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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
dark
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Great book! The characters are so well written. Everyone one is flawed and there’s no “happy” ending. Just have to sit with the sad reality of it all.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Violence, Classism
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not sure how I feel about this book. There were a lot of good observations about the current social and political climate, but overall it felt a bit disjointed and didn’t quite tie together for me.
The book starts with an exposé article about a commune rave gone awry and how it is connected to some scummy London capitalist who lost his gold bar (boofuckinghoo!). After that, each chapter follows one of the (too) many characters from the article. All of which are more or less shitty people, and none of them have much depth too them, it all stays very surface level. Personally, I think it’s too short a book to have so many characters. I‘d have preferred to get more insight into one or maybe two characters.
Reflecting on it, the plots by omission are done quite cleverly. This book is just as much about the characters that don’t get any attention, mirroring who and what the media / society does and doesn’t pay attention to. But I hate it when the media does this in really life, so naturally I also hate it when an author does it in a piece of fiction. Even if it is to make a point. Sorry Natasha, not your fault.
I also struggled because I hate unlikeable / unredeeming characters, and this book had nothing but those. Reading about Richard and especially Lenny was a chore and a half. Had the book been any longer, it would have gone straight into my DNFs.
In the end I’m glad I read it but if you’re not interested in political goings-ons and exploring societal/media failings, best skip this book.
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Interesting.
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
Another hard one to rate because the writing is so sharp and crisp but so gross and uncomfortable to read because everyone in it sucks and we only get to see their shittiness and it becomes overwhelming and grating.
But fr. The author is seeing things and showing us things that we all see but we don't connect the way that she's doing it. That one scene with four middle aged once friends of varying privileges, will haunt me forever. She tied in so many hot button topics - from racist data, to popular eugenics, to blind faith in "science" - via a rageful mediocre misogynist man of a mouthpiece who doesn't understand any of it himself, who's married to what amounts to a modern day bored socialite. Ugh make me puke. Meanwhile, you almost feel bad for the working class journalist amongst them who feels alienated by her financial struggles, who is all the while racist classist and unaware of her own mediocrity and personal failings. I mean this book is like a master class on all the ways our politics reflect our personal failings.
But fr. The author is seeing things and showing us things that we all see but we don't connect the way that she's doing it. That one scene with four middle aged once friends of varying privileges, will haunt me forever. She tied in so many hot button topics - from racist data, to popular eugenics, to blind faith in "science" - via a rageful mediocre misogynist man of a mouthpiece who doesn't understand any of it himself, who's married to what amounts to a modern day bored socialite. Ugh make me puke. Meanwhile, you almost feel bad for the working class journalist amongst them who feels alienated by her financial struggles, who is all the while racist classist and unaware of her own mediocrity and personal failings. I mean this book is like a master class on all the ways our politics reflect our personal failings.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
informative
reflective
slow-paced