Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Foe

Foe is a bit mid, I can see why some people were disappointed. With that being said, I did enjoy it. It's what some might call "quietly unsettling." This is NOT a horror or thriller, and it doesn't go into much detail with the sci-fi elements either, but if you read between the lines, that's where it gets interesting. I like the writing style, it's a quick read, and after looking up theories/explanations, I'm satisfied with the ending, which felt slightly anti-climactic at first.

"No, I say. It’s the opposite. Beauty isn’t fleeting. Beauty is eternal. But . . . I’m not. I’m fleeting. That’s more the point."

I think this has great movie potential, which is kind of the whole reason why I read it. I'm really excited for the movie adaptation that's coming out on October 6th (2023). I'm a reader but I also love movies, and I know the book is almost always better than the adaptation, but I think there's potential for this movie to be an exception. If not better than the book, let's just hope that it's at least almost as good.

Around a year ago I both read and saw I'm Thinking of Ending Things, which was also written by Iain Reid. That book is much better than Foe in my opinion, and I thought the movie was really good too.
Different, but good in its own ways.

"Habitual, comfortable activity is the worst kind of prison, because the bars are concealed. You can never learn anything that way."

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brandiereadsbooks's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

2.5

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horizonous's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

Unfortunatley a bit disappointing. Once again I really liked the writing style and this unsettling feeling throughout, but the plot and the characters just didn't really convince me.

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brookebatesratesbooks's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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bookburdy's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Can I just say this would have made a better movie than I'm Thinking of Ending Things?

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cursivewolf's review against another edition

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inspiring mysterious reflective tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

I’m not typically a fan of slow-burn type of stories, but this one just kept pulling me in. The suspense was palpable as it went on. I like how Reid uses quotation marks the way he does in the story, not to spoil anything. It was annoying at first, and could be at times, but towards the end you began to understand why. The ending is definitely worth getting to to understand a lot of the character development over the chapters before, and provides a twist you may or may not have seen coming.

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