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krystyn_mtl 's review for:
Beautyland
by Marie-Helene Bertino
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Maybe at another time this is a 3-star book. It right now it’s 2-stars and I want the algorithm to never let me read something like this again.
The author writes beautiful sentences. They can be funny. The characters can be charming. Often, better than other writers.
Here are the buts.
First of all, the third person narration of “she did this and then she did that” is so cold and remote. I had a really difficult time staying engaged.
The thing that got me is mainly not the writer’s fault - it’s the way the book is described. This is not sci-fi. This isn’t about being an alien. This is a young girl coming of age story. It’s more about a teenager writing in her diary than it is about an alien or human society. If I’d known that it was a tender coming of age thing I would have skipped it. It’s not the writer’s fault this isn’t my thing.
The main character is obviously written in such a way that she’s an outsider - she may not even be alien, in that many people feel the way she feels. The book is aiming for a kind of universal lonely outsider appeal.
But the last third doesn’t make the journey worth it.
I had a big problem with the ending.
All three deaths felt manipulative. Like I read a whole book just for the author to kill off the main characters? And the dog in the freezer? WTF?
Funnily enough, it was the idea that someone might find positive reinforcement and encouragement on Twitter that was one of the most unbelievable parts of the story. The alien birth is more believable.
I can see why some people might like this book, but for me, the ending made me angry.
If you really want to know what I mean, it’s two things: it’s ambiguous whether she is actually an alien or just feels like one, something that has been done before in sci fi; she “deactivates” in the end, which is essentially a suicide scene, especially if you aren’t sure she’s an alien. This ambiguity feels very intentional.
The author writes beautiful sentences. They can be funny. The characters can be charming. Often, better than other writers.
Here are the buts.
First of all, the third person narration of “she did this and then she did that” is so cold and remote. I had a really difficult time staying engaged.
The thing that got me is mainly not the writer’s fault - it’s the way the book is described. This is not sci-fi. This isn’t about being an alien. This is a young girl coming of age story. It’s more about a teenager writing in her diary than it is about an alien or human society. If I’d known that it was a tender coming of age thing I would have skipped it. It’s not the writer’s fault this isn’t my thing.
The main character is obviously written in such a way that she’s an outsider - she may not even be alien, in that many people feel the way she feels. The book is aiming for a kind of universal lonely outsider appeal.
But the last third doesn’t make the journey worth it.
I had a big problem with the ending.
Funnily enough, it was the idea that someone might find positive reinforcement and encouragement on Twitter that was one of the most unbelievable parts of the story. The alien birth is more believable.
I can see why some people might like this book, but for me, the ending made me angry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Cancer, Death
Minor: Bullying