Reviews

The Pisces by Melissa Broder

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readingfrankly's review against another edition

4.25

Ngl, I did kinda want her to have a worse ending- one she deserved for what she did to Dominic. I will just have to imagine her sister realizes one day what a piece of crap she is.

That said, I read this as an audiobook and I adore the way Melissa Broder reads her stories. It adds so much to the experience. I only wish I'd had a physical copy I could read along with to annotate.

This fmc is a lot more unlikable than in Milk Fed. While I read Milk Fed in a single night, it took me the better part of 3 weeks to finish this book. I had to be in the right mood for it. She's both relatable and also of course infuriating, which is the point. Be prepared for a casually deplorable character because that's what Lucy is. One of the best parts of this book is realizing that things are so warped because you're reading through Lucy's eyes rather than anyone else's.This may be implying some spoilers, so be warned, but I feel there was almost a Devil Wears Prada moment at one point where she realizes how horrible of a person her friend is and the scene kinda makes you think, okay, see she is better than this woman because she knows how terrible she is and infuriatingly has the gull to show useless and fleeting remorse. In truth, she's delusional because she isn't any better. I get that sometimes one has to hit rock bottom, so maybe that was the metaphor there. And, yes, mental illness. But also, personal accountability still exists, even when one is depressed.

But there is a point of no return and this character hits it and manages to escape unscathed which is annoying to me. I will have to reflect on why Broder wrote it that way, because I'm sure it was intentional.

All this to say, I enjoyed this book. It was thought provoking and the writing was beautiful and it was of course incredibly bizarre and weird and raw and I love that. Melissa Broder truly has a gift. Overall I prefer Milk Fed to this one, but it's more out of personal preference than thinking that one is objectively better than the other.