Reviews

What I'd Rather Not Think About by Jente Posthuma

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eunicek82's review

emotional funny reflective sad

4.0

I liked this well enough. It was very readable and a good mix of humor, introspection and sadness in the same vein as Sorrow and Bliss or any of Miriam Toews’s books, but I like those other books much better. I don’t know if it was the translation or the original writing, but by the end, the book felt a little flat and tiresome. I also think it would have been ok for the author to stick to the family story instead of trying to broaden the scope by including historical and current events. It felt a little too surface level with those things. I still think it’s worth a read if you’re craving a sibling story that feels real.

giralka's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-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? Yes

4.5

What I’d Rather Not Think About is a story told in vignettes. It’s the story of a pair of twins, one of whom has taken his own life, narrated from the sister’s perspective. It is apparent how much she loves and resents him at the same time. She talks about growing up with her brother, how they used to be very close as children but grew apart as they got older. She was very co-dependent on him, but he just wanted to live his own life.

The way this story is told reminds me a lot of Aftersun, where viewers get glimpses of the daughter’s father during one vacation. There’s a kind of melancholia that comes from understanding the grief of losing someone.

For a long time, I didn’t have any dreams.

The bit about not having dreams and wanting to disappear on page 103 really struck me. There is an eerie coincidence where the brother had said, “I don’t want to die but I don’t want to live either.” This was the exact sentence I wrote in my journal several months ago, almost word for word, which is why I find it so unsettling.

I can’t say I fully understand the grief and resentment that the narrator experienced, but I do relate to her brother. I have felt a fraction of what drove him into the water; I only hope I never reach that far.

aislingk7's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

vihaandsouza's review

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emotional reflective sad tense

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

3.75

karlijntje_mandarijntje's review

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

mrgeof's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

3.0

really well-written, but not very enjoyable. in particular, incredible portrayal of a narrator who isn't so much unreliable as simply subjective and changing, like we all are.