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A review by megatsunami
So Much Pretty by Cara Hoffman
4.0
I found this book a little gimmicky, with all the different points of view and the jumps forward and backward in time, but when the story started really coming down, it left me reeling. This book is imperfect (mainly because the writing techniques are gimmicky) but worthwhile. It is deeply disturbing and deeply affecting, looking at community complicity in violence (especially violence against women), our unwillingness to consider that violence occurs outside our stereotyped ideas of who commits crimes, and also the question of what it means to live out your values and your beliefs in a way that makes a difference in the world. The bad parts were graphic but brief (though let's wait and see if I have nightmares tonight before I give a final judgment on whether they were sufficiently brief. There was enough to be deeply upsetting... but for the most part, it didn't rise to the level of "It's really creepy that you're expecting me to enjoy reading about this in detail".)
As a parent, I was interested in the description of Alice's parents' choices, what they taught their daughter and what they shielded her from. I think I am choosing pretty differently for my child, yet my choices come out of some of the same values. Also, as someone who works in a field that's supposed to be about making the world a better place but often feels like it serves the interests of the ruling class, I really appreciated Claire, Gene, Con, and Micky's attempts to figure out how to find right livelihood. (Even though none of them really succeeded.)
I found the ending somewhat unsatisfying. I guess that was inevitable given the situation the characters had gotten themselves into.
P.S. If this book is ever made into a movie... Saoirse Ronan will play Alice. Couldn't be anyone else. Every time Alice was described in the book, I pictured Saoirse Ronan.
Spoiler
(To be clear, I don't condone killing rapists. Damn, does this community need some restorative justice!)As a parent, I was interested in the description of Alice's parents' choices, what they taught their daughter and what they shielded her from. I think I am choosing pretty differently for my child, yet my choices come out of some of the same values. Also, as someone who works in a field that's supposed to be about making the world a better place but often feels like it serves the interests of the ruling class, I really appreciated Claire, Gene, Con, and Micky's attempts to figure out how to find right livelihood. (Even though none of them really succeeded.)
I found the ending somewhat unsatisfying. I guess that was inevitable given the situation the characters had gotten themselves into.
P.S. If this book is ever made into a movie... Saoirse Ronan will play Alice. Couldn't be anyone else. Every time Alice was described in the book, I pictured Saoirse Ronan.