Reviews with content warning for Pedophilia - Serotonin

This is just a book about a sad, middle aged french dude. I couldn’t tell if the author was a misogynist or he was taking creative liberties with the characters. There was also an intense focus on sec which I found to be unnecessary, but was a main focus of the book. It was fine. Nothing more. Nothing less.

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mbrighty's review against another edition

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dark 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

3.5

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tommelise's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad 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

2.0

It seems Houellebecq is just interested in being provocative for provacation sake. I Will be slightly concerned if someone says they truly enjoy his writing above other writers - he has some good points and passages, and it sure is a quick read but a lot of other great(er) authors make the same points and observations and they do it all while not feeling the need to be blatantly misogynistic, racist etc. It might be a point to make the character unlikable in this sense, but it was just such a big part of the book, and it did not seem the author had any implicit critiques of it that it made me uncomfortable. If you want to read about a depressed man tired of society read Doppler instead. The only reason I give it 2 stars and not one is that there is some good observations and I guess it kind be useful to know that some men really Think like this. It certainly was enlightening and horrifying to me.

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