Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by samahcanread__
I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
it was pretty convenient that I watched the movie Inside by Vasilis Katsoupis staring William Dafoe in-between reading this book, because if you read the book, you will see some similarities between the plot of the movie and the how things took a turn when reaching the half point of the book.
The premise of the book is simple; an unnamed young woman is going on a road trip with her boyfriend to meet his parents, while she is thinking about ending things.
When I was reading the book, something felt off. The inner monologues of the main protagonist lacked the female gaze. I knew the book was written by a man, and there is a huge difference when it comes to translating the psyche of a female lead into words by a man or a woman. But reaching the plot twist at the end, it all made sense, it all wrapped up beautifully together, making things make sense in a way I didn't see coming. Another thing I liked about this book was how gripping it was. I binge read the last half of the book in three hours. I couldn't put it down. I was on the edge of my seat, wanting more.
This doesn't go without saying that the book didn't have its fault. I wasn't a fan of how the author took little breaks between action packed sequences of the book to drop some life lessons or inner monologues spewing philosophies. It undermined how high the stakes were when the protagonist is trying to survive, yet her mind was running a life lesson in the background.
The premise of the book is simple; an unnamed young woman is going on a road trip with her boyfriend to meet his parents, while she is thinking about ending things.
When I was reading the book, something felt off. The inner monologues of the main protagonist lacked the female gaze. I knew the book was written by a man, and there is a huge difference when it comes to translating the psyche of a female lead into words by a man or a woman. But reaching the plot twist at the end, it all made sense, it all wrapped up beautifully together, making things make sense in a way I didn't see coming. Another thing I liked about this book was how gripping it was. I binge read the last half of the book in three hours. I couldn't put it down. I was on the edge of my seat, wanting more.
This doesn't go without saying that the book didn't have its fault. I wasn't a fan of how the author took little breaks between action packed sequences of the book to drop some life lessons or inner monologues spewing philosophies. It undermined how high the stakes were when the protagonist is trying to survive, yet her mind was running a life lesson in the background.