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readingoverbreathing's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
But let's first talk about the characters.
I hated Jules. As conscious as she might have been of her own envy, as much as she never truly let it get in the way of her relationships, I still could not stand her. Let's not forget that when she
I wouldn't go as far as to characterize Jules as a pick-me girl, but there is definitely a lot of "not like the other girls" energy about her. I'm pretty sure Ethan even says something to her to that effect.
As for everyone else, the only person I really liked was Ethan. Everyone else felt either too flat or too self-absorbed for me to connect with them. I think Ash's character in particular had a lot of potential, but, despite her own staunch feminism, she becomes this stereotypical perfect woman, beautiful, talented, the perfect wife and mother. I wish Wolitzer had played with her perspective at least a little bit. I think by choosing to narrate only from Jules, Ethan, and Jonah's perspectives, the story lost a lot of the depth it could have had. It's very much skewed in favor of poor, poor Jules; even Ethan's point of view is rather disgustingly consumed by thoughts of her. We actually barely see any of Jonah, whom I think also had a lot of wasted potential. Wolitzer bases his entire character around one childhood trauma and pretty much refuses to define him otherwise aside from his token gayness.
That all brings us onto the plot itself, my other major complaint. One of the book's defining plot points,
I found the choice to end the book by literally
The negative largely out of the way, I will admit to some positives. Usually books with fake famous people really bother me, but I think because we saw the slow steady rise of Ethan and Ash's fame, that actually turned out to be one of the most believable aspects. So that was a surprise.
As I said above, though this book is quite long, Wolitzer is an excellent writer and really does suck you into this story. There's a kind of creativity to a lot of the details she includes that I always appreciate, especially in something like this that covers so much time and where it's easy to cut more of the day-to-day.
Overall, I remain for the most part in the middle about this. It's not for everyone, but it does have a certain appeal, especially if you're a fan of a decades-long character study or anything set in the 70s/80s. I would in fact pitch this as A Little Life meets Daisy Jones & The Six, just with a lot less trauma and a little less music. Take all of that as you will.
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Rape, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit
There is some mention of disordered eating, and a specific case of anorexia later in the book, that is not well handled at all. At some point at a dinner party Jules takes a smidge of satisfaction in the fact that she's the only woman at the table who's actually finished her plate — just another little dig that Wolitzer uses to make sure we know that Jules is not like the other girls. I hope that if this book were published now, a decade leader, Wolitzer and her editor might have taken a harder look at some of these passages.mandeyzing's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
stevienielson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Racism, and Rape
katyisreading's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Cancer, Death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Grief