Reviews

Chelsea Girls by Eileen Myles

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mxawprince's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

2.5

Very unreletable to me. I liked the prose, but the contents were a bit cringey because I don't like dysfunctional, helpless, characters that are chaotic in a constantly sad and depressive way. It's described as a coming-of-age story, but it was super static; more navel-gazey than actually introspective.

MAJOR TW FOR THE "POPPONESSET" CHAPTER: graphic depiction of rape.

Content Warnings

jmcook's review

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emotional reflective 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

3.5

alyceno's review

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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

3.0

hannahlouise_'s review against another edition

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reflective fast-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

4.5

becksbooksmpls's review

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective slow-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? Yes

3.5

gaygothiccowboy's review against another edition

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dark funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

gourdonne's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring 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

3.5

lizawall's review against another edition

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5.0

awhile ago i tried to get this book and couldn't or maybe gave up too soon? (i wish i had it with the eisenman cover.) i've had different mixed feelings about eileen myles over the years but lately all those feelings are resolving into maybe slightly sheepish love and adoration. i keep seeing her around town, it seems like all the time everywhere i go there she is, and it's like one of her talents that she's just really good at hanging around, hanging out, being present. whenever i see her i swear she looks at me like she knows me, but probably she is just recognizing that i am looking at her like i know her, that i do know her. anyway, reading this book really evoked the feeling of running into her, like it is so much about just wandering the streets of new york, hanging around. and then too the book is somehow like the feeling of her looking at you looking at her, knowing that you see her. i think she would be a hard person to be friends with, but then i feel in some way i am friends with her, and it is hard. i guess i'm saying i worry about her. this book, i thought, was sexier than inferno, but sadder, too, and i guess the sexiness and the sadness are all strewn together, like the self-absorption/grandiosity and pathetic loserdom are too. just like life, i guess. one thing i wondered about a lot was the process of writing it. i could imagine it all being tapped out in one sitting at a typewriter or carefully constructed and moved around and framed and re-framed over years, and i don't think it would really change my opinion of it one way or the other to know the answer, but i'm just curious.

katy_anne's review

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dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

4.0

sunxicarus's review

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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