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rabonallie 's review for:
Unteachable
by Elliot Wake
"What I really wanted was to read other people's stories. Other girls and boys who'd fallen for a teacher, and how it ended. Depressingly common tropes: power imbalances, surrogate parent figure, midlife crisis. Worse were the ones that ended when the parties realized taboo was all that held them together. That was what we'd finally been forced to confront: if our relationship was based on forbiddenness, what would happen when it was no longer forbidden?"
At a loss when it comes to rating this one. On the one hand, Raeder's prose is gorgeous and vivid. Words drip off the page like liquid light. Additionally, I do think the book attempts to fully explore the nature and morality of a student/teacher relationship, and of forbidden/taboo relationships in general (see quote above).
That being said, I had too many problems with the characters and their relationship to truly enjoy this read. Something about them, and their love affair, left a bad taste in my mouth. This...ickiness led me to find the sex unsexy, led me to feel a nasty sense of unease throughout the novel, and also led me to feel slightly angry with the nature of the ending. I guess when it comes down to it, I don't think this is a romance that anyone should try to emulate, or aspire to have. I just wish I knew whether or not the book agreed with me on that one.
I do think Raeder's writing was great, so I will be checking out 'Black Iris' ASAP. Maybe with a different subject matter, I will enjoy the read a bit more.
At a loss when it comes to rating this one. On the one hand, Raeder's prose is gorgeous and vivid. Words drip off the page like liquid light. Additionally, I do think the book attempts to fully explore the nature and morality of a student/teacher relationship, and of forbidden/taboo relationships in general (see quote above).
That being said, I had too many problems with the characters and their relationship to truly enjoy this read. Something about them, and their love affair, left a bad taste in my mouth. This...ickiness led me to find the sex unsexy, led me to feel a nasty sense of unease throughout the novel, and also led me to feel slightly angry with the nature of the ending. I guess when it comes down to it, I don't think this is a romance that anyone should try to emulate, or aspire to have. I just wish I knew whether or not the book agreed with me on that one.
I do think Raeder's writing was great, so I will be checking out 'Black Iris' ASAP. Maybe with a different subject matter, I will enjoy the read a bit more.