Reviews

Chaos. If you don't enjoy chaos, this is not for you. Harwich writes in a way that feels sporadic, and, even if you are giving the sentences 100% of your attention, you'll find yourself lost in the ever shifting mentality created for this character. This is not an approachable book. The writing style will not be enjoyed by most, expect for maybe hardcore fans of On The Road. I enjoyed this, and want to read more from Harwicz.

emsemsems's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Had a very promising start, which led to a messy middle. The ending was frustratingly anticlimactic. Too much animal imagery and symbolism - which I personally did not appreciate. I thought I enjoyed the tone of the narrator even though it was a bit intense and vaguely provocative. I thought wrong - because it got a bit overwhelming - there was no rhythm to it. The constancy of the intensity caused a sort of sedative monotony.

I actually really liked the part where Harwicz wrote about one of the men's perspective, but it was very limited. I wish she had worked on that a bit more. It almost felt pointless to introduce that to the readers if she wasn't going to incorporate that further into the plot later in the book. Unless that was actually the woman/narrator's imagination of him? The narrative was slightly confusing (but I think that that was intentional - and/but it really fits well to the idea/theme of the novel).

In a general sense, I think the book is about a domestic nightmare(s). It explores the domestic life and issues of contemporary/'modern' women and men quite well (to be clear : 'straight marital lives'). There was one bit though that made me feel quite conflicted. The bit where the narrator observes a gay social media influencer contemplating suicide from afar. It was a very short scene - only a couple lines; and it was made to sound like that was just waffled in and presented as a 'roadside festivity/attraction'. Why did Harwicz find it necessary to put that into the book? That paralleled with all the strictly/aggressively 'straight' characters in the book made me roll my eyes involuntarily.

I really enjoyed the beginning, but as a whole the book felt like it was all over the place - did not feel like it had a real 'direction'. I didn't come to this conclusion because of the very disappointing ending, but I think from the middle on, it almost felt like the writer had lost her flow. I'm still giving it 3-stars because of how well the first half of the book was written. It's like one of those TV series - Games of Thrones? Fuck that half-arsed final season.

natalie_b's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.75

This book felt too smart for me to understand. Also I was drunk while reading most of it that might have a thing to do with it.

guadagar's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

nickdleblanc's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Goddamn this book was sad. I didn't really feel the comparisons to Lynch, with the exception of maybe the "girl in trouble" motif. But I definitely felt the comparisons to Cassavetes, or more appropriately Gena Rowlands portrayals of troubled women. Some reviews I have seen position the narrator's instability on breaking out of her societally appointed roles, but for me it just read as illness. The narrator and her husband are contemptible parents, I am happy not to be spending anymore time with them. Truth be told, I have a one year old daughter and have a mother who had struggles with mental illness so maybe this was a little too close to home. Also, I have experienced some of these impulses or intrusive thoughts--as I'm sure most have--so seeing them play out in prose is a geat reminder that I have always made the right decision in not following them. Despite all of this, I was compelled to keep reading, so that counts for something. I could definitely see how this book may have been an exorcism of sorts for Harwicz. Not something I'd read again.

stebra's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.0

damara_reads's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective sad tense medium-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

More...