Reviews

Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet

wheresminnie's review against another edition

slow-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

1.5

I am so baffled by people who enjoyed this book. I was going to DNF but I forced my way through to see if it redeemed itself; it did not. The book within a book thing going on reminded me of Inception (which I also hated). The Rebecca storyline was intriguing but

Spoiler

never returned to the original plot of investigating her sister’s death.

. Overall this felt like a chore to read. 

sam_alysse's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

sophieecook's review against another edition

3.0

this book expands the boundaries of fiction, i truly believed these characters were real throughout reading it. it’s certainly engrossing and humorous, the narrative voice of Rebecca Smyth is both naïve and cutting; i found her misplaced opinions on mental illness annoying at first, but i think that just shows how talented Burnet is at creating her character. this is a captivating study on psychoanalysis and identity, very well written.

sedge's review against another edition

3.0

Twas a solid read. Wasn’t great, but by no means bad.
It just didn’t scratch any particular itches I had. It just kind of existed.
I would still recommend, it’s a pretty whacky story. I like the way it blended both fiction and non-fiction as it made the dense psychology jargon more palatable for my feeble mind.
So here I am recommending it: read this book!
Ciao

lera9reen's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

4.0

goldsoundz1997's review against another edition

reflective 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

3.5

pink_lobster's review

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

lexiesophocli's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I quite liked this book - the blurring of fact and fiction made for an interesting and engaging read

lads's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

2.0

hangry's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-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

3.75

This book is a really interesting character study, but ultimately the premise that draws the reader in from the beginning has no pay off, and the discussions and reflections throughout the novel come to no final conclusions. I found the prose was very readable but i was left unsatisfied plot-wise.