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A review by showthisbooksomelove
The Last Life by Claire Messud
3.0
I was vastly underwhelmed by this coming of age story about a 15 year old girl living in France. She tells the story as though it were a memory that spans about a year of her life. I found her writing to be rather bland, although quick moving like a current of her thoughts, tumbling together family history and her own life experiences as a rowdy teenager in a sometimes jarring manner.
At times the narration was a little unaware (although this may be due to the young adult narrator). By this I mean that there were some transphobic comments early on and some other sexist comments throughout the book. I pushed through these but did not find that I gained anything by doing so, as I could have just as easily put the book down as finished it, and would have had about the same level of experience. I did not find this story worth my time, even though it was a quick read.
At times the narration was a little unaware (although this may be due to the young adult narrator). By this I mean that there were some transphobic comments early on and some other sexist comments throughout the book. I pushed through these but did not find that I gained anything by doing so, as I could have just as easily put the book down as finished it, and would have had about the same level of experience. I did not find this story worth my time, even though it was a quick read.