smokedsignals's review against another edition
mysterious
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
thebookwormofnotredame's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
The translation may have been for a lot (I haven’t read a translation in years and will never again) but... meh.
The translation may have been for a lot (I haven’t read a translation in years and will never again) but... meh.
necromanticfemme's review against another edition
2.0
This book was disappointing, to be honest. I thought I would really like it as I got started, but as I got further I just got more and more frustrated.
Eden's character felt like the author was trying too hard to write him as being smarter than the others. From Iris' character alone I could tell from a mile away that this book had been written by a male author. The entire book was a mess of missed narrative opportunities, and nothing quite played out satisfyingly. The ending was fine but entirely emotionally unmoving for me.
At least the prose was nice? Still not quite sure why the author is a creative writing professor if this is his best effort.
Eden's character felt like the author was trying too hard to write him as being smarter than the others. From Iris' character alone I could tell from a mile away that this book had been written by a male author. The entire book was a mess of missed narrative opportunities, and nothing quite played out satisfyingly. The ending was fine but entirely emotionally unmoving for me.
At least the prose was nice? Still not quite sure why the author is a creative writing professor if this is his best effort.
fredsphere's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
| A young working-class man dates a rich girl attending Cambridge. Her brother is a dark triad guy who thinks his music can miraculously heal people. It's Dark Academia and it's got corpses in the first chapter and it's a sibling of other books I love (The Secret History, If We Were Villains -- those books) so I was all set to love this.
I did, right up until I turned the last page and said, "What the heck? It just ended??!!"
Yeah, the ending was abrupt and not what I expected. I sort of get it, the ambiguity, the read-between-the-lines aspect, but still, a bit of a disappointment. 5 stars swerving at the last moment into 4.
I did, right up until I turned the last page and said, "What the heck? It just ended??!!"
Yeah, the ending was abrupt and not what I expected. I sort of get it, the ambiguity, the read-between-the-lines aspect, but still, a bit of a disappointment. 5 stars swerving at the last moment into 4.
jheckman324's review against another edition
2.0
This was another one of those books where I just felt like I missed something. There were plot twists that never panned out and characters that started in one direction only to never really get fleshed out. Also the ending just didn't wrap things well.
kelly83's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-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
4.5
hiroto's review against another edition
3.0
Honestly, honestly ? This felt very pretentious and convoluted. But it also read fast so I'm giving 2.5 stars. It felt like a Tartt-wanabee.
bookpossum's review against another edition
2.0
I spent a lot of time not reading this book, partly because of having lots of other things that needed doing, and partly because it seemed to be much too self-consciously "clever".
I was also irritated by the constant use of "like" instead of "as if" in sentences such as "It seemed like he was ...". While some of the characters in the book may have spoken in this way, I find it beggars belief that an elderly retired Professor of Literature at Cambridge University would do so. Perhaps I am being needlessly pedantic, but it knocked a star off my assessment because it set my teeth on edge every time it appeared.
Having said that, the story was all right but when the beginning of the book starts with bodies and then goes back to where it all began six months earlier, there aren't really too many surprises to be had.
Not recommended
I was also irritated by the constant use of "like" instead of "as if" in sentences such as "It seemed like he was ...". While some of the characters in the book may have spoken in this way, I find it beggars belief that an elderly retired Professor of Literature at Cambridge University would do so. Perhaps I am being needlessly pedantic, but it knocked a star off my assessment because it set my teeth on edge every time it appeared.
Having said that, the story was all right but when the beginning of the book starts with bodies and then goes back to where it all began six months earlier, there aren't really too many surprises to be had.
Not recommended
elygreen's review against another edition
4.0
Most definitely one of the best books I've read in the past few years. Gripping, absorbing, draws you in and captures you in a world that borders between normalcy and insanity.
The characters become your friends, their stories become a puzzle that you desperately want to solve to help them. The little plot twists and shifts fall naturally and effortlessly and weave together the kind of book that seems to be written just for me. It had that balance of psychology + mystery + love + thriller + 'that wtf factor'. Honestly, I could go on about it forever.
The climax [and what a climax] was the only thing that left me somewhat displeased - it lacked that smoothness and flow the book maintained throughout. Probably, its aim was to create a discord; however, I felt it jarred and out of place, leaving too many loose ends. But, a major kudos to the author who most definitely has done his research on everything psychology related. It made everything even more eerie and realistic. And I loved the text book excerpts, the newspaper cuttings, the book-within-book sections.
All in all... I wish I could just go back in time and read it all over again for the first time. Taste this book, people. Taste it and enjoy it.
The characters become your friends, their stories become a puzzle that you desperately want to solve to help them. The little plot twists and shifts fall naturally and effortlessly and weave together the kind of book that seems to be written just for me. It had that balance of psychology + mystery + love + thriller + 'that wtf factor'. Honestly, I could go on about it forever.
The climax [and what a climax] was the only thing that left me somewhat displeased - it lacked that smoothness and flow the book maintained throughout. Probably, its aim was to create a discord; however, I felt it jarred and out of place, leaving too many loose ends. But, a major kudos to the author who most definitely has done his research on everything psychology related. It made everything even more eerie and realistic. And I loved the text book excerpts, the newspaper cuttings, the book-within-book sections.
All in all... I wish I could just go back in time and read it all over again for the first time. Taste this book, people. Taste it and enjoy it.