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jennykeery 's review for:
The End of Mr. Y
by Scarlett Thomas
'The End of Mr. Y' is on the whole an excellent, rewarding read. There is lots to admire, but I especially loved the prominent role of language and books, and how the main character approaches all of the philosophical and scientific ideas from a literary perspective. I have no complaint about any of these ideas being simplified or quite basic, as I think they serve their purpose well regardless; the novel is about mystery and the pursuit of knowledge rather than a close study of any one particular theory.
I have a slight obsession with the significance of names in books, and I love that Thomas clearly put some thought into her choices. As soon as I read that the protagonist's name is Ariel, I genuinely thought: 'Hmm, Plath or Shakespeare?' and to my delight my question actually got answered in the novel! Ariel says she re-named herself after 'the poetry not the play' which made me feel like I was having some sort of surreal conversation with her. I was also amused by Thomas' self-references: the author of Mr. Y is called Thomas Lumas, and there are lots of nudges about St. Thomas too, interesting!
I am in two minds about Ariel's character, however. I loved her curiosity and thirst for knowledge, but the self-destructive side of her character jarred with me, I think it was too thickly laid on. The cringe-inducing, poorly written sex scenes did not help me warm to the 'bad' side of her either.
This brings me to Thomas' actual writing, some of which I loved: 'There is a high probability that if you know everything, there'll be something to actually believe in', and some of which went through me like nails on a chalk-board: 'It's like period pain in my head', and 'I want to drown in a pool of sulky, pissed-off Adam.' The inconsistency in quality is quite strange, but the entire book is strange so it almost adds to the unsettling and mysterious tone of the novel!
Overall I would absolutely recommend 'The End of Mr. Y' despite its flaws, as it is a novel that will stick with me for a long time.
I have a slight obsession with the significance of names in books, and I love that Thomas clearly put some thought into her choices. As soon as I read that the protagonist's name is Ariel, I genuinely thought: 'Hmm, Plath or Shakespeare?' and to my delight my question actually got answered in the novel! Ariel says she re-named herself after 'the poetry not the play' which made me feel like I was having some sort of surreal conversation with her. I was also amused by Thomas' self-references: the author of Mr. Y is called Thomas Lumas, and there are lots of nudges about St. Thomas too, interesting!
I am in two minds about Ariel's character, however. I loved her curiosity and thirst for knowledge, but the self-destructive side of her character jarred with me, I think it was too thickly laid on.
Spoiler
I understand that this is necessary in the light of the ending, as she supposedly becomes Eve and so self-destruction is required, but this didn't make me like the clumsy self-harm references any more.This brings me to Thomas' actual writing, some of which I loved: 'There is a high probability that if you know everything, there'll be something to actually believe in', and some of which went through me like nails on a chalk-board: 'It's like period pain in my head', and 'I want to drown in a pool of sulky, pissed-off Adam.' The inconsistency in quality is quite strange, but the entire book is strange so it almost adds to the unsettling and mysterious tone of the novel!
Overall I would absolutely recommend 'The End of Mr. Y' despite its flaws, as it is a novel that will stick with me for a long time.