Reviews

Pretending by Holly Bourne

cwillads18's review against another edition

5.0

Very excellent book that had me hooked from the start. There was a lot of discussion on SA and related topics which were carefully and thoughtful constructed but were jarring nonetheless. I enjoyed all the characters and the character development and I think this was a really great read.

audrey_ad's review against another edition

3.0

'I hate men.'

Best een krachtige openingszin van Holly Bourne, maar als je ooit een boek van deze powerwoman gelezen hebt, dan is het helemaal niet verrassend.

Holly Bourne hoort in het rijtje van auteurs waar ik bewondering voor heb. Ze is niet bang om delicate thema's en emoties met kracht en eerlijkheid op papier te zetten en in 'Pretending' was dat helemaal niet anders.

In dit boek worstelt hoofdpersonage April met de emotionele en fysieke pijn na seksueel geweld. Hoe krijg je weer vertrouwen in mannen als ze je in het verleden zoveel pijn hebben gedaan? Hoe ga je om met je pijn en (onzichtbare) wondes als je toch graag een relatie wilt? Hoe ga je om met je boosheid, frustratie en toch ook veel verwarring? Holly Bourne snijdt al deze vragen aan en maakt het messy, herkenbaar en ergens ook treurig. (Want zoveel mensen komen in contact met grensoverschrijdend gedrag en seksueel geweld.)

Zoals ik al zei, het zou Holly Bourne niet zijn als dat er niet allemaal in zat. En toch was er ook veel liefde, humor en vriendschap.

Dus kijk, een topper van Holly Bourne. Als je nog niets van haar gelezen hebt, dan spoor ik je met veel liefde aan om eens haar backlist op te zoeken.

tesisamess's review against another edition

emotional funny sad medium-paced

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

3.5

The plot had potential, and I think it was trying to say some important things, but I couldn't get over the writing style. April was incredibly self-centred and I'm not sure if she learnt that all her assumptions of others are unfair by the end. Could've done with the book being at least 100 pages shorter, but in the end it was entertaining to shout in the margins.

ruusaer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

jatkalukemista's review against another edition

2.0

2,5? Mielenkiintoisen alun jälkeen tää jätti mut kylmäks enkä kiintynyt hahmoihin mitenkään.

thewinterwinds's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.0

emleemay's review against another edition

4.0

So you pretend, a lot, that you’re fine. That you’re like the other girls. But … maybe you are pretending to be a woman everyone else is pretending to be too?

I'm giving this book 4 stars and I'm probably going to be starting another [a:Holly Bourne|6561227|Holly Bourne|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1365526643p2/6561227.jpg] book very soon, but I have to say this one made me feel... not good. Quite depressed, actually. I would not recommend this for those struggling with either depression or the aftermath of sexual assault.

This gave me Fleabag vibes, but it also made me sadder than that show ever did. In many ways, [b:Pretending|43788851|Pretending|Holly Bourne|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1576007311l/43788851._SY75_.jpg|68128436] could almost be a sequel to Bourne's [b:The Places I've Cried in Public|44004352|The Places I've Cried in Public|Holly Bourne|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552657491l/44004352._SY75_.jpg|68410745] with April being Amelie now in her thirties and finding romantic relationships impossible because of her past trauma. Viewing men and dating through her eyes was a harrowing experience.

The first line of the book is "I hate men", but the author is Holly Bourne so this is no casual adventure into misandry. We soon see exactly why April hates men, from her own personal experiences to her job working for a sex and relationships charity where the emails from girls assaulted by their boyfriends are near constant.

Despite her claims, April doesn't really hate men. Or, at least, she really doesn't want to. But her many failed relationships and dates have led her to believe the worst-- that men are looking for something unattainable, expecting women to play a role, pretend, to fit in with their idea of what a woman should be. So April decides to go for it. Switch off April and become Gretel, a fun, easy-going, beer-drinking, never-nagging kind of girlfriend. She's basically Gillian Flynn's "cool girl".

You can probably imagine how well this super healthy coping mechanism goes.

Being inside April's head really hurt sometimes. I know it's a mark of a good author when they can fully drag you inside their character's skin, but I was close to suffocating in there. I felt her pain and frustration, her sadness and her anger. Even the light at the end of this very bleak tunnel feels like it could be a train.

I don't want a sequel because I don't think there's a whole other book left in this arc, but I would have liked to have known more about what happened to a few of the characters.

molliebeth12's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

charlottereadsalot's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny sad medium-paced

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

4.0

vilmati's review against another edition

4.0

Toivoin, että olisin tienny kirjan käsittelevän seksuaalista väkivaltaa, sillä odotin jotain kevyttä. Kuvailee kuitenkin hyvin sitä miltä tuntuu kun maailma on epäreilu ja naisena turvaton