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marjoleinvanderspoel's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.5
Brandon Taylor is possibly the best writer of our generation. And yet, this is not his strongest work. These are some of my jumbled, incoherent thoughts upon finishing it. The writing is so so good, most of the characters are really interesting, but the chapters about women were such a disappointment and the connections between the chapters is tenuous at best. Caught somewhere between short stories and a novel, it felt like this book wanted to express many things but in the end it didn't really... go anywhere. I could identify an overarching theme of how your predetermined living conditions affect your life choices or lack thereof (there was a lot of focus on class but also for instance adoption, traumas and injuries which alter your perception of and course in life). I think Taylor does a great job of writing characters caught in between big decisions and that definitely shines here, and his characters also feel very real in that they make shitty choices sometimes, but I just wished there was something more to tie the stories together somehow. No wonder Seamus felt like the strongest character when he was the only one who got more than one chapter, and yet his story still felt unfinished. But so is life, a story as of yet unfinished. Excited to see what Taylor does next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Infidelity, Kidnapping, and Abortion
aileron's review
reflective
sad
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Abortion, and Abandonment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
lay_kone's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
chadedarby's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment
ani_raven's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Child death, Drug use, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Abortion, and Death of parent
bootsmom3's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Classism
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
megansmith's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I have...a TON of conflicting feelings about this book. I think it's definitely a book that made me think and even for the parts that did frustrate me, maybe it deserves more praise just for getting me to think and for riling something up in me?
First, the writing in this book is really stellar. I don't know how much of it I'd chalk up to my 25+ years of living in the Midwest but, I felt transported to Iowa City throughout the length of this book. Taylor is a wonderful author and even in snippets I couldn't quite relate to the characters themselves, I could empathize with their feelings and get truly into their experiences through Taylor's writing. He grapples deep themes in a way that honors these character ages and life experiences. I especially appreciate his respect to the struggle characters face as they reckon with the world at large, while also holding on to where they grew up and how they got to where they are now. It's a constant struggle as a student that I think he wraps up nicely as you enter the last chapter. He's a masterful writer and you can tell he wrote from the heart in this book.
Outside of the themes and respect for the age and time in these character's lives, I struggled with the plot. And maybe for good reason but.. I'm not sure. Maybe it's in how the book is marketed? I feel like the cover of the book misled me to think maybe the characters would show a variety of the town, but, the majority of chapters felt like such a small circle of people, specifically this very tight knit group of queer men running into each other through distant connections. On it's own, I think that could have been it's own book! I found it really fascinating, even if I did not have the same exact experience when I was in college, I could find snippets of what I witnessed in college, seeing friends and mutual connections overlap over time without intending to. I think that's a really honest, interesting book premise and I would've been fine if the book was just that. However, adding in the last two chapters changed this in this book and honestly, it did a disservice to both sides of the book. It almost split this book in half. The only two female characters in this book didn't seem to see a single spot of happiness, either. All the characters have a struggle but, at least in the first few chapters, those male characters have small snippets of lightheartedness or connection through relationships, vs the two women in this book struggle in their past and present continually and only fall deeper into struggle as their brief chapters go on. Fatima maybe got it in the last page but, even on a fun, "relaxing" trip for the rest of the crew, she's only seen as being offended because two male characters (who tbh do not treat her right and she deserves better!!) make references to her assault and then immediately regret it (dude, didn't yall learn from your friend making a mom joke after she got a freaking abortion?! good grief!), and then the rest of the time she's freaking cooking! Also, it truly frustrated me all these male characters get referenced regularly in each other's individual chapters, but the one mention the one main female character gets, it's a brief party appearance by name and then one other brief appearance where she drops she's getting an abortion to another male character...who says his brief "i'm sorry" and only makes things worse when it comes up again later in the book. Last thing, I do really resent the fact the two times you have women show up in this book, they both are sexually assaulted by men in their lives. I think there's a variety of experiences you could talk about in this book about the female experience, especially as it relates to college and the paths these women are taking. But you chose the same type of experience, back to back? This book discusses sex quite a lot but, contrasting the two women in this book not having any empowering or purposeful sexual experiences, vs having even just one chapter dedicated to the sex-obsessed Noah, felt so off In short: it felt really frustrating to have a cover that boasted having a diverse cast of characters from different walks of life be in one place, only for two characters to feel tacked on rather than intentionally woven into the tapestry of these relationships, AND for those characters to fall into some pretty stifling stereotypes. I think some trimming down to re shift the narrative, or adding additional chapters and reworking some of the existing chapters, could have helped this book go a long way.
