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alisarae's Reviews (1.65k)
This is a bit more complex than what I remember of the movie. Sharp plot! Except for the instalove that makes no sense... dude cooked up an elaborate plot to kill a man to be with the guy's hot wife, who he had kissed a total of one time and talked to for like 2 hours max. At least have a proper affair first before you commit! Lol
Anyways I like the noir elements and Phyllis has a very cool backstory that deserves a longer novel.
Anyways I like the noir elements and Phyllis has a very cool backstory that deserves a longer novel.
Really cute illustrations and I love how innocent and friendly the characters are.
So cute! I loved the sports day storyline and it made me think I need to try some sports manga. The dynamic between Futaba, Toma, and Taichi is so sweet: three very different personalities but they all spur each other on.
This is my least favorite volume in the series so far bc of the boring and awkward relationship drama.... the characters don't do anything and barely talk except for Mami lol. That said, I was totally on board with Mami's feminist tirades! She surprised me as a character. Shingo was also cool to see more of, an outside the curve stoner type. His last line is so ironic in English, I wonder if it is the same in Japanese? My favorite character continues to be Masumi!! She is so cool and gives lgbt mafia boss vibes
This volume had such a profound and extended discussion about homophobia. I really respect the author for plumbing the depths of the psychology of it, and making the characters mature enough to confront each other and have a direct conversation about it.
I like how this series wrapped up! It wasn't my favorite volume but I am satisfied with the ending and the final choices the characters made felt authentic.
I was so impressed by how clear headed and level handed this author is! The book demystified the thick fog of rhetoric and cut straight through to the marrow of Levantine politics.
Read with the Virtual Socialism Reading Group.
Read with the Virtual Socialism Reading Group.
Wooow this was so different than Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice. It is not the hardboiled noir that I was expecting.
First, the book is longer and the pace is slower.
Second, the dread is a thick cloud and a slow burn. Whenever something good happens, you can never fully rest because you know that something terrible is right around the corner.
Third, the primary drama is between mother and daughter instead of husband and wife.
Finally, the psychology of the characters is complex! In the other books, it is pretty straightforward (instant sexual attraction, therefore a need to get rid of existing husband). There is a point in Double Indemnity where a character explains a psychological theory to another character to pull back the sheets on the plot point that had happened - but it is obviously being explained more for the reader's benefit than the character's. In Mildred Pierce, the author expects much more of the reader. A lot is explained; a lot is left unsaid. He did a great job developing the layers, links, and dysfunctions between Mildred and Veda. I say this because even though there is this disturbing subliminal incestuous undercurrent going on between mother and daughter, we as the reader are led to empathize so completely with Mildred.
Truly, a master class in that midcentury psychological terror that feels so fresh even today.
First, the book is longer and the pace is slower.
Second, the dread is a thick cloud and a slow burn. Whenever something good happens, you can never fully rest because you know that something terrible is right around the corner.
Third, the primary drama is between mother and daughter instead of husband and wife.
Finally, the psychology of the characters is complex! In the other books, it is pretty straightforward (instant sexual attraction, therefore a need to get rid of existing husband). There is a point in Double Indemnity where a character explains a psychological theory to another character to pull back the sheets on the plot point that had happened - but it is obviously being explained more for the reader's benefit than the character's. In Mildred Pierce, the author expects much more of the reader. A lot is explained; a lot is left unsaid. He did a great job developing the layers, links, and dysfunctions between Mildred and Veda. I say this because even though there is this disturbing subliminal incestuous undercurrent going on between mother and daughter, we as the reader are led to empathize so completely with Mildred.
Truly, a master class in that midcentury psychological terror that feels so fresh even today.