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dizzzybrook's review against another edition
I love Melissa Broder and will continue to read/buy anything she puts out. However, I am extremely hit or miss when it comes to smut in books and unfortunately this one is just not working for me.
Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Cursing, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, and Suicide attempt
eliya'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
4.5
took me about 9h 48m to read this book
i imagine me reading this as a 22 year old sobbing, clutching it to my chest curled up while Retired From Sad, New Career in Business by Mitsky plays loudly, so distressed i’m not bothered by the hair of mine that was caught on the wall as i slid down.
i read this book and i began to see myself from back then in such a different light. sympathetic but pitiful. i get why i lost all my friends, i guess. the aching desire to not be alone spun me around more than anything else. i did love this book.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Chronic illness, Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Classism
lavenderpagess'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? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
lipstickitotheman'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
2.5
Quotes I Liked
-"I had felt, for a long time, that if I started crying I would not stop--that if I finally ripped, there would be nothing to stop my guts from falling out." Chapter 3
-" But as soon as I saw him coming, I thought, Oh God no. He sort of looked like his picture, but more the monkey aesthetic than the hot one. Also, he had an additional werewolf essence that the photo had not captured." Chapter 13
-"Before the donuts, I didn't even know I wanted to die. Now, I attributed my crying to joy. I hadn't known that I'd wanted joy either. I had not ever known that I could have it. Now I was crying because it felt like a miracle--not only that I could want to live at all but that I actually could." Chapter 44
Graphic: Sexual content and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Blood, Grief, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Death of parent
recollections's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
"life was okay, though. life was maybe even kind of cute. you simply had to expect nothing from it. that’s what the stoics believed—zeno and seneca, those ancient fuckers."
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cursing, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Grief
hungeberg'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
1.0
First of all - i did debate giving this 0 or 0,5 stars. However i do find small things of marit in this book. Second of all I was recommended this which is why i choose to finish it even though i struggled with the getting through it.
Let's start with the good;
- It's a complicated story about love addiction with a magical realism twist which I in the big whole like.
- Lucy as a narrator was decent.
Things i disliked
- I'm not one for smutty/erotic books and especially not when the character participating in the sexual acts are not even enjoying it? Why would I want to read about bad hurtful sex in such detail? AND SO MANY TIMES?! And then when Lucy finally found a partner who she enjoyed to fuck then it was some weird very specific "kinky" shit that not everyone would like (least of all me?!).
- I am not a classics student or for that matter a literary one and therefore I don't really have any claim on knowing Sapho's poems that well. However I do as a queer woman find Sapho to be a queer icon/character who participates in romantic/sexual relationships with both genders but especially with women. And somehow the use of her as a character in this book to justify this heterosexual bullshit rubbed me the wrong way.
- the treatment of other women in this book is horrendous.
Things I hated
- Does such a thing as toxic heterosexuality exist? Because then this would be it?
- Lucy seems to learn a few lessons by the end of a book. BUT NOT NEARLY ENOUGH??? At least it wasn't written out in a way that make it seem like she will become a better person ESPECIALLY to the other women in her life.
- The treatment of the dog. Nough said.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Vomit, and Death of parent