mattyvreads's review against another edition
- 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
2.75
Spoiler
It was giving POV relationship abuse, which was sometimes tough, and often (intentionally) uncomfortable.The most successful element of the book was the visceral nature of the storytelling. Crimp makes the reader feel everything that is happening in the protagonist’s body, which evokes joy, pain, sadness, horror, unease, anxiety, excitement, delight, and more. It is a unique experience.
The book offers some subtle and other times obvious feminist messaging, but it never feels painfully on-the-nose. It is overt when it needs to be. It is straightforward and thought-provoking.
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexual assault
aaron444's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Sexual content
Minor: Drug abuse
frannyrdclark's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Sexual content
Minor: Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Drug use
heresthepencil's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
i do wish anna had more figurative meat on her bones, but i also appreciate how the author's chosen to portray her. that we never really see her on her own, always in reaction to someone else. even when she’s describing her childhood, when she’s with a teacher focused solely on her growth - she puts on a persona she assumes people want to see. it makes perfect sense for this kind of story. (and it makes the title strikingly accurate. anna will make anything to appeal to people, of course she's very nice.)
i do wish max got what he deserved, but at the same time he's a great depiction of a manipulative toxic misogynistic piece of shit. it’s interesting to see the way he drains anna's energy, the way he knows exactly what to say and how to act to make her feel small and worthless, and depended on him. everything anna does, max turns into a child’s play. if she feels vulnerable, she’s easier to manipulate, it's easier to get out of her (body) what he wants at any given moment. and the most interesting part of this whole show, is that the book leaves it up to us, as readers, to decide: does he do all those things deliberately or is he just an asshole?
(the way the book makes his actions and motivations a literal topic of conversation between anna and her friend might have been more smooth and natural, but still.)
so yes, everyone is slightly one-dimensional and the main character is sort of a blank page, and the story itself is as old as the world, but the devil's in the details, and those are gorgeous.
tw: dubious consent
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Gaslighting
Minor: Suicide attempt
nzmerchant's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Sexism
Moderate: Toxic friendship
cassidy's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Emotional abuse
leahb88's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Classism, Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Suicide attempt
smlima1992's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Minor: Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
sydapel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I could talk about this book for AGES, the way it dismantles the myth of the "starving artist", it's depiction of the male gaze and how women subconsciously restructure themselves within it and before they notice, their entire identity is being written over, how obsessive we can become the minute we feel the least bit valued or seen or loved, the intersection of classical music and privilege, the often hypocritical nature of white feminism. I could go on and on. If you've been craving more Rooney esque characters and writing, I'm going to be shoving this one at you.
Graphic: Toxic friendship and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual content, and Child abuse
madelinedalton's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Overall, I really liked this book. It definitely appeals to a niche audience. If you like Sally Rooney, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, or Phoebe Bridgers, you’ll likely love this book. The writing style is very dry and a little detached, and Crimp doesn’t use quotation marks. If characters who are so flawed that they make you want to throw your book at the wall, dry writing, and literary fiction are your thing, you’ll like this. If not, skip this one.
I also recommend this to performers—Imogen Crimp gave the most accurate depiction of conservatory life I have ever read. While I went to school for musical theatre (not opera), I resonated with a lot of her journey. The depictions of imposter syndrome and the post-performance high were particularly relatable.
If this book’s premise is appealing but you want a more charismatic writing voice and a diverse cast of characters, I highly recommend Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams instead!
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Sexual violence