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porshasmithh's reviews
3 reviews
Biography of X by Catherine Lacey
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
A 'Biography of X' is an original and innovative novel that will be unlike anything you've read.
This novel follows a widow on her journey to uncover the holes in her wife's persona (or personas), a persona to the core built on art made to shock and perplex.
Catherine Lacey's writing is immaculate, and I was consumed by the sections of prose and diary entries throughout the book. I feel this novel is an innovative performer just like X, in the sense of the extra coloured pages in my edition, to the title page showing the name C.M Lucca (the name of X's wife who is writing this biography).
I will add, however, that while most of this novel was mystifying and fantastic to indulge in, the parts that fell flat fell incredibly flat and were challenging to get through.
I also found this book incredibly excellent in how the grief presented in this novel was not that of conventional grief. I mean that C.M. does not necessarily lose her wife, as X was never a human, to begin with; she made herself a work of art. What C.M. lost, however, was her ability to be a wife to a work of art, and in my opinion, that is why she started writing this biography, not for revenge, but to try to humanize her wife.
Overall, I genuinely believe that being an author like Catherine Lacey is an honour, as she has primarily set the bar higher for writers in this period.
This novel follows a widow on her journey to uncover the holes in her wife's persona (or personas), a persona to the core built on art made to shock and perplex.
Catherine Lacey's writing is immaculate, and I was consumed by the sections of prose and diary entries throughout the book. I feel this novel is an innovative performer just like X, in the sense of the extra coloured pages in my edition, to the title page showing the name C.M Lucca (the name of X's wife who is writing this biography).
I will add, however, that while most of this novel was mystifying and fantastic to indulge in, the parts that fell flat fell incredibly flat and were challenging to get through.
I also found this book incredibly excellent in how the grief presented in this novel was not that of conventional grief. I mean that C.M. does not necessarily lose her wife, as X was never a human, to begin with; she made herself a work of art. What C.M. lost, however, was her ability to be a wife to a work of art, and in my opinion, that is why she started writing this biography, not for revenge, but to try to humanize her wife.
Overall, I genuinely believe that being an author like Catherine Lacey is an honour, as she has primarily set the bar higher for writers in this period.
The Things We Do to Our Friends by Heather Darwent
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Toxic friendship and Sexual harassment
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