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A review by monazaneefer
But the Girl by Jessica Zhan Mei Yu
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3 stars)
Format: Audible
I wouldn't be surprised if this reduces to 2 at some point. It's not as though it was a bad story but, like Agnes Grey, it was just meh.
It all started when the protagonist, and by proxy, the author, brought out her views on race and cancel culture which I found to be so banal. Up until then, I did like the book but even then it felt underwhelming and after the protagonist's views, my interest did wane a bit to the point that I DNFed it until I realised I couldn't return the credit on audible. So I listened to the remainder with neutrality and till the end, my opinion stayed the same. The whole book was underwhelming; the observations were either trite or too brief. Barely anything I read here was THAT thought-provoking.
It did bring me similar vibes to The Idiot (meandering, observation-wrought) but I think the latter has the edge due to its wit as well as intriguing and fresh observations that were developed. It's this underdevelopment that makes everything in this book feel random - as though the author dipped her toes into multiple things too quickly. The only cohesive elements in But The Girl were Sylvia Plath and art, but the latter was SO uninspiring.
However, I am glad I read this. The whole race/cancel culture mention in the book made me annoyed but driven enough to writemy version of a campus novel...only time will tell whether that'll come into fruition.
Yet, with time (I am writing this about 6 days after I finished reading this), what stands out to me are the The Idiot-vibes and an urge to respond to what I wish this book could've been - which, all in all, is good enough for me to not want to drop this down to 2 stars.
Format: Audible
I wouldn't be surprised if this reduces to 2 at some point. It's not as though it was a bad story but, like Agnes Grey, it was just meh.
It all started when the protagonist, and by proxy, the author, brought out her views on race and cancel culture which I found to be so banal. Up until then, I did like the book but even then it felt underwhelming and after the protagonist's views, my interest did wane a bit to the point that I DNFed it until I realised I couldn't return the credit on audible. So I listened to the remainder with neutrality and till the end, my opinion stayed the same. The whole book was underwhelming; the observations were either trite or too brief. Barely anything I read here was THAT thought-provoking.
It did bring me similar vibes to The Idiot (meandering, observation-wrought) but I think the latter has the edge due to its wit as well as intriguing and fresh observations that were developed. It's this underdevelopment that makes everything in this book feel random - as though the author dipped her toes into multiple things too quickly. The only cohesive elements in But The Girl were Sylvia Plath and art, but the latter was SO uninspiring.
However, I am glad I read this. The whole race/cancel culture mention in the book made me annoyed but driven enough to write
Yet, with time (I am writing this about 6 days after I finished reading this), what stands out to me are the The Idiot-vibes and an urge to respond to what I wish this book could've been - which, all in all, is good enough for me to not want to drop this down to 2 stars.