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taradoesreading's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jess_esa's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Like watching a slow car crash. The inevitably of what’s going to happen is palpable from the first page but you can’t look away. The characters who live in the apartment building are colourful and you really feel their absence when the inevitable does happen. You have to wonder at the life Lu would have had if she’d made a different choice.
I need compensation for the rat scene which had me harrowed and somewhere between throwing up and crying.
The ghost and haunting scenes were a real surprise and I found them genuinely spooky at times.
This book is definitely going to stay with me and I’m glad I finally got round to it!
I need compensation for the rat scene which had me harrowed and somewhere between throwing up and crying.
The ghost and haunting scenes were a real surprise and I found them genuinely spooky at times.
This book is definitely going to stay with me and I’m glad I finally got round to it!
eileen_critchley's review against another edition
3.0
I really wanted to love this book and looked forward to reading it. I like what the author was trying to do and the idea behind the book, but feel there were too many little subplots going on. There was the main story of the photograph, there were the issues with living in an artist's loft under a slum lord, there was some attempts at 90s nostalgia, there was a friendship between the main character and a neighbor which she kept saying was her "closest friend" but it wasn't really developed, there was the main character's social awkwardness, there was her role as caretaker of her aging father, there was a sorta kinda ghost story, there was the plight of the starving artist, there was a relationship thrown in at the end.. and on and on. All of this came at the cost of none of these story lines becoming fully developed. The first part of the book really dragged me in as the main story was developing and then it all became somewhat tiresome for me.
dillarhonda's review
Rachel Lyon’s debut novel, Self-Portrait with Boy is the sort of book that begins paragraphs with the phrase “I could tell you” followed by all the things the protagonist wants to share and summed up by the trite cliché, “…but I won’t tell you that.” It’s the sort of book that uses the art world and grime of 1990s DUMBO as a backdrop for an ethical investigation and then crams in a ghost story. It’s also a story about a queer woman discovering her love for women, though the lede is so buried on that one as to almost be an afterthought. Nevertheless, it is an entertaining book and a decent place to start for a writer clearly interested in big ideas. Its persistent question: How much does it hurt to profit off the pain of someone you love?
anneke_b's review
3.0
This was a strange book. I really disliked the main character, but somehow I really wanted to find out what would happen to her. Of course, nothing really good can come from a self portrait with a boy falling to death.
Different.
Different.
misslezlee's review
4.0
I’m no stranger to artist’s lofts and studios carved out of industrial spaces. My favorite one, the one most closely resembling the spaces in this novel was in Canary Wharf in the 1970s. A friend of a friend lived and worked there. When I visited, we could go up on the roof and enjoy spectacular views of the River Thames and the Tower of London. It was really seedy, run down and very dangerous at night. Nowadays, it is very swanky and extremely expensive to live there.
I got a little bit worried when the story started to take a supernatural turn, because I hadn’t expected that, but in the end it turned out to be an integral part of the plot
I got a little bit worried when the story started to take a supernatural turn, because I hadn’t expected that, but in the end it turned out to be an integral part of the plot
jhging's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
megmayerle's review against another edition
2.0
How can a character be so infuriatingly entitled and so desperately self-conscious at the same time?
I truly wish I could have enjoyed this book. The premise was fascinating, setting the book up to be an intriguing delve in the world of ethics in art (a subject not yet overdone, one with great potential). The setting was well researched & the description of the piece Self-Portrait With Boy was convincing. Yet still, with all of its potential, the novel was mildly thought-provoking at best (Dismal and frustrating at worst).
I think the most prominent issue with this book is that it didn't know where to go. Aside from the primary story of Lu, Kate, and the photo, there were several other side plots that didn't do much besides highlighting the snobby yet self-pitying nature of Lu's character (the long bits about money/jobs, George Washington Morales, rats (!?), and her father). I understand the decision to include the artist's struggle with finding a place to stay, as that was a relevant issue at the time. I believe, though, that the long passages about Lu interacting with her father surrounding his surgery only furthered the bleak tone of the novel.
