Scan barcode
A review by an_odd_ducky
The Surface Breaks by Louise O'Neill
1.0
I understand that this book was trying to make a statement, but I felt like it was just trying too hard. I call it ‘paint by numbers feminism:’ the message of feminism is pushed so hard and so simplistically that often the characters themselves spell it out for the reader. It’s exactly what you think it’s going to be. There is no message here that will challenge you to think more or require a deeper analysis.
I struggled with whether to give this book one star or two, but eventually decided it had to be one, because I just didn’t enjoy reading it. Every male character is a caricature of evil, and all the women are empty and actionless. The world is confusing - in the blurb it states this takes place off the coast of Ireland, but the story gives no indication of that setting at all. I spent the whole book trying to figure out what time period it is - mentions of props make it sound like its modern, but then there are also mentions of cravats and the human characters speak like this was set 100 years ago.
It seems like this book is redeemed for a lot of people by its ending, but I am really disturbed by that. Our main character, Gaia, kills the man who tried to rape her, and then chooses to become the equivalent of a siren herself, specifically so that she can carry on killing more men. Like, I am glad Gaia found her voice in those last twenty pages, but it gives really strong vibes that the message of this story is ‘all men are trash and we should kill them.’ Big yikes.
I struggled with whether to give this book one star or two, but eventually decided it had to be one, because I just didn’t enjoy reading it. Every male character is a caricature of evil, and all the women are empty and actionless. The world is confusing - in the blurb it states this takes place off the coast of Ireland, but the story gives no indication of that setting at all. I spent the whole book trying to figure out what time period it is - mentions of props make it sound like its modern, but then there are also mentions of cravats and the human characters speak like this was set 100 years ago.
It seems like this book is redeemed for a lot of people by its ending, but I am really disturbed by that. Our main character, Gaia, kills the man who tried to rape her, and then chooses to become the equivalent of a siren herself, specifically so that she can carry on killing more men. Like, I am glad Gaia found her voice in those last twenty pages, but it gives really strong vibes that the message of this story is ‘all men are trash and we should kill them.’ Big yikes.