Review by bookishneena - The Favorites

bookishneena 's review for:

The Favorites by Layne Fargo

5.0

dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

"Even as children, they were so intense. That was their greatest strength, and their greatest weakness. But they loved each other, and they loved skating. I think that's what people will remember most, their love."

oh this was disgustingly good, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth - like sour and sticky and vaguely nauseating but i'm lapping ?? that shit up???? this book was brutal - and thats an understatement.

When Kat Shaw and Heath Rocha rose from country Illinois, to becoming the darlings of global skating, their chemistry was undeniable. But behind flawless routines lay a tangled web of desire, cut-throat relationships and control. A decade later, as a viral documentary threatens to rewrite their story, Kat is forced to confront the truth: about Heath, about herself, and about the price of being a favorite.

Told in a mix of documentary-style snippets (think Daisy Jones) and personal reflection, Fargo renders the world of competitive ice dancing in startling clarity - its cutthroat and glittering nature, and the blurred lines between devotion and destruction amongst the star-studded performers. The portrayal of elite sports is a brutally beautiful and complex interweaving of messy ambitious characters, constantly warring between pride, envy and obsession.

Don't be mistaken, these are some ugly characters, completely unlikeable, charged with an ambition and twisted desire to win at all costs. The relationships of friends to rivals and lovers are interwoven in increasingly complex ways. Kat and Heath may just be the most emotionally volatile co-dependent couple I've read about. The devotion and obsession they shared for one another, yet the brutality and vicious-streak staining their careers and relationships -yeah that burnt going down.

"Then tell me, Katarina." He sunk to his knees in front of me. "Tell me what you want from me. Tell me what to do, and I'll do it." Despite the contrite posture, his expression was defiant. I buried my hands in his curls.
"There's nothing you can do," I told him.
Heath started to rise. I seized his hair at the roots and held him there. He reached for the medal around my neck, trying to pull me down with him.

(in any other context a man on his knees would delight me but this is devastating)

And to Bella and Kat. From the start, they simmered with tension - it was a relationship that was part competition, part sisterhood, part mirror. Bella represented everything Kat never had entering elite skating - the stability and training and polish. Kat admired her, resented her, needed her and loved her. It was such a fascinating friendship built on a distinct lack of warmth, but on proximity and a determination to out-compete the other at all costs. It was quietly devastating to see how a relationship between two arguably similar people, under the pressures of their sport, could explode and twist into something so bitter.

And this book was deeply concerned about the perception of women in elite sport - how women are used and remembered. I appreciated how the dual perspectives allowed for an exploration of the emotional and psychological toll of being a woman watched and judged — and what it costs to survive that gaze. How the media and press could twist mundane encounters into vicious tirades against Kat, against Bella. How stifling, elitist and unforgiving the conservative world of skating could be - even against its most prized athletes. And how in any (warranted) reaction to the tabloids and rumour-mill Kat would be inadvertently giving the press fuel to the raging fire against her image.

I was hooked and lassoed from the beginning, then dragged along on this rollercoaster. Wouldn't have it any other way. This was brilliant in its awful complexity. I love messy unlikeable characters. So sick and twisted.

an easy 5 stars - a favourite of this year

Content Warnings