A review by pizzabrot
Looking for Mr. Goodbar by Judith Rossner
5.0
Reread in 2019, almost one year later: This book hasn't lost its grip on me, the writing style is magnificent in that it actually makes you slip into Theresa's shoes and understanding her so well despite her quite...obscure ways of living. Whoring around in bars is not exactly one of my favourite past-time activities, and yet I felt I could connect with Theresa so much. After all, self-sabotaging is something probably many of us are prone to, and often unwilling to admit even to ourselves. Theresa's sabotaging of potential loving relationships because she doesn't think she deserves anyone or anything remotely good (steeming from a deeper sense of self-hate) is something that hit closer to home than I myself would like to admit, and is probably the reason why I simply feel this book so incredibly much. A truly special read, by now already one of my all-time favourites books - even though I have to say that admitting to this when showing the blurb to people does make feel very self-conscious and embarrassed, being able to read their minds without them having to say so: "Why does Kathi - innocent Kathi - love reading about a woman sleeping around with strangers?" The answer is: because there's so much else to this book. An incredibly profound psychological case study that stays with you for a long time.
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Oh god, this book took me totally by surprise! I had expected nothing, absolutely nothing from it. I wasn't even excited when I started it and relieved that it wasn't going to be too long of a read. But wow! I appreciate the characterization of the protagonist so much, it's unlike everything I've read before. I could emphasize more with Theresa than many people and even I myself would expect, her being the total opposite of me and yet...her thoughts and feelings felt so familiar and I think that's the case for many women actually (not that we are proud to admit it). I wouldn't classify this one as a thriller. You immediately know what happens and who did it. But it's one of the best character-driven stories I've ever read, blunt and harsh in Theresa's portrayal - and yet so incredibly honest. The inner workings of one's mind aren't always so pretty as media wants us to think. And I appreciate how it makes us think next time we end up reading a news story about a murdered woman, who seemingly was at her own fault, "because she was asking for it, hanging out in bars and sleeping with random strangers". There's always a story behind everyone's story.
PS: Not a big fan of the very long and detailed description of the sex-scenes, but I feel they're an important part of this book in describing Theresa's mental relationship with men and herself.
PS2: Maybe surprisingly, I wouldn't really recommend this book to anyone, mainly because I'm certain it won't be a 5-star-read for most people. I don't even have a rational reason for giving it the highest score, other than that I connected with the story so much, while also being completely shocked and even disgusted by it.
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Oh god, this book took me totally by surprise! I had expected nothing, absolutely nothing from it. I wasn't even excited when I started it and relieved that it wasn't going to be too long of a read. But wow! I appreciate the characterization of the protagonist so much, it's unlike everything I've read before. I could emphasize more with Theresa than many people and even I myself would expect, her being the total opposite of me and yet...her thoughts and feelings felt so familiar and I think that's the case for many women actually (not that we are proud to admit it). I wouldn't classify this one as a thriller. You immediately know what happens and who did it. But it's one of the best character-driven stories I've ever read, blunt and harsh in Theresa's portrayal - and yet so incredibly honest. The inner workings of one's mind aren't always so pretty as media wants us to think. And I appreciate how it makes us think next time we end up reading a news story about a murdered woman, who seemingly was at her own fault, "because she was asking for it, hanging out in bars and sleeping with random strangers". There's always a story behind everyone's story.
PS: Not a big fan of the very long and detailed description of the sex-scenes, but I feel they're an important part of this book in describing Theresa's mental relationship with men and herself.
PS2: Maybe surprisingly, I wouldn't really recommend this book to anyone, mainly because I'm certain it won't be a 5-star-read for most people. I don't even have a rational reason for giving it the highest score, other than that I connected with the story so much, while also being completely shocked and even disgusted by it.