wizurd101's review against another edition
4.0
fantastic sentences and moments throughout. There were sections where I had chills for pages and pages. I ended up really liking the fragmented, never get a satisfying ending structure, because the plot was less important than the characters and the crazy power dynamics made so plain.
one thing I didn't like was how obviously mental illness was used as characterization. It worked and was powerful, but Leah's tapping is pretty much just used in the beginning to make her slightly more special and (eventually) make her feel similar to her mother. On the other hand, Helen's vague OCD was done in a much more nuanced and exciting way. Also the fact pretty much all the people in the story were Fucked Up TM in a Wikipediable way was perhaps lame: it felt like many characters had their own pre-packed mental illness that basically defined them. I just didn't like how, throughout the book, horrible things felt like literary devices. The first sentence is a perfect example of this. It is shocking and gut wrenching but that chapter isn't even about the main characters, it is just to shock and keep people reading.
LOVED the ending and that whole sequence. The dynamics were so intense and so strange between the three. Sex as a drive, social expectations as a drive, self-sacrifice and self-loathing as drives. Loved the end of Helen's arc too. The book was really intense lol. Glad I read it, I think the end could inspire me to be less neurotic sometimes.
one thing I didn't like was how obviously mental illness was used as characterization. It worked and was powerful, but Leah's tapping is pretty much just used in the beginning to make her slightly more special and (eventually) make her feel similar to her mother. On the other hand, Helen's vague OCD was done in a much more nuanced and exciting way. Also the fact pretty much all the people in the story were Fucked Up TM in a Wikipediable way was perhaps lame: it felt like many characters had their own pre-packed mental illness that basically defined them. I just didn't like how, throughout the book, horrible things felt like literary devices. The first sentence is a perfect example of this. It is shocking and gut wrenching but that chapter isn't even about the main characters, it is just to shock and keep people reading.
LOVED the ending and that whole sequence. The dynamics were so intense and so strange between the three. Sex as a drive, social expectations as a drive, self-sacrifice and self-loathing as drives. Loved the end of Helen's arc too. The book was really intense lol. Glad I read it, I think the end could inspire me to be less neurotic sometimes.
julibug86's review against another edition
4.0
What amazing writing! Like reading one long song singing the woes of growing up weird.
lfar's review against another edition
4.0
It's like short stories about the same people. It took me about 3 chapters to realize it wasn't short stories. (Or is it, still?)
Anyway, started incredibly strong but ended on a pretty weak story/chapter which was also the longest.
Anyway, started incredibly strong but ended on a pretty weak story/chapter which was also the longest.
bagel_books's review against another edition
1.0
Awful. I couldn't even tell you what this book was about.
tayterchip's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
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
3.0
jmwise1's review against another edition
1.0
Very disturbing & its a book where everything doesn't turn out the way you had hoped it would. For me, her writing was confusing. It was lie a poem in that I had to go back & reread a lot of paragraphs. Some I just left uncomprehended. One word for this: Bleh
heykellyjensen's review against another edition
I tried but couldn't get through this.
conflictheory's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ejamie77's review against another edition
2.0
This collection of linked short stories made me feel unhealthy. Every character was a train wreck, yet I couldn't look away. I was attracted to this author by her review in NYT of my favorite book of the year so far (Amy Bloom's Lucky Us); Landis did not share my love for the book, but her observations made me want to check out what she was about. Each story held my interest, but the characters and scenarios felt so unrealistic, so hollow, and alienating. At least it was quick. I will happily return this to the library today.
rosemaryslibrarian's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
1.0
I’m sorry but I hated this… the writing was too metaphorical which I normally enjoy but this was too much. Some chapters were great, but most were ??????
Also TRIGGER WARNING for the literal first sentence of this book!!!! Caught me off guard so if SA is a tough subject skip the first chapter. It didn’t have anything important to say anyway so you won’t miss anything by skipping.
Also TRIGGER WARNING for the literal first sentence of this book!!!! Caught me off guard so if SA is a tough subject skip the first chapter. It didn’t have anything important to say anyway so you won’t miss anything by skipping.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Mental illness