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A review by lozs_shelf
The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Boring. No real plot or conflict. I found the main characters (the couple and 3 friends) to be extremely unlikeable, obnoxious and unrelatable. They constantly made me mad with their unsavoury actions.
This books follows various characters (the couple and three friends), but most focuses on Celine and Luke over a year as they go from getting engaged to getting married. Most of the book is about ‘oh, they definitely shouldn’t get married to each other (or anyone really)’. But part from that nothing is no one is really going on and no one is really doing anything. The author seems to use this situation to philosophise dismally and dishearteningly about relationships and people.
The only part that I felt engaged and interest was Luke’s part where he debates about whether he should married Celine as he writes his grooms speech. I love when he philosophises about Jane Austen and feminism and everything else as it was peppered in throughout his internal struggle and debate, I wish the book was more like this. The characters having internal conflict while philosophising about life and relationships, instead of the characters philosophising about life and relationships while doing the most boring stuff. Honestly, you could pull Luke's part out and make a short story from it and I would eat it up. The rest of the book was so unnecessary.
I’d say this is a book with no plot, just vibes. But honestly the vibes were bleak.
Be warned that this is definitely not a ‘sparkling story of modern love', it’s a very pessimistic and cynical view of modern relationships (including familial, romantic and platonic) and the people in them.
Disclaimer: While, this is all my honest opinion, take my review with a grain of salt because I'm not the target audience for this book. I do not like literary fiction, I find it hella boring. I was hoping this book would be different considering it was marketed as 'sparkling' and 'witty' but it just didn't work for me and has cemented why I avoid literary fiction.
This books follows various characters (the couple and three friends), but most focuses on Celine and Luke over a year as they go from getting engaged to getting married. Most of the book is about ‘oh, they definitely shouldn’t get married to each other (or anyone really)’. But part from that nothing is no one is really going on and no one is really doing anything. The author seems to use this situation to philosophise dismally and dishearteningly about relationships and people.
The only part that I felt engaged and interest was Luke’s part where he debates about whether he should married Celine as he writes his grooms speech. I love when he philosophises about Jane Austen and feminism and everything else as it was peppered in throughout his internal struggle and debate, I wish the book was more like this. The characters having internal conflict while philosophising about life and relationships, instead of the characters philosophising about life and relationships while doing the most boring stuff. Honestly, you could pull Luke's part out and make a short story from it and I would eat it up. The rest of the book was so unnecessary.
I’d say this is a book with no plot, just vibes. But honestly the vibes were bleak.
Be warned that this is definitely not a ‘sparkling story of modern love', it’s a very pessimistic and cynical view of modern relationships (including familial, romantic and platonic) and the people in them.
Disclaimer: While, this is all my honest opinion, take my review with a grain of salt because I'm not the target audience for this book. I do not like literary fiction, I find it hella boring. I was hoping this book would be different considering it was marketed as 'sparkling' and 'witty' but it just didn't work for me and has cemented why I avoid literary fiction.