A review by cae
Trust Exercise by Susan Choi
3.0
I like that this book follows its own unconventional narrative path. It doesn't do much and it doesn't go anywhere; it has no ending, but that's okay, you don't expect one because it had no beginning either. I liked the switches between narrators, and particularly later in the book, between first and third person. All these elements seem like such no-no's in writing, it was liberating to see these rules broken, and to acknowledge that the story wasn't worse off for them. Very refreshing.
I liked that the characters thought their self reflective thoughts like real people do, thinking incessantly, about themselves and other people and themselves in relation to the other people, never shutting up in this annoying self destructive inconsequential loop that ultimately serves no purpose.
That said, I just thought it was pretty boring. As great as it is, to have these real-feeling perspectives, if it's a story with minimal plot, I have to care, to some degree, about the characters and their fate. The narrators have a strong disdain for everyone around them, so you cannot feel amiable towards anyone, least of all the narrators themselves with their pessimistic point of views. After a while it grew extremely emotionally draining being in their heads, never see something pleasant or beautiful or joyful anywhere in their lives. As someone who doesn't often come across horror that suits their tastes; this comes close to being horror for me than any generic novel in that genre. There's a claustrophobic bleakness to the progression of these characters lives. Never hopeful, always cynical, always hypercritical of themselves and all that lives around them. There is no escape, no comfort.
I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, but I'm not mad I read it.
I liked that the characters thought their self reflective thoughts like real people do, thinking incessantly, about themselves and other people and themselves in relation to the other people, never shutting up in this annoying self destructive inconsequential loop that ultimately serves no purpose.
That said, I just thought it was pretty boring. As great as it is, to have these real-feeling perspectives, if it's a story with minimal plot, I have to care, to some degree, about the characters and their fate. The narrators have a strong disdain for everyone around them, so you cannot feel amiable towards anyone, least of all the narrators themselves with their pessimistic point of views. After a while it grew extremely emotionally draining being in their heads, never see something pleasant or beautiful or joyful anywhere in their lives. As someone who doesn't often come across horror that suits their tastes; this comes close to being horror for me than any generic novel in that genre. There's a claustrophobic bleakness to the progression of these characters lives. Never hopeful, always cynical, always hypercritical of themselves and all that lives around them. There is no escape, no comfort.
I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, but I'm not mad I read it.