A review by ellareads2
The Fury by Alex Michaelides

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

At the moment I cannot give a comprehensive review because I am just reeling in the emotions I have just after finishing this book. Overall, I felt frustrated/agitated with this book on three levels-the narrative structure/style, the characters, and the plot. In terms of style, I did not like the very direct, second person narration. It felt too obvious, explicit, and therefore cringe to me. I know that Elliot is the narrator but he is also a main character in the story so it confused me when he was retelling about events he was not present for. I feel that took away from the mystery and felt like a narrative cop-out. In prt of these reasons, I did not like Elliot as a narrator, but during/after the third act I feel that I did like him as a person because I could sympathize with him. I didn’t think that his play on the island would work, but I also didn’t think it would go the way that it did. I will commend Alex Michaelides for this detailed, unique plot. Going to plot, I did not like how we kept going back to events and reading them with more information/new perspective. In order for this narrative to work, this was essential (and this may be characteristic or mysteries/thrillers which I don’t read much of) but it kind of took me out of the story. Even though Elliot has issues and is a murderer, I wasn’t even that angry with him in the end. I was angry with Jason, Kate, and Lana. In my opinion, they’re just as sick and fucked up as him. I think everyone being so obsessed with Lana-wanting her validation love and attention-it makes sense that she was the one to die. I just hadn’t predicted it would be Elliot. Back to character, I really got invested with Nikos in the second act and thought he would play a crucial role, but he really went to the background once we learned this entire trip was manufactured. I thought this was truly a story about obsession and so I wanted to kinda see more of that from all the characters but especially Nikos. Also that kiss between him and Lana? That just happens, and we get no follow up which is annoying. On the title, I thought that the non-living character of fury/the wind/Aura would play a larger role, but she did not. I also thought the title was invoking the Greek myth of the Furies, but this was also wrong. In this way, I think the title is misleading. The greek dramatics, myth, and location are just a backdrop. I think this is more an American story about Hollywood-love, obsession, acting, fame-than anything else. This story was entertaining, but I think there was a lot Michaelides was trying to juggle in one novel.