Scan barcode
A review by c_serpent
Homesick for Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The voice is interesting.
There's too much sex in this book for me to pretend to have enjoyed it.
It felt like a collection of short stories I would have been forced to read in a college lit class, and I would come up with something to say in class, and maybe pretend to like a single story, but actually I would have hated it, and I would draw things in the margin of my notebook while the girl I sat next to talked about the sex in the book, and I would be uncomfortable.
Then I would write a three-paragraph comparative essay on three of the stories in the book and what the common theme was in these stories(displacement) and how the author achieved this (by placing every single character in some kind of a fugue state, and using first person to force you into their perspective, and then having the characters do things that are amoral, like not telling a girl she's having a baby or a miscarriage, or lying to random people, or sex with somebody that they have no business even interacting with).
And then I would get an A on the paper, and I would sell the book to Half Price Books and spend the money on a Snickers bar to get me through L203: Intro to Family Law.
One star has been awarded because of the interesting literary voice. Another has been awarded because I could see one of my favorite professors assigning this book, and I loved her, and I hope she's well.
Total score: 2/5 stars
There's too much sex in this book for me to pretend to have enjoyed it.
It felt like a collection of short stories I would have been forced to read in a college lit class, and I would come up with something to say in class, and maybe pretend to like a single story, but actually I would have hated it, and I would draw things in the margin of my notebook while the girl I sat next to talked about the sex in the book, and I would be uncomfortable.
Then I would write a three-paragraph comparative essay on three of the stories in the book and what the common theme was in these stories(displacement) and how the author achieved this (by placing every single character in some kind of a fugue state, and using first person to force you into their perspective, and then having the characters do things that are amoral, like not telling a girl she's having a baby or a miscarriage, or lying to random people, or sex with somebody that they have no business even interacting with).
And then I would get an A on the paper, and I would sell the book to Half Price Books and spend the money on a Snickers bar to get me through L203: Intro to Family Law.
One star has been awarded because of the interesting literary voice. Another has been awarded because I could see one of my favorite professors assigning this book, and I loved her, and I hope she's well.
Total score: 2/5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, and Sexual content
Moderate: Addiction and Racial slurs
Minor: Self harm and Blood