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hoax_meal's review against another edition
medium-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
do yourself a favor and skip this one. I've read 4 books this year and this is the worst so far. awful characters, racism, absolutely no substance. you would get more out of a peanuts comic strip than this joke of a book.
Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, Hate crime, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Sexism and Racism
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Excrement, and Misogyny
teri_reads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-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 was so interesting. It’s one of those books where no one involved is a good person. And yet, based on the point of view you’re reading the book from, you still root for certain people over others and choose sides. This definitely made me think and reflect when I was done. There’s definitely some things that are said that made me a bit uncomfortable, but knowing who they were coming from and their mental state, it felt different. Definitely one you really have to think about.
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Murder and Mental illness
mixxy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
3.0
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Racism and Mental illness
theskyboi's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
At the outset, the novel is an ambitious one; each section of the book is meant to correspond to one of the courses in a lavish dinner between two couples. However, the story quickly loses its initial vision in favor of relying heavily on flashbacks.
The narrator is one of the least charismatic characters in the novel, which would not be an issue if his story was of any actual consequence. He floats aimlessly from assertion to assertion, dragging the reader along through his purportedly factual account of events throughout his life. All the while, the conversation happening during the actual dinner suffers from lack of care from the author.
The mystery of the book—if it can truly be called that—also gets sidelined by the narrator's incessant need to insert himself into every potential scenario, except for one that captivates the reader. Although it can be argued that the protagonist is so stubbornly opinionated in order to mock this myopic behavior in the real world, the author does not ever set up a situation that truly admonishes him for being so problematic.
Do not read this book if moments of graphic violence or racial prejudice are not something you tolerate in your reading. On the whole, the most interesting characters of the book are the wives of the men at the dinner, but their perspectives are limited to what their husbands think of them. Perhaps it was possible to find some enjoyment, but it was in spite of what the author penned.
The narrator is one of the least charismatic characters in the novel, which would not be an issue if his story was of any actual consequence. He floats aimlessly from assertion to assertion, dragging the reader along through his purportedly factual account of events throughout his life. All the while, the conversation happening during the actual dinner suffers from lack of care from the author.
The mystery of the book—if it can truly be called that—also gets sidelined by the narrator's incessant need to insert himself into every potential scenario, except for one that captivates the reader. Although it can be argued that the protagonist is so stubbornly opinionated in order to mock this myopic behavior in the real world, the author does not ever set up a situation that truly admonishes him for being so problematic.
Do not read this book if moments of graphic violence or racial prejudice are not something you tolerate in your reading. On the whole, the most interesting characters of the book are the wives of the men at the dinner, but their perspectives are limited to what their husbands think of them. Perhaps it was possible to find some enjoyment, but it was in spite of what the author penned.
Graphic: Death, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Miscarriage, and Mental illness
Minor: Homophobia, Chronic illness, and Drug use
The book depicts various violent and bigoted acts and views throughout its pages, and its narrator expresses no remorse for his neutral and sometimes approving stance on them.
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