A review by krrolf
My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin

adventurous funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book was so funny to me at times because the narrator perfectly communicates the soul-splitting agony of being 17, and a girl, and very special. Her mom is her mortal enemy one minute and the next she’s the impossible standard of perfection Sybella can never reach. Sybella’s mood swings from a triumphant self-absorbed intellectual to a self-deprecating melodramatic whiner. And I acted the same way at 17 over 100 years after this book was written, so it felt relatable. 
The plot sometimes felt disjointed, but overall I loved this book because it felt like an accurate teenage stream-of-consciousness, while demonstrating the impossible position of a young feminist at the end of the 19th century.