housecatstewart's Reviews (114)

While I think there is obvious value in the premise here, the way it was told was maybe just not for me. I get that it’s a satire, but the melodrama was over the top without the payoff of any satirical humor. It felt heavy-handed beyond belief and info-dumpy about the publishing process, and then the ending was so incredibly farfetched, what shocked me more than the reveal was that the author actually made the choice to end it that way.

I think what this story really needed was for ANYONE to be a good person. Somebody needed to learn something. Somebody needed to be a hero. There wasn’t a single character to root for in all of it. And maybe that was the point—that everybody is manipulative and selfish and will ultimately do whatever it takes to get their acclaim and fortune—but that just isn’t a narrative I can enjoy or find value in.

I’m thrilled once again by André Aciman’s ability to push boundaries to places I’m not sure most authors could pull off. He explores different kinds of relationships in a way that feels so simultaneously real and fantastical. His default character setting is sexually fluid, and he doesn’t fuss around with morality in any real-life sense, which leads his stories to touch on the crux of genuine human experience. Some parts of the story left me a little wanting, but overall an excellent read. 

Also, it was simply amazing that Paul could hold down a day job and still spend 90% of his time yearning. Goals.

An eloquent, well-paced read with lots of beautiful prose and imagery. Reminded me very much of Elif Batuman’s The Idiot. I wouldn’t call it my favorite plot I’ve ever read—the big reveal for me was a little too easy and little too late—but Natalie had a combo of depth and emptiness to her that was really interesting. She was so ridiculously immature at times that, like Natalie, I also found myself wanting to ask Nora, “What DO you like about her?” I wouldn’t necessarily read this again but I would absolutely read more from Bronwyn Fischer.