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gothbaby 's review for:
Like a House on Fire
by Lauren McBrayer
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Lauren McBrayer’s Like a House on Fire tore me apart and put me back together in the span of 320 pages.
One of my most anticipated reads of the year, I seriously struggled with the first 51% of the book, yearning for Merit and Jane’s budding friendship to slow down; for the two of them to be more distinctive from one another and less two dimensional; cringing at the amount of times the author used the term “tits” or used “bitch” as a term of endearment. I was almost disappointed. Almost.
While my previous critiques hold true and I stand by the fact that Merit and Jane’s friendship felt too rushed for me, I think the latter half of the book made up for the lack of yearning and longing and desire. There was a very clear shift in Merit’s thinking and acting, which was very interestingly obvious in the writing. The first half of the book contained several self deprecating statements, an obvious low esteemed view of Merit’s life and while that seemed intentional, I considered giving up several times because I could not get into the writing.
Another aspect that threw me off was the nonexistent timeline. There were chapters where the passing of time was mentioned—sometimes days, sometimes years—but I had a hard time keeping up with the timeline itself, and thus the progression of the main characters’ relationship.
The second half, on the other hand, took me through such an emotional roller coaster that I felt my own chest aching for Merit. For Jane. I think the author handled Merit’s self-discovery and sexuality with so much care and delicacy that I relived my own experiences through her writing. Merit’s confession to Jane and Jane’s subsequent concurrence felt personal and real and like I was the one coming to terms with falling in love. I will cherish Lauren McBrayer’s writing of that confession in Mexico because it made me feel the characters’ fire and their own desires for one another.
I found that the author’s writing improved significantly as she wrote about the two women’s bond, so solid and giving and graceful. Their relationship was clearly dear to the author and, once again, the care that was devoted to cultivating such loving moments between the two (despite the nature of their relationship) was just so touching I read several passages more than once.
Overall I wish I could have a rewrite of the first half of the book as well as the characters to ensure they read and felt like two different women, and simultaneously wish I could reread and experience Like a House on Fire for the first time all over again. The execution of the relationship itself was beautiful in my opinion, and I will likely read it again and again and again.
Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Lauren McBrayer for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
One of my most anticipated reads of the year, I seriously struggled with the first 51% of the book, yearning for Merit and Jane’s budding friendship to slow down; for the two of them to be more distinctive from one another and less two dimensional; cringing at the amount of times the author used the term “tits” or used “bitch” as a term of endearment. I was almost disappointed. Almost.
While my previous critiques hold true and I stand by the fact that Merit and Jane’s friendship felt too rushed for me, I think the latter half of the book made up for the lack of yearning and longing and desire. There was a very clear shift in Merit’s thinking and acting, which was very interestingly obvious in the writing. The first half of the book contained several self deprecating statements, an obvious low esteemed view of Merit’s life and while that seemed intentional, I considered giving up several times because I could not get into the writing.
Another aspect that threw me off was the nonexistent timeline. There were chapters where the passing of time was mentioned—sometimes days, sometimes years—but I had a hard time keeping up with the timeline itself, and thus the progression of the main characters’ relationship.
The second half, on the other hand, took me through such an emotional roller coaster that I felt my own chest aching for Merit. For Jane. I think the author handled Merit’s self-discovery and sexuality with so much care and delicacy that I relived my own experiences through her writing. Merit’s confession to Jane and Jane’s subsequent concurrence felt personal and real and like I was the one coming to terms with falling in love. I will cherish Lauren McBrayer’s writing of that confession in Mexico because it made me feel the characters’ fire and their own desires for one another.
I found that the author’s writing improved significantly as she wrote about the two women’s bond, so solid and giving and graceful. Their relationship was clearly dear to the author and, once again, the care that was devoted to cultivating such loving moments between the two (despite the nature of their relationship) was just so touching I read several passages more than once.
Overall I wish I could have a rewrite of the first half of the book as well as the characters to ensure they read and felt like two different women, and simultaneously wish I could reread and experience Like a House on Fire for the first time all over again. The execution of the relationship itself was beautiful in my opinion, and I will likely read it again and again and again.
Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Lauren McBrayer for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage