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kingarooski's review against another edition
2.0
This was not my favourite Naomi Alderman book. It was, in places, a bit slow but did remind me of A Secret History.
svmreads's review against another edition
As soon as I saw how the gay relationship was written in this book I said NOPE.
jennaclarek's review against another edition
3.0
Picked this up bc it's dark academia and HONESTLY I was happily surprised by it. It isn't my fave by any means, but totally worth the read, had some great lines, and I really liked the main character more than I expected.
It's very typical in some ways - same weird sexual tensions, same drinking and drugs and weird friendships, etc. - but what I liked about this book was that the main point of the story wasn't so much the tragedy as it was the relationships. Like mostly why I pick up these books is to figure out what weird mystery we're solving and you don't get this tragedy until like 85% of the way through so most of the book is about the characters being friends and working through school and life. And at the end of the day it's about the MC figuring out that he deserves better.
Obviously it's pretentious as hell and it's set at Oxford and some of the characters are forgettable/repugnant but at the end of the day I really liked James' arc and I liked how he sees the world and his inner monologue. (I'm a sucker for Oxford stories too so this was really great for me). It's so strange bc this book is like...UN HEARD OF - I can't find hardly any reviews or people who've read it but I found ONE graphic about it on Tumblr and it's actually not a bad book!! Like, totally worth reading. The tragedy was kind of predictable but also really dark and different but still a little ambiguous.
Yeah anyway I just wish more people had read it so I could talk about the bisexual disaster that is James whatever his last name is.
It's very typical in some ways - same weird sexual tensions, same drinking and drugs and weird friendships, etc. - but what I liked about this book was that the main point of the story wasn't so much the tragedy as it was the relationships. Like mostly why I pick up these books is to figure out what weird mystery we're solving and you don't get this tragedy until like 85% of the way through so most of the book is about the characters being friends and working through school and life. And at the end of the day it's about the MC figuring out that he deserves better.
Obviously it's pretentious as hell and it's set at Oxford and some of the characters are forgettable/repugnant but at the end of the day I really liked James' arc and I liked how he sees the world and his inner monologue. (I'm a sucker for Oxford stories too so this was really great for me). It's so strange bc this book is like...UN HEARD OF - I can't find hardly any reviews or people who've read it but I found ONE graphic about it on Tumblr and it's actually not a bad book!! Like, totally worth reading. The tragedy was kind of predictable but also really dark and different but still a little ambiguous.
Yeah anyway I just wish more people had read it so I could talk about the bisexual disaster that is James whatever his last name is.
bdelacy's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
daisyemmahughes's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
grace_griff's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 ⭐️ it’s not like this was a BAD book but it was just so meh. nothing happened, nobody did anything or thought anything. they were really trying to go for ‘if we were villains’/ gatsby/ dorian gray and trying to write beautiful and profound prose but failed. i didn’t dnf bc i trusted that SOMETHING has to happen like why else would the book be published but i was wrong
waggaboy's review against another edition
5.0
To compare this novel to those of Donna Tart is unfair. Naomi Alderman writes effortlessly with great warmth. There is none of that cold objectivity find in Donna Tart’s novels. The subject matter is not always pleasant, the relationships not always perfect but they are always believable. Now I want to read more ofNaomi Alderman’s writing.
catherine_louise's review against another edition
3.0
this book started off so promising but then just collapsed halfway through- none of the characters, and mark least of all, seemed that well drawn, so the relationships James had w/ them were less than compelling. this is the second book I’ve tried of Naomi Alderman’s and something about her style I seem to really struggle with, so here we are
some nice insights about growing up/ maturing/ college life, though, for sure!!
some nice insights about growing up/ maturing/ college life, though, for sure!!