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sharonleavy 's review for:

Mostly Hero by Anna Burns
1.5
adventurous challenging mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Mostly Hero by Anna Burns is one of the books included in the Faber Stories collection. It's a series of very short works, priced at a couple of euro each, and a great way to discover the work of authors from Anna Burns and Claire Keegan to Sally Rooney and James Joyce.

I picked this one up to make up an order total, and I'm only posting about it to let you know that it exists, because the story itself wasn't something I'm sure I understood?!

It's a Superhero parody, and as a big Marvel fan I was excited about that, but it's a less than flattering portrayal of the genre. Our main character Femme Fatale is under a magic spell that makes her want to kill her lover, Hero. Afterwards, she will remember what she has done and have to live with her heartbreak.

Hero is aware of the plan, and repeatedly survives Femme's murder attempts.

Elsewhere, Femme's 82 year old Great Aunt is planning to take over the world, and Femme's cousin Freddie is trying to kill said Great Aunt so that his girlfriend Monique Frostique will marry him.

If you've seen the She Hulk series, it reminded me of that?! Absolutely batshit but mildly enjoyable at the same time. I did find it very scattered reading, and I'm sure there's a clever social commentary in there, but I was too tired at the time to grasp it.

I did write down the quote "women being angry equated with the end of the world", but I dunno. This is one I'd love to hear opinions on if you've read it!