All in all - I do think this is a really smart, masterful look into a specific town and how the people within it are more connected than they all realize. Equally, I think this book falls flat on it's first promise on the cover, and I think it's what hurts this book from being touted more as a more all-encompassing expose. I wanted more from this but I still gleaned a lot from this book as valuable and important to read. So read at your own risk and also know I have my own biases and opinions that might be blinding me to important points in this book! I definitely want to read more about the book itself and try to understand why Brandon Taylor made certain choices here.
First, the writing in this book is really stellar. I don't know how much of it I'd chalk up to my 25+ years of living in the Midwest but, I felt transported to Iowa City throughout the length of this book. Taylor is a wonderful author and even in snippets I couldn't quite relate to the characters themselves, I could empathize with their feelings and get truly into their experiences through Taylor's writing. He grapples deep themes in a way that honors these character ages and life experiences. I especially appreciate his respect to the struggle characters face as they reckon with the world at large, while also holding on to where they grew up and how they got to where they are now. It's a constant struggle as a student that I think he wraps up nicely as you enter the last chapter. He's a masterful writer and you can tell he wrote from the heart in this book.
Outside of the themes and respect for the age and time in these character's lives, I struggled with the plot. And maybe for good reason but.. I'm not sure. Maybe it's in how the book is marketed? I feel like the cover of the book misled me to think maybe the characters would show a variety of the town, but, the majority of chapters felt like such a small circle of people, specifically this very tight knit group of queer men running into each other through distant connections. On it's own, I think that could have been it's own book! I found it really fascinating, even if I did not have the same exact experience when I was in college, I could find snippets of what I witnessed in college, seeing friends and mutual connections overlap over time without intending to. I think that's a really honest, interesting book premise and I would've been fine if the book was just that. However, adding in the last two chapters changed this in this book and honestly, it did a disservice to both sides of the book. It almost split this book in half. The only two female characters in this book didn't seem to see a single spot of happiness, either. All the characters have a struggle but, at least in the first few chapters, those male characters have small snippets of lightheartedness or connection through relationships, vs the two women in this book struggle in their past and present continually and only fall deeper into struggle as their brief chapters go on. Fatima maybe got it in the last page but,
All in all - I do think this is a really smart, masterful look into a specific town and how the people within it are more connected than they all realize. Equally, I think this book falls flat on it's first promise on the cover, and I think it's what hurts this book from being touted more as a more all-encompassing expose. I wanted more from this but I still gleaned a lot from this book as valuable and important to read. So read at your own risk and also know I have my own biases and opinions that might be blinding me to important points in this book! I definitely want to read more about the book itself and try to understand why Brandon Taylor made certain choices here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abortion, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Bullying, Racism, Terminal illness, and Stalking
jcxjab's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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
I thought this book was really interesting. I love stories that just emulate the human form. I wish I had a better grasp of the characters themselves, I got them mixed up a lot and had a difficult time distinguishing them. I picked this book because I enjoyed the writing but I can't help but understand the actual connection Seamus had to the other characters at the end. Maybe I read too fast but nonetheless, I loved the writing. I didn't appreciate the mention of women in the synopsis and then the only mentions of them to be so short and vapid.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Abortion, and Sexual harassment
katie_koffman's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
goldenaces00's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It starts like a train, full steam ahead, and had me ferociously reading for about the first half. However, new (not as charismatic) characters are introduced, the plot is lost, and the ending left me deeply unsatisfied. It was a really strong, visual, and intimate story that read like poetry at some parts, but overall felt more like a collection of short stories with loose connections than a single novel with a plot. If you like stories about complicated artists that like to have sex, this is a great read. I just wish Taylor would have made his ensemble smaller, focused on character development, and given the readers a more powerful takeaway at the end. There are various subplots that go nowhere and are either tied up too early or never at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, and Kidnapping
Minor: Abortion