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judassilver's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Transphobia, and Alcohol
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury
mxpringle's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
My opinions on this book are very complicated. At the beginning, I loved the format of the story and the plot had me on the edge of my seat. I think the way that Pessl crafted this story was truly masterful in that the reader is never quite sure what the reality is. However, as the book went on, I began to become frustrated with how it felt like nothing had really been uncovered in the investigation that was occurring in the book. I felt like I was being led on. In addition, so much of the book was filled with racism, sexism, and transphobia all perpetrated by the protagonist, whose authority on these matters was never questioned. As a trans person, the demonization of trans women in horror for a simple "creep factor" is getting very archaic, and Pessl's use of that trope disgusted me. In addition, the bizarre and unnecessary romance between the middle aged protagonist and his teenage assistant left me feeling slimy and uncomfortable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Murder
Moderate: Cancer, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Trafficking, Stalking, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Mental illness and Medical content
rwmurphy's review against another edition
I did not vibe with any of the characters, and I did not find the mystery intriguing. Looking at other reviews from people who did not enjoy this book, it looks like a lot of the things that I have a problem with, such as the underlining tones of judgement from the main character in every scene for any character that doesn't fall under what he believes is normal or ideal, continues and doesn't improve.
Because of this, I don't want to put myself through what will likely be a 2 star (at most) book, even though I find the mixed media to be fun, I find it really doesn't contribute much, we could get any of the information through a different way very easily, and a lot of the information given through the mixed media segments don't even seem to be relevant, though I didn't even get half way, so maybe it's more useful later.
Because of this, I don't want to put myself through what will likely be a 2 star (at most) book, even though I find the mixed media to be fun, I find it really doesn't contribute much, we could get any of the information through a different way very easily, and a lot of the information given through the mixed media segments don't even seem to be relevant, though I didn't even get half way, so maybe it's more useful later.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, and Transphobia
ladylaurenexplorer's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I didn’t like this book because it has tendency is to be sexist and racist. The main character just was very flat and, I didn’t get past some of the situation is he put his sidekicks and himself into. What’s crazy is, this book started off very great and it just fell off after hitting 20%.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Suicide
Minor: Sexism and Trafficking
illuminatedspace's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I think when I read this book, I'm to believe that the main character is kind of a sexist, homophobic, transphobic, racist pos as a character flaw. However these views of the character are expressed so casually, explicitly, and often over this 600 page book I couldn't help but feel I was being indoctrinated with these garbage views. The lack of challenge the main character faces for these views is distracting over the length of the book. Nearly every non-white, non-cis male supporting character is described with harmful, uncharitable, and frankly boring stereotypes. This harmful depiction is reinforced by the fact that the characters do not say or do anything to challenge the initial description, not does anyone around the main character. This happened so consistently I couldn't help but wonder if the author also held these views or if they had just failed to create an unlikable/unreliable main character. The result was instead an unlikable world. Not challenging, or thought provoking but flat, informed by stereotypes and lacking nuance. I suppose the depth of the world is supposed to come from the lengths of depravity and pain people are willing to inflict on each other, but the cynicism of this worldview doesn't seem deserved?
The mystery was also kind of boring to me.the mystery is kind of laid out early in the book and all the evidence gathering just confirms what was already told. Until the last 100 pages of the book when the biggest confirmation of evidence could possibly be a hallucination and the motivation could have been something else but maybe it's all real and maybe it isn't . But the question of what really happened didn't feel like a fun puzzle to solve for me.
The mixed media elements are novel but not integral to telling the story.
If the book was shorter it may have been higher rated for me. It's not unreadable, but I hardly enjoyed any of the time I spent reading the book and nearly quit several times. I stayed for the resolution which in my opinion didn't really pay off and the denumont was so incredibly drawn out it felt like the book was ending 5 times before the actual last page. The climax was a bit of a page turner but the main character seemed to turn into a different person and some of their actions that provided the most dramatic situations seemed unmotivated. That paired with the fact thatthe most interesting parts may have been a poisonous plant hallucination wasn't enough to save the book for me.
The mystery was also kind of boring to me.
The mixed media elements are novel but not integral to telling the story.
If the book was shorter it may have been higher rated for me. It's not unreadable, but I hardly enjoyed any of the time I spent reading the book and nearly quit several times. I stayed for the resolution which in my opinion didn't really pay off and the denumont was so incredibly drawn out it felt like the book was ending 5 times before the actual last page. The climax was a bit of a page turner but the main character seemed to turn into a different person and some of their actions that provided the most dramatic situations seemed unmotivated. That paired with the fact that
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
metamorphoses's review against another edition
1.0
WHERE DO I BEGIN
First be warned : there's a shit ton of transphobia, ableism, fatphobia, racism and sexism in this book.
