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A review by curiousherring
You by Caroline Kepnes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
4.25
I wish I had read this before seeing the TV show, but unfortunately, Netflix got to me first. That's not a bad thing–I absolutely loved the show, but it just made me read the book in a different light. It's always hard to visualise characters in any other way after seeing them on screen, and I couldn't imagine it any other way.
However, I'm not sure if that made me love the book more because it made me think of the show, or if it hindered my thoughts because it took away some of the creativity that reading offers. Would it have been a five-star read had I not seen the show? I have no idea.
I think it must be really hard to write a book from the perspective of a psycho, especially as it's easy for people to then judge the author for being sexist, misogynistic, homophobic, racist or whatever. In many cases (for me, at least) if a character is vile, it's because the author has done a great job of representing them in a sadistic way, aiming to make the character's traits provoke the reader. It's not because the author themselves feel that way. Maybe some do, but I feel like a lot of authors (and, after reading some other reviews, Kepnes seems to have fallen into this, unfortunately), get a bit of a harsh time because of it.
Perhaps that's why I enjoyed this so much. Like American Psycho, I'm amazed that people can write characters so undeniably fucked up. Kudos.
However, I'm not sure if that made me love the book more because it made me think of the show, or if it hindered my thoughts because it took away some of the creativity that reading offers. Would it have been a five-star read had I not seen the show? I have no idea.
I think it must be really hard to write a book from the perspective of a psycho, especially as it's easy for people to then judge the author for being sexist, misogynistic, homophobic, racist or whatever. In many cases (for me, at least) if a character is vile, it's because the author has done a great job of representing them in a sadistic way, aiming to make the character's traits provoke the reader. It's not because the author themselves feel that way. Maybe some do, but I feel like a lot of authors (and, after reading some other reviews, Kepnes seems to have fallen into this, unfortunately), get a bit of a harsh time because of it.
Perhaps that's why I enjoyed this so much. Like American Psycho, I'm amazed that people can write characters so undeniably fucked up. Kudos.