Reviews with content warning for Suicide attempt - Boy Parts

Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

boliv3's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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softstarrynights's review

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challenging dark funny medium-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

5.0

Well this is a bit of a wild ride, isn’t it?

Boy Parts is a black-comedy contemporary book which plunges us into the perspective of fetish-photographer, Irina. We follow her in her day-to-day life in the run up to her being featured in a big show in London.

As a character Irina was an absolutely fascinating perspective to be immersed in. The book is told from a first person perspective and it’s a very internal story with a great sense of interiority. She has big main character energy, which towards the end of the book is especially interesting. Clark is also very through in painting Irina as a fully fleshed out character. She is not a nice person, and it’s difficult to say that, as a reader, you support her decisions or actions. And I’m not sure I would even stretch to say that she’s a sympathetic character. However, we spend so much time in her head wrapped up in her perspective on the world, in past and present, that she does feel very real. The narrative could’ve taken her in a very pantomime villain direction but Clark’s writing deftly takes you in a different direction. I’m not sure you can endorse Irina but I think you are able to understand her.

The book does a brilliant job of exploring themes of gender, dominance, and the female gaze. I wouldn’t say it goes so far as to discuss these themes, because the writing isn’t heavy handed in that way. However Clark sprinkles enough subtle signposts and implications that I can imagine. The book lending exceptionally well to discussions and essays. It’s definitely the sort of book I would’ve loved to have written an essay on during my academic years. It’s excessively fertile ground for ploughing, and I imagine that there are already excellent analyses on it.

Only two books into the year and I have found my first five-star read. The fact that this is a debut novel is baffling. How can a debut author be this good. Unsurprisingly I want to read Clark’s second novel, Penance, asap. Will that be my second five-star read? Stay tuned to find out!

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deanchaudhri's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny slow-paced

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

3.25

fav quote: “she liked Harry Styles a few years ago, and now she likes that white-bread, absolutely fucking baguette of a lad from Call Me by Your Name”. This book is p much just unhinged feral woman does unhinged feral things to men that get progessively more unhinged and feral. not sure i got the deeper commentary of it all but it was *interesting* to read ! the tw list gives an indication of the unhingedness at play lmao

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rmannion's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny tense

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

4.5

I LOVED THIS.

When I first picked up the book, I was excited by the distinctly Northern and female narrative voice. (This was surprisingly refreshing, considering how many Northern women there are and that at least some of us - please, God, more of us - must be talented writers, but there you go.) Add the dark humour into the mix and this novel just becomes the perfect concoction: engaging, funny, original. Horrifying.

And then things get completely fucked up and you find yourself laughing at something absolutely repulsive and you realise that Eliza Clark's heroine is entirely under your skin.

Not for everybody, but absolutely for me.

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