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A review by bella613
I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Ok... I originally rated 3.5 but I changed it to 4☆
I think I liked this book. I'm still not sure. I mean... it was good and creepy and then it just kind of went off the deep end. It felt like it was building up to something and then it ended. (Which, maybe, could be the entire point??)
There are parts that just dont make sense.Jake couldn't have been the man from the memory of the guy outside her window bc he would've been a kid then too. And he could not have been the caller because he picked up the phone at least once.
Obviously you're (the reader) supposed to be somewhat confused, especially during the narrator switch and the "we" narrative section. But the story actually didn't line up enough for it to be scary. I kept waiting for something to click and explain the gaps in the story. I think it did get explained, just very poorly so I didn't notice at first.
My conclusion is that Jake is the real narrator of the story, and the Girlfriend is a part of his psyche that he uses to tell the story/ imagines the world through her for a time. That's why he says he never actually gave the girl in the bar his number. He imagined bringing a girl home to his parents and none of it happened. This might just be wrong. Or maybe it's more obvious to others who read the story. But it's the only way my brain can make sense of any of it.
Why the heck else would she follow him into the school instead of staying in the car? Why would she find things familiar about his home and school that she had never been to before? Again, maybe this was obvious to some people but I felt that it was not well explained. I didn't get this hint until thinking over it for a while after I finished. I just think there could have been a better way to wrap it up. But overall the book was good and it definitely captured my attention.
Maybe it would have made more sense if I read the book physically instead of listening to the audiobook, but tbf I think the audiobook has more pros for this one. Great narration and if I had been reading the "what are you waiting for" on the page I would have laughed out loud. (That part was kind of silly anyway but it sort of worked in the audiobook).
I'll say when I first heard of this book I thought it was about suicide and not a breakup so at least that part made easy sense. I almost want to listen again because there really was some deep stuff in some of the dialogue.And now thinking of it as a sort of internal dialogue may make it even better.
I think I liked this book. I'm still not sure. I mean... it was good and creepy and then it just kind of went off the deep end. It felt like it was building up to something and then it ended. (Which, maybe, could be the entire point??)
There are parts that just dont make sense.
Obviously you're (the reader) supposed to be somewhat confused, especially during the narrator switch and the "we" narrative section. But the story actually didn't line up enough for it to be scary. I kept waiting for something to click and explain the gaps in the story. I think it did get explained, just very poorly so I didn't notice at first.
Why the heck else would she follow him into the school instead of staying in the car? Why would she find things familiar about his home and school that she had never been to before? Again, maybe this was obvious to some people but I felt that it was not well explained. I didn't get this hint until thinking over it for a while after I finished. I just think there could have been a better way to wrap it up. But overall the book was good and it definitely captured my attention.
Maybe it would have made more sense if I read the book physically instead of listening to the audiobook, but tbf I think the audiobook has more pros for this one. Great narration and if I had been reading the "what are you waiting for" on the page I would have laughed out loud. (That part was kind of silly anyway but it sort of worked in the audiobook).
I'll say when I first heard of this book I thought it was about suicide and not a breakup so at least that part made easy sense. I almost want to listen again because there really was some deep stuff in some of the dialogue.