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cesspool_princess's review against another edition
4.0
Writing out the plot (as I understand it) in my notebook made me realize I like the book more than I thought I did if that makes sense. The plot is very juicy and scandalous but not too depraved and not too grand in scope (in fact the scope is very intimate) which gave this very much a soap opera vibe for me. Now this may sound like an insult to a seemingly "serious" novel (I dont know that the soap opera vibe im getting was intentional) BUT this atmosphere actually engendered the book with an unintentional charm that made certain aspects of the voice end up being FUNNY to me where I think to others who were taking the book very seriously those aspects were annoying. Basically all the characters and Charles's voice in a more general sense were sooooo melodramatic, to quote another review: "always ill at ease, uncomfortable, questioning their morality , thinking about death, being sick, or dying. The descriptions of their angst ridden conditions is poetic, but so poetic that it is enigmatic" which this totally rings true for me but since I started to kind of engage with it on those soap opera terms, this brooding melodrama took on an ironical charm for me (think James from Twin Peaks, where he is so angsty/ annoying but it wraps around and becomes funny). I think this is what allowed me to rly enjoy the book even when at its most obscure, opaque, challenging and yes even angsty. It also made the moments where the angst and sadness broke through the soap opera veneer actually hit me harder than I was expecting. There is a lot of legitimate sadness here: alienation/ estrangement from family (indeed from the only person who you feels might truly understand you), the realization that ones own values / persona are/is fraudulent, how self denial can destroy relationships, feeling like one has trapped oneself in their own circumstances etc etc. Some of the philosophical musing and just general aspects of the narrative were indeed very profound and thought provoking. Robert's writing at the end was very beautiful, especially the first few pieces. I think the framing device worked here as well and the opacity of the narrative felt very intentional and was serving the themes of the book well. Also when the drama itself is at its peak it is so fun: the sermon scene for example was just delicious.
ashleyhoss820's review against another edition
3.0
Have you ever watched a movie because it happened to be on TV but you started it, like, halfway through so sometimes they'll start talking about things that happened earlier in the movie and you have no clue what they're talking about? That's how I felt with this book. It's a fast read and pleasant enough, I just felt like I had missed something...
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