Second, I'm giving this 1 star out of pure spite. 600 fucking pages for THAT? That's it?? That's all?? I endured 600 pages of all the hate I listed above and long description of people walking or getting into cars or eating FOR THAT??
I hate everything and especially this fucking stupid sexist MC.
I'm DONE.
First be warned : there's a shit ton of transphobia, ableism, fatphobia, racism and sexism in this book.
Second, I'm giving this 1 star out of pure spite. 600 fucking pages for THAT? That's it?? That's all?? I endured 600 pages of all the hate I listed above and long description of people walking or getting into cars or eating FOR THAT??
I hate everything and especially this fucking stupid sexist MC.
I'm DONE.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Fatphobia, Racism, Sexism, and Transphobia
jbellomy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
1.0
Pretentious film student fanfiction wrapped in despicable ideology. There's nothing true – emotionally or philosophically – about it. I could write a book about how much I disliked this book. I really white-knuckled my way through the last half, and it was a goddamn audiobook.
I'm frankly shocked that Pessl hasn't been ~cancelled~ by the Twitter mob. The horrifying lens through which this author clearly views the world should not be given a platform. Here are some examples (though not specific, because no one's going to read this review and so I'm not going to get a physical copy and spend time scouring this trashfire):
- every single description of a character of Asian descent is slathered in racism. This probably happens around ten times, my absolute favorite (read: least favorite, burn it in hellfire) instance being when Scott is shocked that an Asian person speaks with an American accent – or as he says, "without an accent" lol Scott. The audiobook is even worse, as the narrator makes the very fun choice to read Cleo (who, by the way, is the Only Good Character in this never-ending tome) with a stereotypical accent, despite the fact that her accent is never mentioned. Other POC do not fare better. For example, there are two Latinas present in this book. One is a cowering superstitious maid who can't speak English. The other is a human trafficker eternally devoted to serving a white guy. I'm 90% sure this book uses the word "exotic" to describe WOC. (Don't fact check me on that. The fact that it's plausible is horror enough honestly.)
- there are multiple instances of needless transphobia. Hopper & Scott's reactions to the women working in the Secret Man Club is the worst of it. We also get very enjoyable and completely okay comments about the person who gave Nora all her clothes. Scott's never met this person, but he's gonna judge them, because they have a BOY NAME and collect WOMEN'S CLOTHES so they must be silly and weird!! Cool, Scott! You're so fucking cool!
- What really sealed the deal for me was when the only character to show same-sex attraction in, again, an absolute UNIT of a book, is shown to be a pedophilic predator. Ah, yes, Pessl! What a good and informed take on the queer community you have!
- Oh and there's plenty of sweet sweet bodyshaming in here too, because of course there is.
Here's a link to a review that has some details about this aspect of the book. Aaaand here's my absolute favorite review (except why the two stars, my dude? Lean into the anger).
Dangerous and untrue characterizations like this are inarguably bad. It's not a cute homage to hardboiled noir detectives. It's not a look into a morally grey protagonist. It's not interesting or edgy. It's lazy and it's shameful. These descriptions are presented as fact, and Scott's racist, transphobic, sexist perspective is never criticized at all. Why insert these elements? Populating a fictional world with disgusting stereotypes is not acceptable now, and it was not acceptable in 2013. I can't even say this was a "product of its time" because it was published SIX YEARS AGO. Bro, I'm usually one of the people that's like "eh we can like problematic stuff, very few people deserve to be fully cancelled" but the shit in this book is harmful in that it perpetuates pre-existing prejudices and it validates people who already carry those ideas.
If that were the only aspect of the book that was terrible, it'd be enough for me to be wary. I wouldn't completely dismiss it per se. But this book's core characters also leave a hell of a lot to be desired. Nora was particularly flat, presented as a doting, constantly gasping (or "amazed" or "spellbound" or "captivated") waif who's in love with McGrath by the end despite him treating her like dogshit. Scott's initial description of her is spot on. She does not become anything more than what he assumed her to be. Her moving out is prompted by Scott's rejection of her literal declaration of love. That's not character development, friendo. (How in the fuck was this written by a woman??? The internalized misogyny is STRONG with this one!)
I could go on (for a very long time). Like I haven't even mentioned the multitude of cavernous plotholes in this book that clearly prides itself in meticulous plotting (HOW DOES "DISGRACED JOURNALIST SCOTT MCGRATH" HAVE UNLIMITED FUNDS??!). Or the fanboy-level ~auteurs-can-save-the-world~ hero worship on display (we get it, you like Hitchcock). Or the completely illogical behavior of almost every random side character (lol! the pseudo-priest admitting to pedophilia! wtf!). Or the excruciating self-importance of the prose and themes (although to classify whatever this book was going for as "themes" is giving it too much credit). But I've already spent far too much time with this word vomit, and I need to scrub it from my psyche as soon as possible.
