Reviews

This was good! It's not exactly enjoyable to read because the subject matter is very dark and Laurie is frequently thoroughly unpleasant, but this is on purpose - Laurie knows it and more importantly Jenn knows it. Laurie is a piece of work because she's going through the worst time of her life so you do sympathise with her, but Jenn is absolutely merciless about putting the magnifying glass right up against the worst parts of Laurie and refusing to give. It's quite astonishing at times - I think writers are rarely this honest about the difficult, really mundane and yet disgusting and sad and disconcerting details of a person's grief and breakdown. That's one of the great things about Jenn's writing - she's so unflinching when it comes to the really unflattering parts of human nature that you can't help but also feel sympathetic for her characters because they feel realistic and well rounded - like ACTUALLY realistic, with absolutely no glamour injected into the day to day routine at all. The situation Laurie is in becomes so horrendous that you understand why she's so angry and sad all the time - it's not exactly fun to read, but it's fantastic observational writing about the aftermath of horrible grief, and about how long-term relationships can become strange little torture machines that you nevertheless can't fathom extricating yourself from.

Edit 01/12/21: I forgot to mention that the cover, while v luxe and beautiful, is absolutely not reflective of the tone of the novel - grimy and depressing - and is frankly a baffling choice!

crisfreitas's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.75

izy_blue's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The narrator/character of Laurie is purposefully made to be disliked by the reader as much as she is disliked by herself. How unreliable the narrator is has been done very well and effectively by Ashworth.