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glowbird's review against another edition
3.0
More like 3.5. The story moves at a good clip and the central meditation on the importance of physical beauty and its impact on relationships is interesting. I didn't find the story funny but it is witty and wry.
The author makes some interesting and pointed assertions about how men and women view beauty in romantic relationships, but didn't take those conversations far enough for me. Similarly, the four women are depicted as loving and weirdly mismatched friends, but their character development gets sacrificed in favor of moving the plot along.
I'd read this author again.
The author makes some interesting and pointed assertions about how men and women view beauty in romantic relationships, but didn't take those conversations far enough for me. Similarly, the four women are depicted as loving and weirdly mismatched friends, but their character development gets sacrificed in favor of moving the plot along.
I'd read this author again.
routergirl's review against another edition
4.0
Strange, interesting, and I sped through it. Reminded me a little of Susan Trott's books, for some reason. But sharper. I don't think it would appeal to everyone, but yes, I liked it.
pagemasters's review against another edition
5.0
Great book that’s written very well! I highly recommend!
lahempstead3's review against another edition
1.0
It has a ridiculous premise and just didn't come together.
_cayti_'s review against another edition
2.0
This was a strange book - reminded me of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World where it's based in reality but things are weird. But I like Scott Pilgram and I kinda liked this book. I don't think it will be everybody's cup of tea though, other reviews here are not on its side. Would give it 2.5 stars if I could.
mpstory's review against another edition
2.0
A combination of a bad teen horror movie, chick lit and Aimee Bender's The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. I didn't like it, but it was compelling.
vasuki's review against another edition
3.0
this book was interesting, strange, and random. parts of it were captivating and I have to say I read it within one day because the plot was engaging, but there was just so much other stuff going on with this book that I don't think I can write a useful review.... also there were parts of this that I thought were problematic, like the concept that women's obsessions and dissatisfactions with their bodies are caused by solely themselves, and also a couple of rape mentions in inappropriate contexts. this book had vibes of "and then there were none" by agatha christie mixed with "cinderella" which made for a worthy plot line. overall I was happy with the writing style and impressed with the concept, though I think it could have been executed better.
lucrezi's review against another edition
3.0
Amanda Filipacchi is one of my favorite authors, one of her funniest books being Love Creeps, published in 2005. I also liked Vapor. The Unfortunate Importance of Beauty is more like Vapor in that they have touches of magic realism--that should explain the weird, supernatural turns of the story. I like that though, so I'm not complaining.
The humor is fairly dry, but only in the first half of the novel. The second half starts getting a little melodramatic save for a few moments of funny. This novel isn't as funny as Love Creeps, which is totally fine given the subject matter. This still isn't a dealbreaker.
My problem is that you don't really get a feel of the individuality of the characters. They don't have distinct personalities that pop right out at you from the page. And although I found myself agreeing with her beliefs, I didn't find the protagonist all that compelling, either.
I appreciate the points Filipacchi was trying to make, but she kinda bulldozed through the careful setup with how suddenly the it ended. I wished she could have resolved it more gracefully like she did her previous novels... but not really. Egh. I just didn't feel invested in any of the characters.
The humor is fairly dry, but only in the first half of the novel. The second half starts getting a little melodramatic save for a few moments of funny. This novel isn't as funny as Love Creeps, which is totally fine given the subject matter. This still isn't a dealbreaker.
My problem is that you don't really get a feel of the individuality of the characters. They don't have distinct personalities that pop right out at you from the page. And although I found myself agreeing with her beliefs, I didn't find the protagonist all that compelling, either.
I appreciate the points Filipacchi was trying to make, but she kinda bulldozed through the careful setup with how suddenly the it ended. I wished she could have resolved it more gracefully like she did her previous novels... but not really. Egh. I just didn't feel invested in any of the characters.
cdlindwall's review against another edition
1.0
Uhhhh so confused by the positive reviews of this book. It's been a while since I've read something with so little nuance, wit, or intelligence. Story about a group of friends/a murder plot/some other shit that didn't make sense. In an ideal world, this book could've been a sharp satirizing of the superficiality imposed upon women BIZARRE, man. Beautiful cover, and not even a terrible plot idea if it were handled by a more adept writer, but LORD. A case study in why writing style matters as much as content.
katie_needles's review against another edition
5.0
probably one of the best books i’ve ever read and so i find the reviews to be very confusing