A review by serendipitysbooks
Love Novel by Ivana Sajko

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 I found Love Novel to be a depressing read about a couple caught in an unhappy marriage. He is an unemployed Dante scholar trying, and failing, to write a book. She is a former actress who now stays at home caring for their child. Their disappointment with the way their lives have turned out, with the dreams that have not been realised, with their struggles to afford even life’s basic necessities, and with feeling left behind by a capitalist society was palpable. Instead of communicating honestly and supporting each other, they stewed inwardly and resented the other for not understanding and not giving them what they needed. Readers got to experience both their perspectives via their stream of consciousness thoughts, which created a really claustrophobic trapped atmosphere, capturing the way these unnamed characters felt about their lives. 
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