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A review by inkspiring
A Very Nice Girl by Imogen Crimp
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
at the end of the day i think this book fails to live up to its promise because it balances the narrator’s two desires: singing, and max. we are never really given enough to convince us that she loves singing in a fundamental, meaningful way. we are given much of max, but too much. the narrator, anna, is unreliable and unwilling to own up to her mistakes and her role in her self-destruction.
sidenote: the ent doctor??? my mouth dropped that she was surprised by what he said. she is delusional. i’ve never hated being stuck in first person with such an unlikeable narrator so much.
but apart from the insufferable qualities of the narrator, and the cliché relationship dynamic, crimp’s writing holds promise. nothing was incredibly groundbreaking about this book, but at moments the prose was sharp, witty, and clearly polished. i hope crimp works on her pacing in her next book, though, as this one could have used some more work.
and PLEASE for the love of god, authors: use punctuation!!! your readers are begging. the lack of quotation marks made it so difficult for me to read the first 100 pages. it was nearly impossible to get into the book. i almost DNFed, and once i read the ending…i wish i had. what a miserable, miserable end. goodness.
sidenote: the ent doctor??? my mouth dropped that she was surprised by what he said. she is delusional. i’ve never hated being stuck in first person with such an unlikeable narrator so much.
but apart from the insufferable qualities of the narrator, and the cliché relationship dynamic, crimp’s writing holds promise. nothing was incredibly groundbreaking about this book, but at moments the prose was sharp, witty, and clearly polished. i hope crimp works on her pacing in her next book, though, as this one could have used some more work.
and PLEASE for the love of god, authors: use punctuation!!! your readers are begging. the lack of quotation marks made it so difficult for me to read the first 100 pages. it was nearly impossible to get into the book. i almost DNFed, and once i read the ending…i wish i had. what a miserable, miserable end. goodness.