fuckthisshit's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Really enjoyed this book. So many points to reflect on. It was something I truly savoured
myriamlauren's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sylwiaw's review against another edition
sad
slow-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
pixiegael's review against another edition
Didn't finish this. I got to p195 (of 440). I wasn't enjoying it. I thought the narrative tone felt a bit patronising, to me and to the characters.
Anyway, a book I'd reserved from the library arrived, which seemed like a good reason to pack Perfect in.
Anyway, a book I'd reserved from the library arrived, which seemed like a good reason to pack Perfect in.
rwidiani's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know what made me not giving up on this book, perhaps the language or the way it's written.
It's a dark, quite depressing book, not a good feeling book.
Yet, it makes you want to know the ending.
I have to be honest that I was glad when it ended and I could continue to the next book.
It's a dark, quite depressing book, not a good feeling book.
Yet, it makes you want to know the ending.
I have to be honest that I was glad when it ended and I could continue to the next book.
jof's review against another edition
5.0
Já andava a namorar este livro na biblioteca à algum tempo e felizmente não me desiludiu. É sem dúvida uma história triste, num dos últimos capítulos baba e ranho incontroláveis, que nos causa uma certa angústia, faz-nos sentir até um pouco impotentes, pois gostaríamos tanto de ajudar algumas das personagens. Está no entanto repleto de episódios com muita graça e super amorosos, o que me ri com a inocência infantil de Byron e algumas das suas tiradas! Acho maravilhoso esta ideia do efeito borboleta, se tomarmos uma pequena decisão, por mais insignificante que seja, as suas implicações para o nosso futuro podem ser tremendas. Maravilhoso e assustador ao mesmo tempo claro. E acho que o livro joga muito com essas mesmas inseguranças. Fala numa perspectiva muito inocente de amor puro, que ainda assim pode ser a causa de muito sofrimento. E eu pessoalmente acho que tem um twist bem interessante, somos levados a pensar numa determinada direcção que no final cai por terra, surpreendendo-nos (pelo menos a mim!). E está cheio de insinuações que ficam no ar e que acho podem dar aso a diferentes interpretações, tornando a história muito integrante.
sonham's review against another edition
5.0
Ich hätte mir dieses Buch nie gekauft, weil ich normalerweise keine melancholischen Geschichten mag. Aber in der Stadtbibliothek habe ich mich darin festgelesen und konnte es nicht mehr aus der Hand liegen. Wunderschön geschrieben, sehr einfühlsam, sehr behutsam. Ein toller Roman!
kitkat2500's review against another edition
I read Joyce's first book and really enjoyed it. Perfect did not come along at the right time for me. It is very well written, with a clever plot. But it's too dark and stressful for my current state of mind! I got half-way through, then skipped to the end to find out the plot twist. Clever indeed...but not enjoyable at all.
sjj169's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars
Byron Hemming's friend James informs him that two seconds are being added to the year. James knows all kinds of facts so Bryon becomes obsessed with the fact. It will mess everything up. You just can't mess with time.
Two seconds are huge. It's the difference between something happening and something not happening. You could take one step too many and fall over the edge of a cliff. It's very dangerous.
On the way to school that morning that Bryan thinks the time is being added his mom is running late taking his sister and Bryan to school. So she takes a shortcut through Digby Road, that bad part of town that his father has forbidden her to go.
Bryan's father has set ways that he wants his wife to act while he works away from home. He calls to make sure that no one is there with her every day. He comes home on weekends so she can wash his clothes. He buys her a new Jaguar so they can impress the other families in the snooty area they live in. I don't like Bryan's father.
"Although your father is a very clever man, of course. Much more clever than me. I've never read a book from start to finish."
"You've read magazines. You read cookery books."
"Yes, but they have pictures. Clever books only have words."
During that car ride Bryan sees his watch go back in time those two seconds. Then an accident happens and it changes that whole summer and the rest of all their lives.
There is an alternating viewpoint from current time of a man learning to live outside the mental hospital on his own. It ends up all tying into the story but it's a bumpy ride.
Usually I like darker reads, but dang this book read slow. I kept picking it up and making myself read.
Then the ending comes around and I ended up liking the book. It's dark and twisty and bleak.
I've had this book from Netgalley for awhile and like theslacker boss that I am I'm just now getting to it. Sorry, Netgalley gods.
Byron Hemming's friend James informs him that two seconds are being added to the year. James knows all kinds of facts so Bryon becomes obsessed with the fact. It will mess everything up. You just can't mess with time.
Two seconds are huge. It's the difference between something happening and something not happening. You could take one step too many and fall over the edge of a cliff. It's very dangerous.
On the way to school that morning that Bryan thinks the time is being added his mom is running late taking his sister and Bryan to school. So she takes a shortcut through Digby Road, that bad part of town that his father has forbidden her to go.
Bryan's father has set ways that he wants his wife to act while he works away from home. He calls to make sure that no one is there with her every day. He comes home on weekends so she can wash his clothes. He buys her a new Jaguar so they can impress the other families in the snooty area they live in. I don't like Bryan's father.
"Although your father is a very clever man, of course. Much more clever than me. I've never read a book from start to finish."
"You've read magazines. You read cookery books."
"Yes, but they have pictures. Clever books only have words."
During that car ride Bryan sees his watch go back in time those two seconds. Then an accident happens and it changes that whole summer and the rest of all their lives.
There is an alternating viewpoint from current time of a man learning to live outside the mental hospital on his own. It ends up all tying into the story but it's a bumpy ride.
Usually I like darker reads, but dang this book read slow. I kept picking it up and making myself read.
Then the ending comes around and I ended up liking the book. It's dark and twisty and bleak.
I've had this book from Netgalley for awhile and like the
rachielove9's review against another edition
4.0
I read half of this book and got stuck. I felt heartbroken about all the characters involved, but I just couldn't see where it was going, so I set it aside and read a few other novels.
And then I went back. And I learned more about Diana, I met Beverly, I read through as a world came tumbling down, and I don't think that this story will ever leave me. This story of two seconds, of not two seconds, of how just two seconds can turn a whole world on its axis and change everything. It's the butterfly effect, something so small can set a world of trouble in motion, or a world of light. It would be awfully hard to tell what one small thing can do.
My favorite line from the novel:
"Her removal was so sudden it lacked all credibility." The whole book is written like that, in sentences that leap out at you, words used in ways you hadn't quite thought of before, but once you read them like that, it seems silly that they haven't always been used that way.
And then I went back. And I learned more about Diana, I met Beverly, I read through as a world came tumbling down, and I don't think that this story will ever leave me. This story of two seconds, of not two seconds, of how just two seconds can turn a whole world on its axis and change everything. It's the butterfly effect, something so small can set a world of trouble in motion, or a world of light. It would be awfully hard to tell what one small thing can do.
My favorite line from the novel:
"Her removal was so sudden it lacked all credibility." The whole book is written like that, in sentences that leap out at you, words used in ways you hadn't quite thought of before, but once you read them like that, it seems silly that they haven't always been used that way.