality
bookishplantmom's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-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 is a very compelling book. I thought the prose was really beautiful in some passages. I loved the overall tone of the story. This sort of hazy, gritty, slice of life approach to storytelling can be very engaging when done well. And it is done well here in my opinion. The characters are flawed and messy which made them feel very authentic. I found the story engaging and at times really gut wrenching. The characters in this book really go through it in some cases. The one thing I wish is that there had bit a little more emphasis on mental health. It was clear to me that many of the characters were deeply traumatized and at no point does the story speak to how mental health is something that requires as much attention and care as physical health. This book is really powerful in some aspects and is a bit of a gut punch at times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage and Police brutality
Moderate: Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racism, and Sexual assault
csryann's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
If you like books that describe themselves as “raw” then u might like this. I felt like the writing took itself too seriously and overall just wasn’t the type of work I enjoy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Police brutality, and Death of parent
heisiiri's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I have mixed feelings about this one. I enjoyed a lot of the themes and social commentary, but didn't find the story super compelling. Sometimes I was in awe of a beautifully written scene, sometimes the writing style felt like it just wasn't for me.
I think my main issue with this book was that it's one of those books that are quite depressing and grim, yet it still doesn't hit the feels enough. Like this isn't the kind of book I would cry over. The main character and narrator Edie seems to hold a certain emotional distance to everything that happens in her life, which can be an interesting character trait, but sometimes it also means that the scenes don't really impact the emotions of the reader either. It's a style choice that can really work for some readers, but it wasn't my cup of tea.
The best parts of this book are definitely the relationships between the female characters. I enjoyed the complexity and depth of Akila and Edie's relationship, and some of the scenes between Edie and Rebecca were great as well.
I think my main issue with this book was that it's one of those books that are quite depressing and grim, yet it still doesn't hit the feels enough. Like this isn't the kind of book I would cry over. The main character and narrator Edie seems to hold a certain emotional distance to everything that happens in her life, which can be an interesting character trait, but sometimes it also means that the scenes don't really impact the emotions of the reader either. It's a style choice that can really work for some readers, but it wasn't my cup of tea.
The best parts of this book are definitely the relationships between the female characters. I enjoyed the complexity and depth of Akila and Edie's relationship, and some of the scenes between Edie and Rebecca were great as well.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racism, and Police brutality
Minor: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Suicide, Death of parent, and Classism
archiveofrasa's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
I have so much love for this book I can't even form proper words that'll do it justice
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage and Sexual content
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Police brutality, and Abortion
dee_hzz's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Abortion, and Alcohol