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3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
Realistic book I almost was upset at the ending but I appreciated it and feel like it was pretty realistic.
slow-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
1.5 stars.
(Here are some content warnings. Nothing in this review except brief mention of alcoholism).
Congratulations to Tim Tharp for writing the most hateable protagonist I have ever read.
For Sutter, his senior year is about embracing the weird and having as much fun as he can in the spaces between school and his quiet job at a struggling clothing store. When he meets Amy - a reserved outcast who is invisible to most of Sutter's classmates - he finds a new purpose, and takes it upon himself to show her how to make the most of these next few months and live life in the present.
Sutter has the voice of a 30-year-old misogynist who has never done his own laundry. That was a bit of an issue for me. I'm struggling to express how much I disliked his character and his self-righteous, self-destructive, insufferable and constant dickishness that persists for the entirety of The Spectacular Now.
Surely, surely, Tharp knew he was creating such a flawed and exhausting character. I might have been able to see the value and intention of doing so if Sutter got any better or acquired a shred of self-awareness in this novel, but he really is just awful the entire way through, and so I struggled to see the point. I was just being smothered with the weight of this awful boy for no reason at all.
To be honest, I don't think I liked anyone in this novel. In Sutter's eyes, Amy is supposed to be the pure, lovely one who I should like, but this was impossible when viewing her as he does. Amy is infantilised an uncomfortable amount, and the whole reason Sutter even bothers entering her life is because she is supposedly so helpless and innocent. Maybe Amy could have been a nice character to get to know, but Sutter's perception really ruins it, to the extent where I couldn't even feel sympathetic towards her, and instead just found her annoying.
If I was feeling more generous, I could bump up my rating if I gave Tim Tharp the benefit of the doubt on what he was trying to do with this novel. Because yeah, people like Sutter probably exist and are horrendously awful and don't get any better, so maybe Tharp wrote him this way deliberately, and there are arguments to be had on this being realistic to some extents. But then I return to the age-old mantra regarding fiction (particularly YA fiction, which is packaged in this way): realism shouldn't be allowed to jeopardise a good or entertaining story. I don't want to read about a teenage alcoholic who feels sorry for himself 24/7, drags unsuspecting girls down with him, and needs therapy.
Because of the reliance on Sutter's character for this novel to continue, the plot took a serious hit. Sutter doesn't move, so the book doesn't move. If the narrative wasn't so easy to read, I would have probably given up on The Spectacular Now because there is no reason to continue reading. Especially when Sutter and Amy's relationship was something I fundamentally did not support.
That was exhausting. Glad I was at least reading it alongside something I loved (stay tuned).
(Here are some content warnings. Nothing in this review except brief mention of alcoholism).
Congratulations to Tim Tharp for writing the most hateable protagonist I have ever read.
For Sutter, his senior year is about embracing the weird and having as much fun as he can in the spaces between school and his quiet job at a struggling clothing store. When he meets Amy - a reserved outcast who is invisible to most of Sutter's classmates - he finds a new purpose, and takes it upon himself to show her how to make the most of these next few months and live life in the present.
Sutter has the voice of a 30-year-old misogynist who has never done his own laundry. That was a bit of an issue for me. I'm struggling to express how much I disliked his character and his self-righteous, self-destructive, insufferable and constant dickishness that persists for the entirety of The Spectacular Now.
Surely, surely, Tharp knew he was creating such a flawed and exhausting character. I might have been able to see the value and intention of doing so if Sutter got any better or acquired a shred of self-awareness in this novel, but he really is just awful the entire way through, and so I struggled to see the point. I was just being smothered with the weight of this awful boy for no reason at all.
To be honest, I don't think I liked anyone in this novel. In Sutter's eyes, Amy is supposed to be the pure, lovely one who I should like, but this was impossible when viewing her as he does. Amy is infantilised an uncomfortable amount, and the whole reason Sutter even bothers entering her life is because she is supposedly so helpless and innocent. Maybe Amy could have been a nice character to get to know, but Sutter's perception really ruins it, to the extent where I couldn't even feel sympathetic towards her, and instead just found her annoying.
If I was feeling more generous, I could bump up my rating if I gave Tim Tharp the benefit of the doubt on what he was trying to do with this novel. Because yeah, people like Sutter probably exist and are horrendously awful and don't get any better, so maybe Tharp wrote him this way deliberately, and there are arguments to be had on this being realistic to some extents. But then I return to the age-old mantra regarding fiction (particularly YA fiction, which is packaged in this way): realism shouldn't be allowed to jeopardise a good or entertaining story. I don't want to read about a teenage alcoholic who feels sorry for himself 24/7, drags unsuspecting girls down with him, and needs therapy.
Because of the reliance on Sutter's character for this novel to continue, the plot took a serious hit. Sutter doesn't move, so the book doesn't move. If the narrative wasn't so easy to read, I would have probably given up on The Spectacular Now because there is no reason to continue reading. Especially when Sutter and Amy's relationship was something I fundamentally did not support.
That was exhausting. Glad I was at least reading it alongside something I loved (stay tuned).
Decidí retomar este libro, y el punto en que lo tomé me gustó y continué, pero unas cien páginas después recordé por qué lo abandoné: no soporto a Sutter. En general la trama no va a ningún lugar, me dejó vacía y solamente disfruté unos pocos momentos. Me dejó bastante desanimada.
Every once in a while I enjoy reading a good character driven book. Sutter is a classically unreliable narrator. He's smart, but selective, giving but unmotivated. His story is sad in a way but powerful too for all that he tries so hard to make himself believe that he's happy. He's not, but he still manages to bring genuine joy to others. Definitely liked this book better than it's movie adaptation. It was way more thought driven than expected.
It's subltle for YA Lit, depending on how you read it and who you sympathize with. The ending was sad and frustrating, but not unexpected.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes