lizard_sarah_96's review against another edition
2.0
DNF I tired so hard to get into it but this was just so convoluted and unfocused
lovegirl30's review against another edition
1.0
Trigger warning: This book involves drug use, violent sex, and sexual rape. Please read at your own risk.
I want to start this review by stating that I went into this book with a bit of bias. I was unaware of this books content when I requested it for review. When I read that it was supposed to be about the dead spirit of Kurt Cobain I was hesitant. I am so glad I read this book. It was really good. With that said lets move on with my review.
I am not a fan of fan fiction normally, in some ways that made me hate this book. I really am just not a person that connected with the main character. Her name is Evelyn and she is an annoying 16 year old girl that is everything you hate about teenagers.
I did like how the author mirrored Evelyn's relationship with her friend Celine, to Kurt and Courtney's marriage. It really was a scandalous almost destructive relationship that fans will enjoy. In ways the author "ruined Evelyn" in the same way that Courtney supposedly ruined Kurt.
This book is crazy packed with cliche elements. It is like the author doesn't even care / try to avoid them. This book is messed up in all the wrong ways. It is better served as a short story. I could have lived with out the last 100 pages. It was violent, offensive, and even crude in places. It was great in a few parts but not enough for it to be a book you can't put down.
I think ultimately if you are a fan of Kurt Cobain, or a person that worships the ground that celebrities walk on this will be something you enjoy. If you enjoy dark/ suicide / possible murder books with lots of sex and drug use this book is just for you.
Disclaimer : I received this book for free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review from Anansi Press . All Thoughts opinions and such are my own.
I want to start this review by stating that I went into this book with a bit of bias. I was unaware of this books content when I requested it for review. When I read that it was supposed to be about the dead spirit of Kurt Cobain I was hesitant. I am so glad I read this book. It was really good. With that said lets move on with my review.
I am not a fan of fan fiction normally, in some ways that made me hate this book. I really am just not a person that connected with the main character. Her name is Evelyn and she is an annoying 16 year old girl that is everything you hate about teenagers.
I did like how the author mirrored Evelyn's relationship with her friend Celine, to Kurt and Courtney's marriage. It really was a scandalous almost destructive relationship that fans will enjoy. In ways the author "ruined Evelyn" in the same way that Courtney supposedly ruined Kurt.
This book is crazy packed with cliche elements. It is like the author doesn't even care / try to avoid them. This book is messed up in all the wrong ways. It is better served as a short story. I could have lived with out the last 100 pages. It was violent, offensive, and even crude in places. It was great in a few parts but not enough for it to be a book you can't put down.
I think ultimately if you are a fan of Kurt Cobain, or a person that worships the ground that celebrities walk on this will be something you enjoy. If you enjoy dark/ suicide / possible murder books with lots of sex and drug use this book is just for you.
Disclaimer : I received this book for free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review from Anansi Press . All Thoughts opinions and such are my own.
prairieraven's review against another edition
1.0
Shelving this one. Obviously I have started this at the wrong time or something. I can't seem to get into this one. It reads exactly like a 16 year old girl's diary.... on drugs. I can't get into the flow of the words and everything is kind of discombobulated (which being the drugs makes the sense.) Right now I cannot give anyone a recommendation on this unless Nirvana (the band), weird drug trips and swoony teenagers is right up your alley. Kinda bummed right now. Maybe on the re-read it will be better but I'm not holding my breath.
lizard_sarah96's review against another edition
2.0
DNF I tired so hard to get into it but this was just so convoluted and unfocused
dar__winn's review against another edition
4.0
This book incorporates everything I loved as a teenage reader: drugs and danger, pathos, poetry, derangement of the senses, the pure and the profane. It is an experimental storm of language and imagery that brings to my mind Jim Carroll (an acknowledged influence), Patti Smith, Francesca Lia Block and Holly Black (Modern Faerie Tales), Hunter S. Thompson and William S. Bourroughs.
As a starting point, it takes an abused girl and her love for Kurt Cobain, and how it becomes reality, despite his death. We think it is going to be a wish-fulfillment fantasy, but instead it takes a tortured love/hate path which, we imagine, reflects the journey of Kurt and Courtney. The writing allows us to love them and hate them, pity them and pray for their redemption. I especially loved that Kurt/Celine was taken forward into the 2010s era of texting and rebranding.
This book really made me think about fame, fandom, the value of life and the necessity of drinking it in. It was hard going at times, maybe reflecting the realities of druggie hells a little too well. It wasn't released as a young adult novel, perhaps in recognition that drugs and fame really do possess glamour. As Hunter S. Thompson said, "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me."
I appreciated the author's decision to circle the story back around to its beginning, in a display of empathy for the character, and her wise Afterword.
As a starting point, it takes an abused girl and her love for Kurt Cobain, and how it becomes reality, despite his death. We think it is going to be a wish-fulfillment fantasy, but instead it takes a tortured love/hate path which, we imagine, reflects the journey of Kurt and Courtney. The writing allows us to love them and hate them, pity them and pray for their redemption. I especially loved that Kurt/Celine was taken forward into the 2010s era of texting and rebranding.
This book really made me think about fame, fandom, the value of life and the necessity of drinking it in. It was hard going at times, maybe reflecting the realities of druggie hells a little too well. It wasn't released as a young adult novel, perhaps in recognition that drugs and fame really do possess glamour. As Hunter S. Thompson said, "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me."
I appreciated the author's decision to circle the story back around to its beginning, in a display of empathy for the character, and her wise Afterword.
mothgoth's review
2.0
I still don't honestly know how I feel about this book. I really enjoyed the way that Crosbie writes for the most part. It was confusing, but beautiful, for sure. But some of the repetitive things between the characters just got annoying to me. I understand this is a reality for some people and I've certainly been there, so I can empathize. But I guess reading about it just wasn't my thing. I did enjoy the book slightly more towards the end, and there were some good parts in between. Crosbie writes with humour and beauty, and I definitely think I will check out her writing again if I have the opportunity.
thebookgirl's review
1.0
Trigger warning: This book involves drug use, violent sex, and sexual rape. Please read at your own risk.
I want to start this review by stating that I went into this book with a bit of bias. I was unaware of this books content when I requested it for review. When I read that it was supposed to be about the dead spirit of Kurt Cobain I was hesitant. I am so glad I read this book. It was really good. With that said lets move on with my review.
I am not a fan of fan fiction normally, in some ways that made me hate this book. I really am just not a person that connected with the main character. Her name is Evelyn and she is an annoying 16 year old girl that is everything you hate about teenagers.
I did like how the author mirrored Evelyn's relationship with her friend Celine, to Kurt and Courtney's marriage. It really was a scandalous almost destructive relationship that fans will enjoy. In ways the author "ruined Evelyn" in the same way that Courtney supposedly ruined Kurt.
This book is crazy packed with cliche elements. It is like the author doesn't even care / try to avoid them. This book is messed up in all the wrong ways. It is better served as a short story. I could have lived with out the last 100 pages. It was violent, offensive, and even crude in places. It was great in a few parts but not enough for it to be a book you can't put down.
I think ultimately if you are a fan of Kurt Cobain, or a person that worships the ground that celebrities walk on this will be something you enjoy. If you enjoy dark/ suicide / possible murder books with lots of sex and drug use this book is just for you.
Disclaimer : I received this book for free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review from Anansi Press . All Thoughts opinions and such are my own.
I want to start this review by stating that I went into this book with a bit of bias. I was unaware of this books content when I requested it for review. When I read that it was supposed to be about the dead spirit of Kurt Cobain I was hesitant. I am so glad I read this book. It was really good. With that said lets move on with my review.
I am not a fan of fan fiction normally, in some ways that made me hate this book. I really am just not a person that connected with the main character. Her name is Evelyn and she is an annoying 16 year old girl that is everything you hate about teenagers.
I did like how the author mirrored Evelyn's relationship with her friend Celine, to Kurt and Courtney's marriage. It really was a scandalous almost destructive relationship that fans will enjoy. In ways the author "ruined Evelyn" in the same way that Courtney supposedly ruined Kurt.
This book is crazy packed with cliche elements. It is like the author doesn't even care / try to avoid them. This book is messed up in all the wrong ways. It is better served as a short story. I could have lived with out the last 100 pages. It was violent, offensive, and even crude in places. It was great in a few parts but not enough for it to be a book you can't put down.
I think ultimately if you are a fan of Kurt Cobain, or a person that worships the ground that celebrities walk on this will be something you enjoy. If you enjoy dark/ suicide / possible murder books with lots of sex and drug use this book is just for you.
Disclaimer : I received this book for free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review from Anansi Press . All Thoughts opinions and such are my own.
foolgal's review
2.0
** I received this book through NetGalley and House of Anansi in exchange for an honest review**
Well, what can I say? This book was a train wreck- and, after about 25%, not even one entertaining to watch. I think the majority of my updates about this book contained the words 'too much' because, at a point, it just became so much. The narrative is confusing, there's literally no conflict to resolve for the entire middle section of the book, and Celine and Evelyn's abusive relationship is fine because "they really love each other". Towards the beginning of the book, the young fanfiction-like tone was amusing but, when things began to get destructive and miserable (with absolutely no reprieve), this book stopped being enjoyable.
Where Did You Sleep Last Night suffers from too much prose and not enough plot. I am, of all people, a giant fan of prose and, while I did enjoy Crosbie's writing, son of a bitch did she get lost in metaphors and analogies. I skipped entire pages just trying to figure out what was going on- only to realize that, well, nothing was going on. The book is 45% drug trips that are supposed to have some form of symbolism, but the issue is that they don't really wrap around to make any sense in the end. Really, the majority of the book is. Wash rinse repeat until the very end.
Honestly? I found myself laughing at a lot of the situations because it really just got to be Too Much. A lot of the scenes with Evelyn being bullied came off as this- there's a portion where the girls carve the word 'slitch' (slut/bitch) into her chest and a part where they beat her with a baseball bat full of nails in the school hallway and I'm just sitting there like.... I don't care how awful the school system is or how unresponsive administration is, that Definitely Would Not Happen. Situations came off as unrealistic, and I don't know if that was intentional or not? Speaking of unrealistic, I refuse to believe that Evelyn and Celine could've made so much money/acquired so much fame- it came off as really fanfiction-trope-y and, after all of the extreme drug use, sexual violence, and sexual content in this book, I wasn't charmed by it in the slightest.
Well, what can I say? This book was a train wreck- and, after about 25%, not even one entertaining to watch. I think the majority of my updates about this book contained the words 'too much' because, at a point, it just became so much. The narrative is confusing, there's literally no conflict to resolve for the entire middle section of the book, and Celine and Evelyn's abusive relationship is fine because "they really love each other". Towards the beginning of the book, the young fanfiction-like tone was amusing but, when things began to get destructive and miserable (with absolutely no reprieve), this book stopped being enjoyable.
Where Did You Sleep Last Night suffers from too much prose and not enough plot. I am, of all people, a giant fan of prose and, while I did enjoy Crosbie's writing, son of a bitch did she get lost in metaphors and analogies. I skipped entire pages just trying to figure out what was going on- only to realize that, well, nothing was going on. The book is 45% drug trips that are supposed to have some form of symbolism, but the issue is that they don't really wrap around to make any sense in the end. Really, the majority of the book is
Spoiler
Evelyn and Celine are happy together, Celine misreads a situation and gets abusive, then leaves, then they later get back togetherHonestly? I found myself laughing at a lot of the situations because it really just got to be Too Much. A lot of the scenes with Evelyn being bullied came off as this- there's a portion where the girls carve the word 'slitch' (slut/bitch) into her chest and a part where they beat her with a baseball bat full of nails in the school hallway and I'm just sitting there like.... I don't care how awful the school system is or how unresponsive administration is, that Definitely Would Not Happen. Situations came off as unrealistic, and I don't know if that was intentional or not?
Spoiler
The ending with Evelyn having been raped and tortured and drugged by Mercury and her somehow thinking it was Page, which caused Celine to chop his head off... I mean, sure, it could happen, but it really came off as excessive and unrealistic.
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