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sam8834's review against another edition
fast-paced
4.0
Pandemic fiction was kind of an inevitable thing in this decade and something my writer brain started thinking about pretty early on in 2020. How to do it and not come off completely cringe-y? I suppose with some distance from the worst days of COVID-19, stories that take place during that time become more readable...the past being more palatable when it's the past and all.
Regardless, I will pretty much go wherever Jia Tolentino wants to take me, and this story on influencer culture during the ravages of a pandemic is a cool fictional cousin to Trick Mirror, which I loved. There is a bit of a curve ball when the story veers off into an alternate timeline of events that are far more dystopian than what actually happened during COVID, and while not necessary, it was perhaps an ominous reminder? Of what could have been? It was a distraction more than halfway through the story, but maybe the inclusion of such fictions to create distance from real events makes COVID-adjacent fiction more digestible.
Regardless, I will pretty much go wherever Jia Tolentino wants to take me, and this story on influencer culture during the ravages of a pandemic is a cool fictional cousin to Trick Mirror, which I loved. There is a bit of a curve ball when the story veers off into an alternate timeline of events that are far more dystopian than what actually happened during COVID, and while not necessary, it was perhaps an ominous reminder? Of what could have been? It was a distraction more than halfway through the story, but maybe the inclusion of such fictions to create distance from real events makes COVID-adjacent fiction more digestible.
bookph1le's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this story's take on social media, and the alternative America it presented was interesting as well.
nellethebelle's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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
alaiaw's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
ketsy95's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Love Jia’s writing. It’s biting and contemporary in the best way. Wish this had focused solely on the relationship of the two women and the role of social media, the background stuff was neither grounded enough or extremely over the top to make it warrant that much attention.
andreiaoh's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
_reedmylife_'s review against another edition
3.0
I found this a fascinating look not only at social media influencers but the way in which the world sees social media influencers. I liked that the backdrop was against the Pandemic and the worsening conditions of the virus, the economy and social justice.
stephheartsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Seraphina...*insert eye roll here*. She is so unaware of what is really going on in the world that it was sickening. Her white privilege was shining so bright! I did enjoy this book. It sheds a light on how self absorbed and uncaring people can be.
andtheitoldyousos's review against another edition
3.0
This was the first piece that I picked up. I loved Tolentino back in The Hairpin days, Trick Mirror was one of my favorite reads of 2020, and I was intrigued by Tolentino giving us a fiction offering! "I Would Be Doing This Anyway" feels like a Tolentino personal essay. It's plugged in to the modern age, written in first-person, and reliant on social media. Our narrator becomes fascinated by a glamorous Influencer with whom they were briefly friendly in college. A pandemic hits (it feels at first like our current situation, but things slide into vague spec fiction angle that does not entirely work but I appreciate the try) and work dries up for everyone but influencers, leading our narrator to take on the role of "Assistant" (read: paid friend) for the Influencer. The tone attempts to be tongue-in-cheek, but the stretches into a possibly worse version of the pandemic are goofy in their earnestness, despite depicting troubling and terrible things. Luckily, this piece is performed by the always delightful Kelly Marie Tran. She keeps the whole thing afloat with both pep and pathos.