Scan barcode
A review by alishaabrahamsreads
The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride
challenging
dark
sad
tense
4.0
u need to read the TWs for this story, lots of graphic detailed triggering content
aside from that, the disordered/irregular writing style was a great way to buffer the intensity from the exploration of graphic abuse, molestation, and assault, as well as a great way to bestow personhood onto the victims of abuse. The gaps in the prose, the smaller and bigger words, the weird capitalization, the lack of quotations, the breakdown of inner thought into a jumble of poetry -- all add to representation of Eily and Stephen's thought-process, "unwellness," and complicated histories (and how they process those backgrounds)
I hope there is some irony running throughout the book, or hidden lingering thought that Eily and Stephen's relationship is not ideal -- b/c they should NOT be together -- i hope that Eily is just an unreliable narrator and not that we should be rooting for them
aside from that, the disordered/irregular writing style was a great way to buffer the intensity from the exploration of graphic abuse, molestation, and assault, as well as a great way to bestow personhood onto the victims of abuse. The gaps in the prose, the smaller and bigger words, the weird capitalization, the lack of quotations, the breakdown of inner thought into a jumble of poetry -- all add to representation of Eily and Stephen's thought-process, "unwellness," and complicated histories (and how they process those backgrounds)
I hope there is some irony running throughout the book, or hidden lingering thought that Eily and Stephen's relationship is not ideal -- b/c they should NOT be together -- i hope that Eily is just an unreliable narrator and not that we should be rooting for them
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment