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A review by nicolettae
The Pisces by Melissa Broder
challenging
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
1.5 stars. Welp… I uh… I’m not sure what to say about The Pisces. This is definitely one of those “what the hell did I just read?!” kind of books…
I’ll admit, The Pisces had small moments of clever humor/satire and vulnerability I could appreciate. Lucy’s downfall into depression and desperation as she tries to piece her life together is upsetting at a visceral level and her connections with the women in her therapy group were complicated in an intriguing way.
HOWEVER, those tiny moments were completely overshadowed by graphically nauseating descriptions of vomit, shit, cunniligus featuring a lot of menstrual blood, animal abuse, semen, and… well… a good amount of merman anatomy.
Don’t pick up The Pisces thinking it is a lighthearted fantasy romance… our aquatic lead is much less Aquaman and more barnacle covered cod at the local fish market. This is not a romance book… honestly I don’t even know what to categorize this book as… I don’t know if there is really a target demo of people interested in in-depth descriptions of somebody trying to physically dig excrement out of their own ass with their fingers.
Literally the only thing that saved this book from getting a one star review was Broder’s coverage of the therapy groups and Lucy’s hopeless spiral into obsession and depression. Aside from that, The Pisces was gross and uncomfortable in a way that didn’t make you want to reflect, but instead in a way that makes you want to pour bleach into your eyeballs.
I’ll admit, The Pisces had small moments of clever humor/satire and vulnerability I could appreciate. Lucy’s downfall into depression and desperation as she tries to piece her life together is upsetting at a visceral level and her connections with the women in her therapy group were complicated in an intriguing way.
HOWEVER, those tiny moments were completely overshadowed by graphically nauseating descriptions of vomit, shit, cunniligus featuring a lot of menstrual blood, animal abuse, semen, and… well… a good amount of merman anatomy.
Don’t pick up The Pisces thinking it is a lighthearted fantasy romance… our aquatic lead is much less Aquaman and more barnacle covered cod at the local fish market. This is not a romance book… honestly I don’t even know what to categorize this book as… I don’t know if there is really a target demo of people interested in in-depth descriptions of somebody trying to physically dig excrement out of their own ass with their fingers.
Literally the only thing that saved this book from getting a one star review was Broder’s coverage of the therapy groups and Lucy’s hopeless spiral into obsession and depression. Aside from that, The Pisces was gross and uncomfortable in a way that didn’t make you want to reflect, but instead in a way that makes you want to pour bleach into your eyeballs.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, and Excrement