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A review by teatimewithliam
Engleby by Sebastian Faulks
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Consider me....uncomfortable.
The novel follows the titular character of Mike Engleby - but let's just call him Joe Goldberg since the creepy 'You' protagonist is who I was picturing the entire novel. This should give you a good idea of the kind of man we're dealing with here - speaks very little but revels in his own internal monologue. Admittedly, some of his observations about the world early-on (before I realised he's a creep) are amusingly cutting but everything is overriden by just how predatory he becomes - especially around women. He follows women to their homes, steals their personal possessions and then wonders why he gets interrogated by the police when one such woman, Jennifer, goes missing (again, think of Beck in the first season of You). This is a woman that Mike was obsessed with and, as is an alarmingly common trait amongst men, felt entitled to her as result. He would describe himself as her friend, and even once her boyfriend, when she barely saw him as an acquaintance. It became clear very early on that he had something to do with her disappearance. However, Mike is the epitome of the unreliable narrator - he'll omit revealing details and hide memories both from the reader and, occasionally, himself. Don't be taken in by anything he says as most of the events of the book are seen through his own narcisstic lens.
This book was recommended to me as dark academia but this is not what I've found - instead it's a rather disturbing peak into the male psyche. Mike claims to prefer solitude but lurks on the fringes of groups, inserting himself into peoples' lives and giving himself more significance than he warrants. So much of his internal monologue was relentless arrogant, misogynistic drudgery (but you could tell he thought otherwise) - if the book had been any longer I would have given up. This is not a comment on the writing - just on the protagonist being insufferable.
I should have twigged he's a red flag when he threw out an unopened pack of biscuits
The novel follows the titular character of Mike Engleby - but let's just call him Joe Goldberg since the creepy 'You' protagonist is who I was picturing the entire novel. This should give you a good idea of the kind of man we're dealing with here - speaks very little but revels in his own internal monologue. Admittedly, some of his observations about the world early-on (before I realised he's a creep) are amusingly cutting but everything is overriden by just how predatory he becomes - especially around women. He follows women to their homes, steals their personal possessions and then wonders why he gets interrogated by the police when one such woman, Jennifer, goes missing (again, think of Beck in the first season of You). This is a woman that Mike was obsessed with and, as is an alarmingly common trait amongst men, felt entitled to her as result. He would describe himself as her friend, and even once her boyfriend, when she barely saw him as an acquaintance. It became clear very early on that he had something to do with her disappearance. However, Mike is the epitome of the unreliable narrator - he'll omit revealing details and hide memories both from the reader and, occasionally, himself. Don't be taken in by anything he says as most of the events of the book are seen through his own narcisstic lens.
This book was recommended to me as dark academia but this is not what I've found - instead it's a rather disturbing peak into the male psyche. Mike claims to prefer solitude but lurks on the fringes of groups, inserting himself into peoples' lives and giving himself more significance than he warrants. So much of his internal monologue was relentless arrogant, misogynistic drudgery (but you could tell he thought otherwise) - if the book had been any longer I would have given up. This is not a comment on the writing - just on the protagonist being insufferable.
I should have twigged he's a red flag when he threw out an unopened pack of biscuits