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astoriareader's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
1.0
- I blindly went into this book, as I kept seeing praise & good reviews for it. Apparently, it’s a sequel.
- This book DRAGS at such a slow pace. It also is not structured well, and it has extremely long chapters.
- Pedantic, pretentious. No idea why so many college lectures & quotes from other books are in this??
- Felt absolutely no connection to the main character.
- Tries to be a coming-of-age story if a Harvard student in her sophomore year.
- I have no idea how I finished this book.
- This is the most boring fictional book that I’ve read.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content
Minor: Cancer
mlovesbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Lesbophobia
anagramatica's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Body shaming, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Cancer
sylviaplathsbitch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Cancer
babettes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Minor: Sexual harassment, Cancer, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Body shaming
ekg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Cancer and Suicide
lindseyhall44'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Either Or takes place right after the events of its predecessor, The Idiot, as Selin returns to Harvard for her sophomore year of college. While discovering what it means to live an aesthetic versus an ethical life, Selin must deconstruct the issues which occurred last year as well as maneuver through the turbulence known as Academia, all before returning to her parents native country of Turkey for a summer abroad.
The narrative perspective of Selin toes the line between humor and sadness particularly well, as her witty remarks made me laugh out loud, yet were often at the expense of her naïveté. Never in all my reading experience have I ever related to a character as much as Selin, not so much in life stories, but more of how she sees the world. My heart clenched at this feeling of representation, found in a woman who is also trying to navigate the world around her. Similarly, Selin also finds comfort in representation, as the literary cannon serves as a guide to understand life in a more processable way.
While this book is not for everyone, the characters, writing, and nostalgia of a younger time places Either Or on a pedestal for literary fiction which will be hard to outmatch.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Sexual harassment, Eating disorder, and Mental illness
gorgeousgirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Eating disorder and Cancer