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maddie_lewis28's review against another edition
5.0
This book was so good. I read it for my Crime Fiction class and I feel like at first I thought of it as okay. But After reading the end, holy shit. And honestly analyzing it for my class discussion board post (number 3 of 3) made me appreciate this book even more. Oliver is taking a stance in society and in noir and she has something different to say. She is showing what it was like for women in society and she was showing the whole truth even the ugly parts. I appreciated it.
**************************SPOILERS AHEAD****************************************
I AM INCLUDING MY RESPONSES TO THE FINAL DISCUSSION POST (because I felt very passionate and writing those made me appreciate this book even more)
Here is my post for my discussion board:
"The "us" in this book are Lònia, Sebastiana, and Gaudí. At first it is only Lònia because unlike the other detectives we have read about, Carvalho, the Op, and Philip Marlowe, she acknowledges her mistakes and is more human. While she may be immoral at times, she acknowledges it and never tries to be something she isn't. At the beginning of the novel she says that she has Neus as her photographer because she isn't good enough herself. She also makes mistakes well talking to people and realizes that she messes up and admits it. Whereas the other detectives thought they were the smartest and the best. Sebastiana can also be seen as the "us" because she is this character who has had these horrible things thrown at her and she is just trying to cope and is scared. She was raped and is afraid of what her parents will think and do and she just wants to do what is right, but doesn't know what that is. In that sense she is just like the rest of us. Gaudí takes a while to be the "us". It is not until the end that we can feel a connection to her. When we learn that these three men she was after had raped her and she was just trying to get her own revenge, we as readers become more understanding. She knows the police would have done nothing and she doesn't want men going about thinkingn this behavior is okay. She takes things into her own hands and always made sure to call the family or call for help because she didn't want the men to die. Although she didn't want them to die for the wrong reasons, she wanted them to suffer more, nonetheless she still never wished death on them. The "them" in this story are most of the men in this story, not Quim however. Men in this book just want to use women and on multiple occasions they had insinuated that in return for them helping Lònia she had to sleep with them. These men all thought of women in a sexual light, even Quim who commented about Gaudí in a sexual way, and thought of women as objects to be used. Two women in this book were raped and Lònia herself was almost raped. The "them" is the men because they are forcing themselves on women and think that the only thing that matters is their pleasure and their own gain."
Here was a response to a classmate:
"I agree that this book was different and was a refreshing read. The books we have read so far have these narcissistic male lead detectives, as you mentioned, who seem to judge every one arounf them and view women as objects and things for them to use for their own gain. It was nice to see a women's side of it and see someone who didn't think she was the best. I also agree that Marlowe and Lònia are somewhat similar because they both make mistakes and aren't as "all knowing" as the Op."
Here is another response:
"I agree that it is very mucc a gift because Lònia has done almost all of the work and is giving Arquer many leads. I think one reason she does this and offers this to him is that she doesn't find interest in this part of the case. Her job was to find the men for Gaudí and she did that. She wanted to know Gaudí's truth and she learned that. She is mourning Sebastiana who she connected with and I think she sees Gaudí as a second chance. I think she wants to help Gaudí in the way she didn't with Sebastiana. So I think she doesn't care about all this extra crime she found because she stumbled upon it all by accident."
**************************SPOILERS AHEAD****************************************
I AM INCLUDING MY RESPONSES TO THE FINAL DISCUSSION POST (because I felt very passionate and writing those made me appreciate this book even more)
Here is my post for my discussion board:
"The "us" in this book are Lònia, Sebastiana, and Gaudí. At first it is only Lònia because unlike the other detectives we have read about, Carvalho, the Op, and Philip Marlowe, she acknowledges her mistakes and is more human. While she may be immoral at times, she acknowledges it and never tries to be something she isn't. At the beginning of the novel she says that she has Neus as her photographer because she isn't good enough herself. She also makes mistakes well talking to people and realizes that she messes up and admits it. Whereas the other detectives thought they were the smartest and the best. Sebastiana can also be seen as the "us" because she is this character who has had these horrible things thrown at her and she is just trying to cope and is scared. She was raped and is afraid of what her parents will think and do and she just wants to do what is right, but doesn't know what that is. In that sense she is just like the rest of us. Gaudí takes a while to be the "us". It is not until the end that we can feel a connection to her. When we learn that these three men she was after had raped her and she was just trying to get her own revenge, we as readers become more understanding. She knows the police would have done nothing and she doesn't want men going about thinkingn this behavior is okay. She takes things into her own hands and always made sure to call the family or call for help because she didn't want the men to die. Although she didn't want them to die for the wrong reasons, she wanted them to suffer more, nonetheless she still never wished death on them. The "them" in this story are most of the men in this story, not Quim however. Men in this book just want to use women and on multiple occasions they had insinuated that in return for them helping Lònia she had to sleep with them. These men all thought of women in a sexual light, even Quim who commented about Gaudí in a sexual way, and thought of women as objects to be used. Two women in this book were raped and Lònia herself was almost raped. The "them" is the men because they are forcing themselves on women and think that the only thing that matters is their pleasure and their own gain."
Here was a response to a classmate:
"I agree that this book was different and was a refreshing read. The books we have read so far have these narcissistic male lead detectives, as you mentioned, who seem to judge every one arounf them and view women as objects and things for them to use for their own gain. It was nice to see a women's side of it and see someone who didn't think she was the best. I also agree that Marlowe and Lònia are somewhat similar because they both make mistakes and aren't as "all knowing" as the Op."
Here is another response:
"I agree that it is very mucc a gift because Lònia has done almost all of the work and is giving Arquer many leads. I think one reason she does this and offers this to him is that she doesn't find interest in this part of the case. Her job was to find the men for Gaudí and she did that. She wanted to know Gaudí's truth and she learned that. She is mourning Sebastiana who she connected with and I think she sees Gaudí as a second chance. I think she wants to help Gaudí in the way she didn't with Sebastiana. So I think she doesn't care about all this extra crime she found because she stumbled upon it all by accident."
rosmona's review
4.0
Novela negra, feminista e en catalán. What's not to like? Deixoume con ganas de ler as outras 2 novelas coa mesma protagonista
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