karinagundersen's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
sudeepta_booksteaandmore's review against another edition
4.0
The title my purple scented novel is so apt for the book. Colour purple is associated with creativity, ambition, luxury which are the core themes of the story.
My purple scented novel is a short story by Ian McEwan. It follows the story of two friends both of whom are writers. While Jocelyn becomes a celebrated author his friend Parker does not find the success. Both are leading their life on their own way and while they always meet and are good friends they never discuss their writings. This book is a confession by one of them where he knowingly or unknowingly caused the downfall of the other.
In a short 34 pages, this story makes you realize how quickly society raises one to the pedestal and the moment it finds out about your one wrongdoing it shuns you down. The deep feelings of jealousy which one has but does not acknowledge are so well portrayed in just a few pages. The book gave me a strong vibe of the novel Stoner by John Williams which is one of my favorite books.
What I personally loved in the book is the unassuming way in which the author has crafted the story. It made me realise how it's the friends one makes, love one finds that need to be cherished as fortune can overturn any day.
My purple scented novel is a short story by Ian McEwan. It follows the story of two friends both of whom are writers. While Jocelyn becomes a celebrated author his friend Parker does not find the success. Both are leading their life on their own way and while they always meet and are good friends they never discuss their writings. This book is a confession by one of them where he knowingly or unknowingly caused the downfall of the other.
In a short 34 pages, this story makes you realize how quickly society raises one to the pedestal and the moment it finds out about your one wrongdoing it shuns you down. The deep feelings of jealousy which one has but does not acknowledge are so well portrayed in just a few pages. The book gave me a strong vibe of the novel Stoner by John Williams which is one of my favorite books.
What I personally loved in the book is the unassuming way in which the author has crafted the story. It made me realise how it's the friends one makes, love one finds that need to be cherished as fortune can overturn any day.
mattp3's review against another edition
4.0
Quaint little short story. Worth the 15 minutes it takes to read.
seaswift14's review against another edition
relaxing
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
juliwi's review against another edition
Is it odd to write a review for just one single short story? Perhaps, or at least it feels a bit odd to me. Why does this story "deserve" to be published on its own? Is it truly a "jewel of a short story" or is it just an interesting story from one of Britain's most famous contemporary authors? Let's unravel that together. Thanks to Knopf Doubleday and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
At its core, which is admittedly right at the surface since My Purple-Scented Novel rings in at just over 30 pages apparently, this story is one of a literary heist. And I really can't say more than that since otherwise I'm basically retelling you the story. I think everyone who enjoys books also enjoys literary drama to a certain extent. Authors are fascinating people to us, capable of stupendous acts of creation, but the pedestal on which we place them is a very unstable one. Tracking the way their careers unfold, the way some emerge as heroes from chaos and the way others see their reputation slowly unravel, largely due to their own actions, is something of a hobby to most of Book Twitter. So that this story, My Purple-Scented Novel, is interesting because it plays with all of that is no surprise, really. But I also wouldn't say it qualifies to be called a "jewel"
What else can I say about this story? The writing is confident and smooth as always and the way the characters interact brings together the right combination of wry comedy and tragedy. But in and of itself this is not a story that majorly excites me. So perhaps I went into My Purple-Scented Novel with too many expectations, with too high a hope that this story was indeed so brilliant that it made sense to publish it separately. I have read short stories before that knocked the socks off me, that really made me sit back and reconsider something about myself or about the world. This is not that. It is fun, it is exciting, it has the right amount of drama to propel you through the pages. But is it life-altering? Or worth the hype I built up for it? For me, no. For others, it may be exactly what they're looking for. I'd recommend looking it up in the New Yorker, however, if you want to see if it is the thing for you.
The story is pleasant, the plot is interesting, My Purple-Scented Novel ticks all the boxes. But I was perhaps too expectant for it to be something truly special, which means I was left merely whelmed.
URL: https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2022/09/short-story-review-my-purple-scented.html
At its core, which is admittedly right at the surface since My Purple-Scented Novel rings in at just over 30 pages apparently, this story is one of a literary heist. And I really can't say more than that since otherwise I'm basically retelling you the story. I think everyone who enjoys books also enjoys literary drama to a certain extent. Authors are fascinating people to us, capable of stupendous acts of creation, but the pedestal on which we place them is a very unstable one. Tracking the way their careers unfold, the way some emerge as heroes from chaos and the way others see their reputation slowly unravel, largely due to their own actions, is something of a hobby to most of Book Twitter. So that this story, My Purple-Scented Novel, is interesting because it plays with all of that is no surprise, really. But I also wouldn't say it qualifies to be called a "jewel"
What else can I say about this story? The writing is confident and smooth as always and the way the characters interact brings together the right combination of wry comedy and tragedy. But in and of itself this is not a story that majorly excites me. So perhaps I went into My Purple-Scented Novel with too many expectations, with too high a hope that this story was indeed so brilliant that it made sense to publish it separately. I have read short stories before that knocked the socks off me, that really made me sit back and reconsider something about myself or about the world. This is not that. It is fun, it is exciting, it has the right amount of drama to propel you through the pages. But is it life-altering? Or worth the hype I built up for it? For me, no. For others, it may be exactly what they're looking for. I'd recommend looking it up in the New Yorker, however, if you want to see if it is the thing for you.
The story is pleasant, the plot is interesting, My Purple-Scented Novel ticks all the boxes. But I was perhaps too expectant for it to be something truly special, which means I was left merely whelmed.
URL: https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2022/09/short-story-review-my-purple-scented.html
r_venn's review against another edition
4.0
A short story about plagiarism. I enjoyed it. Probably because it was short, but despite that, it really had you glued into the events and plot in general.
ej_'s review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-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
3.0
annymjj17's review against another edition
5.0
Incredible. Jealousy with a hint of vengeance. This story was such a fun read!
thebibliothekes's review against another edition
5.0
This short story is brilliant, the writing style, though simple, sweeps you away.
A dark tale of writing, highly recommend
A dark tale of writing, highly recommend