Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Too Much Lip

This book is witty and gritty. I liked the main character. The commentary on indigenous attitudes about colonialism and how that has affected people is very poignant. There were some things that threw me out of disbelief a little bit like a character who is long thought dead actually being alive, and the ending of the book being the discovery of a get rich quick deus ex machina. I felt like some things did not have resolution. But overall very dense and worthwhile.

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ashtronomic's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book holds nothing back, a raw, dark and brutal perspective on the experiences of Indigenous Australians.

Too Much Lip was difficult to read and that’s a good thing. The characters are disagreeable, but the novel takes readers on a journey to identify the necessity for their often unlikeable personalities. The novel explores the effect that generational trauma continues to have on first nations peoples in Australia and how that impacts families every day. Whilst reading I often found myself inwardly flinching due to uncomfortable situations and actions, so much so, that I was having doubts in the first few chapters. However, as the tale unravels you come to sympathise with the protagonists even as their actions continue to be contentious.

My only negative opinion on this book is that some POV chapters feel out of place and unnecessary.

This book's message is one that is incredibly difficult to convey, but Melissa Lucashenko has done an incredible job of enunciating the issue. If only more white Australians had any interest in experiencing these perspectives.

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sabine_f's review

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4.5

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anacereading's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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seanamcphie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

not sure why she was made to be ostensibly a lesbian in the first place since it had little bearing on the story and she quickly started a relationship with a random white dude. it felt very weird to start the story off with her describing herself and being described as a dyke and a lezzo and then continuing to call herself that to other ppl when she was dating a dude? i don’t know why the author didn’t just make her straight if she wasn’t intending on actually exploring bisexuality. like it was so random. she goes out jogging one day and bumps into a hot guy she once went to school with and immediately the narrative starts cataloguing and detailing all his muscles and physical attractiveness and how much the main character wants to fuck him with no introspection at all on the narrator’s part. just very random.

this book was incredibly funny but also shocking and really pulled no punches when examining being indigenous and racism and colonisation. i found the quips and banter between characters to be engaging and was really hypnotized by the audiobook narrator’s portrayal of the characters, especially pretty mary. i think the strength of the dialogue and the pointed insights embedded in the prose helped to make the darker and more heartbreaking elements sit properly, and i came away from this book with a lot to think about.

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