Needless to say, I'm not going to read Special Topics, and my lukewarm opinion of [b:Neverworld Wake|36545927|Neverworld Wake|Marisha Pessl|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1517426178l/36545927._SY75_.jpg|56878900] has been tainted by this utter garbage.
I'm frankly shocked that Pessl hasn't been ~cancelled~ by the Twitter mob. The horrifying lens through which this author clearly views the world should not be given a platform. Here are some examples (though not specific, because no one's going to read this review and so I'm not going to get a physical copy and spend time scouring this trashfire):
- every single description of a character of Asian descent is slathered in racism. This probably happens around ten times, my absolute favorite (read: least favorite, burn it in hellfire) instance being when Scott is shocked that an Asian person speaks with an American accent – or as he says, "without an accent" lol Scott. The audiobook is even worse, as the narrator makes the very fun choice to read Cleo (who, by the way, is the Only Good Character in this never-ending tome) with a stereotypical accent, despite the fact that her accent is never mentioned. Other POC do not fare better. For example, there are two Latinas present in this book. One is a cowering superstitious maid who can't speak English. The other is a human trafficker eternally devoted to serving a white guy. I'm 90% sure this book uses the word "exotic" to describe WOC. (Don't fact check me on that. The fact that it's plausible is horror enough honestly.)
- there are multiple instances of needless transphobia. Hopper & Scott's reactions to the women working in the Secret Man Club is the worst of it. We also get very enjoyable and completely okay comments about the person who gave Nora all her clothes. Scott's never met this person, but he's gonna judge them, because they have a BOY NAME and collect WOMEN'S CLOTHES so they must be silly and weird!! Cool, Scott! You're so fucking cool!
- What really sealed the deal for me was when the only character to show same-sex attraction in, again, an absolute UNIT of a book, is shown to be a pedophilic predator. Ah, yes, Pessl! What a good and informed take on the queer community you have!
- Oh and there's plenty of sweet sweet bodyshaming in here too, because of course there is.
Here's a link to a review that has some details about this aspect of the book. Aaaand here's my absolute favorite review (except why the two stars, my dude? Lean into the anger).
Dangerous and untrue characterizations like this are inarguably bad. It's not a cute homage to hardboiled noir detectives. It's not a look into a morally grey protagonist. It's not interesting or edgy. It's lazy and it's shameful. These descriptions are presented as fact, and Scott's racist, transphobic, sexist perspective is never criticized at all. Why insert these elements? Populating a fictional world with disgusting stereotypes is not acceptable now, and it was not acceptable in 2013. I can't even say this was a "product of its time" because it was published SIX YEARS AGO. Bro, I'm usually one of the people that's like "eh we can like problematic stuff, very few people deserve to be fully cancelled" but the shit in this book is harmful in that it perpetuates pre-existing prejudices and it validates people who already carry those ideas.
If that were the only aspect of the book that was terrible, it'd be enough for me to be wary. I wouldn't completely dismiss it per se. But this book's core characters also leave a hell of a lot to be desired. Nora was particularly flat, presented as a doting, constantly gasping (or "amazed" or "spellbound" or "captivated") waif who's in love with McGrath by the end despite him treating her like dogshit. Scott's initial description of her is spot on. She does not become anything more than what he assumed her to be. Her moving out is prompted by Scott's rejection of her literal declaration of love. That's not character development, friendo. (How in the fuck was this written by a woman??? The internalized misogyny is STRONG with this one!)
I could go on (for a very long time). Like I haven't even mentioned the multitude of cavernous plotholes in this book that clearly prides itself in meticulous plotting (HOW DOES "DISGRACED JOURNALIST SCOTT MCGRATH" HAVE UNLIMITED FUNDS??!). Or the fanboy-level ~auteurs-can-save-the-world~ hero worship on display (we get it, you like Hitchcock). Or the completely illogical behavior of almost every random side character (lol! the pseudo-priest admitting to pedophilia! wtf!). Or the excruciating self-importance of the prose and themes (although to classify whatever this book was going for as "themes" is giving it too much credit). But I've already spent far too much time with this word vomit, and I need to scrub it from my psyche as soon as possible.
Needless to say, I'm not going to read Special Topics, and my lukewarm opinion of [b:Neverworld Wake|36545927|Neverworld Wake|Marisha Pessl|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1517426178l/36545927._SY75_.jpg|56878900] has been tainted by this utter garbage.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, and Violence
whatevertheysay's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Cancer, Racism, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Grief
Minor: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Transphobia