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jenny_librarian 's review for:
Dark Matter
by Blake Crouch
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
It’s a good thing this book moves fast. I don’t think I would’ve finished it otherwise. It’s yet another example of “great idea, bad execution”.
First of all, there is one single thing the author never explained that is bugging me. So much so, in fact, that my brain got stuck on it through the whole book. The box wouldn’t exist in a world where Jason didn’t build it. And yeah, I’m not a physicist, and my knowledge of string theory begins and ends with the Marvel multiverse. But still. At no point was it ever explained how Jason could travel to a world where he didn’t build the box. And so I have no plausible explanation for it to exist in a world where he didn’t become this super scientist. Which brings the whole goddamn premise of the book down.
Apart from the science of it, this novel had the misfortune of being written by a man. And so it has some very sexist undertones (like the only two female characters being depicted as very maternal and caring, while the male characters are headstrong and reckless). But even beyond that, Jason simply disgusted me.
Let me explain. You have a man who never - EVER - thought about the woman he pretends to love before he decided to crash her life. Obviously, I’m talking about Jason2 here, but the narrator isn’t much better. Every version of this guy is so fucking selfish he doesn’t think about everyone he hurts on his way back to Daniela. And even worse, he doesn’t care about his own son. The entire story is structured around his obsession with Daniela. We read about his brother once in passing, but that’s the only person apart from his wife and kid that ever connects him to the original world. He has no friend (that one asshole doesn’t count, as he’s just there as a plot device), no close family, no one he cares about?! And Charlie is always a byproduct. Just a side character he thinks about once in a while.
I understand Jason is meant to be flawed, but he just made me so mad the whole time. All and every version of him makes me want to punch the guy.
First of all, there is one single thing the author never explained that is bugging me. So much so, in fact, that my brain got stuck on it through the whole book. The box wouldn’t exist in a world where Jason didn’t build it. And yeah, I’m not a physicist, and my knowledge of string theory begins and ends with the Marvel multiverse. But still. At no point was it ever explained how Jason could travel to a world where he didn’t build the box. And so I have no plausible explanation for it to exist in a world where he didn’t become this super scientist. Which brings the whole goddamn premise of the book down.
Apart from the science of it, this novel had the misfortune of being written by a man. And so it has some very sexist undertones (like the only two female characters being depicted as very maternal and caring, while the male characters are headstrong and reckless). But even beyond that, Jason simply disgusted me.
Let me explain. You have a man who never - EVER - thought about the woman he pretends to love before he decided to crash her life. Obviously, I’m talking about Jason2 here, but the narrator isn’t much better. Every version of this guy is so fucking selfish he doesn’t think about everyone he hurts on his way back to Daniela. And even worse, he doesn’t care about his own son. The entire story is structured around his obsession with Daniela. We read about his brother once in passing, but that’s the only person apart from his wife and kid that ever connects him to the original world. He has no friend (that one asshole doesn’t count, as he’s just there as a plot device), no close family, no one he cares about?! And Charlie is always a byproduct. Just a side character he thinks about once in a while.
I understand Jason is meant to be flawed, but he just made me so mad the whole time. All and every version of him makes me want to punch the guy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Stalking
Minor: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent