Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Great Gatsby meets Mad Men. O’Hara skewers small town life, the upper middle class, and American manhood. Honestly he eviscerates it. Appt drops us into a three (two?) day period over the course of Christmas as Julian English’s carefully constructed facade unravels. The pace moves fast. The prose is matter of fact with some decorative flourishes here and there. Tragic and funny and a little off-putting, it grinds the myth of the American dream into dust.
the first step on my road to literary enlightenment according to the Board of the Modern Library.
i didn't get it.
i didn't get it.
This book was sitting in my bookshelf for so long. I decided to read it as my first 2024 book as it’s not a big book. 10 chapters in all. It’s one of those books that are a bit hard to get into at first and personally i found it a bit hard to memorise the names at first but i really did enjoy the last 4 chapters the most. Last time I read it was around 2019 or before that so it shocked me all over again. It’s a great novel that deals with life in the 1930’s and the struggles that sometimes we live in now.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read my full thoughts on this book and hundreds more over at Read.Write.Repeat.
I definitely enjoyed this book more than others on the list, though it would not rank in my top five or anything. The story felt more accessible than many others on the list, somehow. It wasn't perfect for me; there were several points where my interest waned. Overall, though, I enjoyed it.
I definitely enjoyed this book more than others on the list, though it would not rank in my top five or anything. The story felt more accessible than many others on the list, somehow. It wasn't perfect for me; there were several points where my interest waned. Overall, though, I enjoyed it.
Between this and the Arthur Miller plays, I’ve found myself reading tales of men going on a rapid decline to unfortunate ends.
The narrative drifts over various members of the Gibbsville community and gives you the sense of the small town where everyone grew up with everyone and socialising at the club or various parties seems to be near constant.
The main focus is on Jonny McHenry English and his wife Caroline. They felt like a very real couple and this is probably because we get to see into both of their pieces prior to the present.
It was incredible fun to read the decline of Mr. McHenry English who makes on faux pas, and then can’t seem to stop upon the realisation that this community and situation is his lot for the rest of his life.
The narrative drifts over various members of the Gibbsville community and gives you the sense of the small town where everyone grew up with everyone and socialising at the club or various parties seems to be near constant.
The main focus is on Jonny McHenry English and his wife Caroline. They felt like a very real couple and this is probably because we get to see into both of their pieces prior to the present.
It was incredible fun to read the decline of Mr. McHenry English who makes on faux pas, and then can’t seem to stop upon the realisation that this community and situation is his lot for the rest of his life.