Reviews

Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin

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megareads42's review against another edition

3.0

I might have to sit with this one for a bit before I decide how I really feel about it. At times, I thought the writing was great and atmospheric. Other times, I thought it was overwrought. I also couldn't get behind Allison's 'ugh, life is so tough and meaningless when you're wealthy' routine but maybe that was part of the point. In the end, this book just made me sad. Sad for Clair and how her obsession took over her life. Sad for Clive and how his dream of a family ended up. I also thought the 'big reveal' at the end by Clive just didn't feel that earned. It caught me off guard, for sure. And I liked that there wasn't some big, magical secret, that in the end it was just foolishness but...I don't know. Something was missing.

tuckeralmengor's review against another edition

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2.0

Many thanks to Celadon Books for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review

Hello, my name is Tucker and I read a book. I did not like that book but unfortunately, I do not have enough thoughts to write a proper review so… prepare yourself for my favorite type of review to write: A gif review.

Me when I started this book with Miranda:

Me when I started to realize I wasn’t enjoying this as much as I hoped:

Me trying to tell myself I was enjoying this book:

Me when the twist was revealed:

But in the end, this was how I felt about the gorgeous writing style:

Me when I found out that Miranda didn’t like it either:

Me when I finally finished this book:

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yikes.... 2.5 stars

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I think my favorite part of working with Celadon is the creative and enjoyable unique swag that comes with the ARC

p.s. those glasses didn't come with the ARC. they're from my uncle's brewery

Buddy read with the one and only Miranda Reads!

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mmdoordan's review against another edition

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1.0

Slow burn novel written about a white girl who dies in the Caribbean, but the case goes unsolved after the evidence against two locals does not match her time of death, written by a white girl who was trying to make a point that never really got there. And who definitely wrote a lot from the perspective of native Caribbeans, which I think was likely outside her scope of expertise. Yawn and borderline inappropriate.

godofwar's review

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1.0

agonizingly overwritten, brutally slow... saint x really challenged my patience in numerous ways. the approach to the plot was unique, but wore thin rather quickly, the author opting for endlessly wordy paragraphs over genuine character exploration. what should have been a vibrant setting, a relatable narrator, a tragic story, simply becomes a mess of poorly-used cliches, a gross display of privilege, the fetishization and dehumanization of the nonwhite characters - their cultures decimated in a terrible attempt at "authenticity", but it's difficult to be authentic when you don't actually see them as people. the primary characters are two incredibly privileged white girls who do little but acknowledge how "scared" they are of black men in particular, one even going so far as to express her relief when a black man who worked for her family died, since she wouldn't have to see him. but it doesn't stop there, with both emily/claire (the primary narrator) and her alison (her dead sister) lamenting over how much "better" they have it than everyone else, feeling sorry for themselves because of their position in life, though rather than acknowledge the system in place that put them there they just continue to victimize themselves for being rich and white and pretty - emily/claire complaining about how out of place she feels in "their" neighborhoods residing on the outskirts of "their cultures". it's messy, it's gross, it's tone-deaf and insensitive and unrelenting, and far from the only issue i had.
because there's also a disgusting issue with the sexualization of alison and how she dies so young, constant references to her youth and beauty even in death, becoming overbearing in the presentation of her body and relationships. it does not present itself as the attempt to comment on how young women are never in control of themselves but merely another addition to the problem; it's disgusting. the highly aesthetic, romanticized way her death is written about is not the defiant reclamation i think schaitkin intended it to be.
to be honest, it's just boring. there's hardly anything mysterious, there's no thriller aspect, no pulse-pounding moments of suspense; the story drags, snagging constantly on the unsympathetic portrayal of emily/claire's grief, stagnant and frustrating, trying so hard to present itself as clever and sharp when it's not.

janey's review against another edition

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4.0

My attention was kept, but some plot points fizzled out in a way that didn't really fit with the book as a whole.

taliatalksbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin has been on my TBR for a long time. I liked the underlying story, but I just found the narrator extremely unlikeable. I also felt as though there was a suddenness of her interesting in getting answers that just felt a bit unnatural in terms of the story. Obviously there were events that triggered it, but for some reason the narrator didn’t strike me as someone who would be so derailed by this, and then was. I also felt like this story was far too long in some places and not in others. I think it was an attempt to keep the reader guessing as to who really did it, but I didn’t feel like the interludes had enough context and it made the story feel jumbled. I really wanted to love this book, but the structure and pacing really took me out of the story in more than one instance. I didn’t have an issue with the flashbacks, but when combined with the changing perspectives (with little indication the narrator changed) I just found myself getting confused. I wish this had been a little bit more straightforward and focused on learning the information with the main character. If you like non-police investigations filled with complex emotions, I think this book would be a good fit, but just be prepared for changing narration and a non-linear timeline.