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slintangel's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Misogyny and Racism
augushhhhh's review against another edition
challenging
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
You hear people you don't know, in living rooms you'll never be invited into, preparing meals you'll never eat (...) isolated on three split screens, cascading fireworks at the end which then loop back to the beginning again. - p.39f.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Minor: Body shaming
questionablereads's review
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
damn girl.
This is messy and dry but the commentary on social media fixation/the audacity of men/the patriarchy/love in a world that wants it but doesn’t know how to maintain it was fantastic.
but damn girl, he ain’t worth all that.
This is messy and dry but the commentary on social media fixation/the audacity of men/the patriarchy/love in a world that wants it but doesn’t know how to maintain it was fantastic.
but damn girl, he ain’t worth all that.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Sexual content
kerriski's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, and Gaslighting
savvylit's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
"Fans take their heroes and make them a part of their identity and so it becomes unbearable to ever really take in rumours of bad behaviour. We want them to remain perfect in order that we can telegraph or offload certain archetypes on to them: the truth teller, the champion, the maverick, the trickster. If we turn people into symbols and then create a fandom around them, we don’t have to take on those responsibilities ourselves, they become our spokesperson nominated to do this for us so we can carry on living our lives unperturbed."
I'm a Fan is a novel about obsession in two forms: romantic and parasocial. The novel's unnamed narrator is completely obsessed with her lover. Her lover who is also not only married but seeing additional affair partners as well. Her second intense obsession is with one of her lover's other affair partners and is primarily envy/hatred based. She closely follows this woman's life via Instagram, even attempting to be at the same in-person events. Though our narrator is intensely obsessed, she is also deeply self-aware - she knows that her obsession with both people is toxic and destructive. But she just can't stop, she's truly addicted!
This book would be worth a read - even just for the delicious, messy voyeurism. However, I'm a Fan is much more than its central relationships. Patel uses the interactions throughout the story to drop observations or moments of cultural criticism that were incredibly accurate and sent me scrambling for a highlighter. I love a book that entertains and forces me to reflect on modern social dynamics.
I'm a Fan is a novel about obsession in two forms: romantic and parasocial. The novel's unnamed narrator is completely obsessed with her lover. Her lover who is also not only married but seeing additional affair partners as well. Her second intense obsession is with one of her lover's other affair partners and is primarily envy/hatred based. She closely follows this woman's life via Instagram, even attempting to be at the same in-person events. Though our narrator is intensely obsessed, she is also deeply self-aware - she knows that her obsession with both people is toxic and destructive. But she just can't stop, she's truly addicted!
This book would be worth a read - even just for the delicious, messy voyeurism. However, I'm a Fan is much more than its central relationships. Patel uses the interactions throughout the story to drop observations or moments of cultural criticism that were incredibly accurate and sent me scrambling for a highlighter. I love a book that entertains and forces me to reflect on modern social dynamics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Classism
dizzymisslizzy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Stalking
Moderate: Racism and Sexism
oatmilky's review against another edition
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Girl stand up 😐 I love a bored self-saboteur, but there was less plot than even I could endure without the character development to make up for it. It was a picture-perfect vignette of the intersections of race, money and gender, but as aptly-captured as it was, I don’t need to read about brown women pining obsessively over toxic white men I get enough of that irl lmaoo. I was waiting for the twist but there wasn’t any.
Patel is chock full of cultural criticisms but her protagonist isn’t strong enough to carry the weight of her wit. I’d read more of her but not this one
Patel is chock full of cultural criticisms but her protagonist isn’t strong enough to carry the weight of her wit. I’d read more of her but not this one
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Racism and Toxic relationship
cspa's review against another edition
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I enjoyed this book, and I'd like to begin by highlighting what I liked about it. The book provides insightful commentary on the relationships between influencers and followers, social media, privilege, class, and racial structures. The unnamed narrator's obsessive and erratic behavior intrigued me, as I've recently appreciated reading about unpredictable and unhinged female protagonist for added drama. However, I felt that the potential for dramatic tension wasn't fully explored to my liking, although the book remained engaging for the reasons mentioned earlier.
The commentary in the book was remarkably perceptive and thought-provoking, adding depth and sharpness to the narrative. So much so, that even with the lower raking, highly recommend reading this book for its insightfulness. While it was my favorite aspect as it encouraged deep reflection, I'm unsure if the protagonist's vibrant and unruly personality seamlessly aligned with the overarching heavier themes in the more essay-like chapters, leading to a somewhat disjointed experience.
Conversely, as someone with mild dyslexia, I found the book's format to be challenging. The abundance of run-on sentences, lengthy paragraphs that could be divided, and the absence of quotation marks for dialogue made it difficult to follow. I recognize that this style mirrors the protagonist's stream-of-consciousness narration and her unstable nature. Which I appriciate but did struggle with. At the halfway mark, I bought the audiobook to enhance my reading experience, and I regret not doing it earlier. The author's captivating narration truly brought the character to life in a authentic way my brain alone couldn’t.
My last qualm, I wish the timeline had been clearer and more linear, as the frequent shifts between past and present tense were somewhat disorienting.
In conclusion, I believe it's valuable to read due to its insightful analysis. Additionally, it's a shorter book with chapters of varying lengths so there’s no harm in giving it a shot!
Ultimately, I enjoyed it, but I didn't adore it.
The commentary in the book was remarkably perceptive and thought-provoking, adding depth and sharpness to the narrative. So much so, that even with the lower raking, highly recommend reading this book for its insightfulness. While it was my favorite aspect as it encouraged deep reflection, I'm unsure if the protagonist's vibrant and unruly personality seamlessly aligned with the overarching heavier themes in the more essay-like chapters, leading to a somewhat disjointed experience.
Conversely, as someone with mild dyslexia, I found the book's format to be challenging. The abundance of run-on sentences, lengthy paragraphs that could be divided, and the absence of quotation marks for dialogue made it difficult to follow. I recognize that this style mirrors the protagonist's stream-of-consciousness narration and her unstable nature. Which I appriciate but did struggle with. At the halfway mark, I bought the audiobook to enhance my reading experience, and I regret not doing it earlier. The author's captivating narration truly brought the character to life in a authentic way my brain alone couldn’t.
My last qualm, I wish the timeline had been clearer and more linear, as the frequent shifts between past and present tense were somewhat disorienting.
In conclusion, I believe it's valuable to read due to its insightful analysis. Additionally, it's a shorter book with chapters of varying lengths so there’s no harm in giving it a shot!
Ultimately, I enjoyed it, but I didn't adore it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
ghostmomxoxo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Cultural appropriation
ewwa18's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Sexual content
Moderate: Racism and Stalking