freebie_reads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Homophobia, Incest, Racism, Gun violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Cursing, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, and Kidnapping
this book started so slow & finally paced up after like 400 pages. All very pretentious, characters very unlovable, involves many slurs & is sadly not directly critiquing the bourgeoisie as i would have liked it to do. rich kids basically fuck up & have money & do drugs & drink and read books. wow. not really groundbreaking.annavdmout's review
4.0
Absolutely captivated by this novel and read it in a short period of time. The characters are unique and well-developed and the story definitely has some good plottwists. I do think it was a shame that I read this novel quite shortly after reading If We Were Villains, because the two are pretty similar in some aspects. Maybe I would have given this novel 5 stars as well if I had read it before or a long time after I read If We Were Villains, but alas, we will never know.
manona's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
3.5
endlessmeg's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- 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? Yes
4.5
julie_bookx's review
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
bybyberry's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The atmosphere was so well captured that at this point I believe I personally attended this college and became accomplice to a murder because I had a stupid obsession with Greek and belonging with fascinating people!!!
Anyway. This was a nice challenging read after my summer books ; the pace is slow, the characters are morally grey (or maybe completely dark), the narrator's sometimes unreliable. It's the kind of book that's so slow that it's sometimes hard to stay into it, but at the same time everytime i put it down i wanted to go back to it. While reading the last hundred pages in a tramway, I actually stayed long after my stop had come because I just wanted to keep on reading. I rode the tramway for an hour instead of 20min just to stay in the focus in my reading zone.
The writing is just splendid, my god, the atmosphere is so vivid, the nature, the colours, aaaah *chef's kiss*
I will say, it took me a while to "get" the characters, and I've read books with better characterisation before, especially when it comes to the only female protagonist, Camilla - I find that she's only described through being lovely and beautiful and delicate, and maybe it's because it's from the perspective of Richard, the narrator, but it was still a bit frustrating. And I don't think Julian, the magnetic professor, is as charismatic as he's supposed to be.
Overall I completely get why this book is thought as a modern classic and I think it has earned its title!!
Anyway. This was a nice challenging read after my summer books ; the pace is slow, the characters are morally grey (or maybe completely dark), the narrator's sometimes unreliable. It's the kind of book that's so slow that it's sometimes hard to stay into it, but at the same time everytime i put it down i wanted to go back to it. While reading the last hundred pages in a tramway, I actually stayed long after my stop had come because I just wanted to keep on reading. I rode the tramway for an hour instead of 20min just to stay in the focus in my reading zone.
The writing is just splendid, my god, the atmosphere is so vivid, the nature, the colours, aaaah *chef's kiss*
I will say, it took me a while to "get" the characters, and I've read books with better characterisation before, especially when it comes to the only female protagonist, Camilla - I find that she's only described through being lovely and beautiful and delicate, and maybe it's because it's from the perspective of Richard, the narrator, but it was still a bit frustrating. And I don't think Julian, the magnetic professor, is as charismatic as he's supposed to be.
Overall I completely get why this book is thought as a modern classic and I think it has earned its title!!
wikelel's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
oh_phelia's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5