Scan barcode
A review by foxonabook
Idol by Louise O'Neill
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
The premise was great and I loved seeing a successful female protagonist in their forties as opposed to the usual woman in her twenties main character, but the execution was poorly done.
There are large portions of the book where there is a lot of repetition and nothing substantive happens, and I ended up skimming through the last 10 chapters or so just to avoid DNF-ing. The plot isn’t that intriguing and I think it’s linked to my previous point about lack of substance and poor pacing. The twists at the end aren’t even shocking or surprising.
All of the characters lack depth and nuance. I get that Sam is meant to be the self-centred, potentially narcissistic main character who everyone dislikes, but there really is nothing about her they made me as the reader feel like it was worth putting up with how terrible and irredeemable she is. None of the secondary characters have any depth or nuance either, and I think that was a missed opportunity.
We don’t even truly see the consequences of the assault allegations. They’re mentioned but we don’t see the impact behind Sam’s anxiety spiral and self-destructive behaviour.
Not for me, but I do understand why others might enjoy it.
There are large portions of the book where there is a lot of repetition and nothing substantive happens, and I ended up skimming through the last 10 chapters or so just to avoid DNF-ing. The plot isn’t that intriguing and I think it’s linked to my previous point about lack of substance and poor pacing. The twists at the end aren’t even shocking or surprising.
All of the characters lack depth and nuance. I get that Sam is meant to be the self-centred, potentially narcissistic main character who everyone dislikes, but there really is nothing about her they made me as the reader feel like it was worth putting up with how terrible and irredeemable she is. None of the secondary characters have any depth or nuance either, and I think that was a missed opportunity.
We don’t even truly see the consequences of the assault allegations. They’re mentioned but we don’t see the impact behind Sam’s anxiety spiral and self-destructive behaviour.
Not for me, but I do understand why others might enjoy it.