The second issue follows the same line of criticism: it felt as if the author couldn't decide whether or not this was going to be a ghost story. Honestly, I think this would have been a much better book had Lyon decided to focus on the ghost as a playful yet persistent threat. I found the best parts of the writing to be when interactions with the ghost are being described:
"No longer did he seem as if he could be a mirage-like trick of heat and wind. He was somehow more solid than ever before- as if during the months since he'd died he has been somehow learning solidity, practicing how to fill in his colors, textures, and dimensions." (pg. 271)
I was almost excited when I read that bit, the writing was clear and interesting and above all: make sense! But instead of following this spark into a struggle with the ghost, the subject is dropped once again a few pages later.
There are countless examples of Lu Rile's character shortcomings, and I could go on and on about the aggravating task of being stuck inside her head for 347 pages, but I'll just point to one in particular that stuck out to me:
My mouth was agape reading the way she interacted with him.
The final point I'd like to make is more of a question: If the novel was meant to focus on the bond between two women (pulled from the synopsis on the back), why did we get so little interaction between the two? (Kate and Lu, that is) It seemed that readers only got a few glimpses of their budding connection, plus a montage-like summary of the times they had dinner together with the other tenants. Their connection felt like an afterthought, included to make the ethics debate seem more complex.
The two stars from me were earned by the interesting premise and bits about the ghost. Had the novel focused more on those two things, I suspect my rating would be much higher.
I truly wish I could have enjoyed this book. The premise was fascinating, setting the book up to be an intriguing delve in the world of ethics in art (a subject not yet overdone, one with great potential). The setting was well researched & the description of the piece Self-Portrait With Boy was convincing. Yet still, with all of its potential, the novel was mildly thought-provoking at best (Dismal and frustrating at worst).
I think the most prominent issue with this book is that it didn't know where to go. Aside from the primary story of Lu, Kate, and the photo, there were several other side plots that didn't do much besides highlighting the snobby yet self-pitying nature of Lu's character (the long bits about money/jobs, George Washington Morales, rats (!?), and her father). I understand the decision to include the artist's struggle with finding a place to stay, as that was a relevant issue at the time. I believe, though, that the long passages about Lu interacting with her father surrounding his surgery only furthered the bleak tone of the novel.
The second issue follows the same line of criticism: it felt as if the author couldn't decide whether or not this was going to be a ghost story. Honestly, I think this would have been a much better book had Lyon decided to focus on the ghost as a playful yet persistent threat. I found the best parts of the writing to be when interactions with the ghost are being described:
"No longer did he seem as if he could be a mirage-like trick of heat and wind. He was somehow more solid than ever before- as if during the months since he'd died he has been somehow learning solidity, practicing how to fill in his colors, textures, and dimensions." (pg. 271)
I was almost excited when I read that bit, the writing was clear and interesting and above all: make sense! But instead of following this spark into a struggle with the ghost, the subject is dropped once again a few pages later.
There are countless examples of Lu Rile's character shortcomings, and I could go on and on about the aggravating task of being stuck inside her head for 347 pages, but I'll just point to one in particular that stuck out to me:
Spoiler
She is staying with her dad (one of the more redeemable characters), who buys her a book of nature photographs. Instead of politely accepting the gift, understanding that he was making a genuine effort to connect with her, Lu highlights one of her worst qualities: her pretentious attitude about art. She insults the book and goes on to rant about what is and isn't art (despite at the time having almost no stake in the art world).My mouth was agape reading the way she interacted with him.
The final point I'd like to make is more of a question: If the novel was meant to focus on the bond between two women (pulled from the synopsis on the back), why did we get so little interaction between the two? (Kate and Lu, that is) It seemed that readers only got a few glimpses of their budding connection, plus a montage-like summary of the times they had dinner together with the other tenants. Their connection felt like an afterthought, included to make the ethics debate seem more complex.
The two stars from me were earned by the interesting premise and bits about the ghost. Had the novel focused more on those two things, I suspect my rating would be much higher.