literatureaesthetic's Reviews (540)

2.5 ☆

damn okay

Rating: ☆☆☆

After finding out that her husband, Jake, has been having an affair, Lucy is devastated and desperate for revenge. To even the score, Lucy makes a deal with Jake. She will be able to hurt him three times - he doesn't know when or how, and he can't prevent it.

This started off so well for me. All about female rage, vengeance and despair, this was a feminist novel about all the hardships women face as both a wife and a mother. One thing I thought was really interesting, was how it presented female suffering as generational, as something that is passed down from woman to woman, almost through biology. Lucy was born with this anger inside of her, every woman is.

'I used to imagine her anger as a parasite that lived in her stomach, that passed through the wall of her womb to my mother, who passed it to me.'

I really like that concept. It created a bleak and dismal tone, which I often adore in books. But I also loved that it shows how women have been struggling with the same issues for generations. And we should be angry with the patriarchal world that we live in, which refuses to change.

Anyway, the first 2/3 of the book dealt with similar topics and discussions and ideologies as the ones mentioned above. But the last third of the book stepped in a really bizarre direction, that I don't think was necessary? Throughout the story, we learn that our protagonist, Lucy, had an obsession with Harpies. Part woman, part bird- Harpies are Greek Mythological beings that known to be punishers of human avarice and greed. Adopting almost a magical realism feel, the last third of the book brings The Harpies to life. And I just found it to be the most weird/abnormal choice for the novel? I think this story definitely should've stuck with being a feminist thriller, and left The Harpies as metaphors in the text.

For example,

Spoiler

Lucy is obsessed with the concept of Harpies - she's studying them and learning everything there is to know about them. Lucy's attempts to understand The Harpy, is an attempt to understand herself. Women are "supposed" (insert eyeroll) to be forgiving and kind and understanding, but Lucy is burning with rage and anger. Because she's never conformed to the idealised standard of womanhood, Lucy searches for herself in The Harpies, these fierce mythological creatures, whose purpose it is to punish men. She sees herself in them, which is why she's so fascinated. I think the author should've left it at that, rather than have Lucy TURN INTO a Harpy at the end. I'm sorry, I just think it's weird and it didn't work for me.

I will say, I felt ALL the emotions the author wanted the readers to feel. I hated Jake for his selfishness. I felt devastated for Lucy - for this woman who's had an awful upbringing, been betrayed by her other half and still has to pretend everything's okay for her children's sake. It was definitely moving and impactful. I just did not vibe with the ending at all.


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4.5 stars

This was so GOOD, i think it would've been so much more impactful and relatable if i had read it back when i was 15. But this was a great book, and im glad to have read it now, at least.

3.75 ☆

I read this in one day. It was so quick and fast-paced. I said this when I finished Malibu Rising, and I'm saying it again, TJR writes characters SO WELL. Honestly, it's unlike anything I've ever read before. The way she writes characters and makes them feel so real, and authentic, and flawed..... I LOVE IT

However, I'm not a huge fan of books that revolve around music, it's just a personal preference thing. And obviously the fact that this book is all about a musical band meant that I didn't *love* it. I still did really enjoy it, it just didn't strike me the way that 'Malibu Rising' and 'The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo' did. I couldn't help but feel something was missing or lacking when reading this, which I think is probably due to the format of the book.

Rating: ★★★✯☆ stars

Triggers: self-harm, attempted suicide, abusive relationships, gaslighting, cheating, rape

First of all, CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS COVER?! It's stunning.

Anyways, this book was heartbreaking to read. Magma follows Lilja's slow descent into depression and ill health due to her toxic and abusive boyfriend. This book infuriated me, I despised the boyfriend so much. The author does a great job at developing characters, especially when you consider that the novel is written in prose.

I appreciate that this is a commentary on modern-day toxic relationships. I think the reason why Lilja was unable to see that her boyfriend is abusive, is because of how toxic relationships are constantly romanticised in pop culture. For example, in the novel, there is a scene where Lilja is talking about how her boyfriend has suffered through a lot as a child, and how she needs to support him. This is obviously a reference to the trope where the male is victim of some form of abuse as a child and the PTSD results in him being cruel and awful when he's older. The woman comes along and then "saves" him. The author exposes how unrealistic and harmful this trope can be. Lilja believes that he loves her, she believes she is helping him by staying in an abusive relationship with him.

'I'm going to help him. I've always had it so good that it's easy enough for me to shoulder a little bit of the pain he's carried for so long. I'll make it better.'

Heartbreaking, right?

Magma deals with some very heavy topics, which made this a very difficult book to read. Lilja is gaslighted and emotionally abused, and it's awful and upsetting to read. But I think it's also such an important thing to include in a book. I think topics like this definitely need to be discussed more, and Magma, at least in my opinion, dealt with these sensitive topics and discussions in a great way.

The format was an interesting choice by the author, I'm not sure if it was the right one. This novel is written in prose. This meant that we could only see snippets into their life, but it also meant that everything was so blunt and abrupt. The writing style created a disconnect of sorts. A barrier that made it difficult to completely relate with Lilja. I will say, that the deterioration of Lilja's mental health was written fantastically. I could really feel her pain, and seeing her decline was honestly tragic.

Honestly, this book reminded me a lot of [b:My Dark Vanessa|44890081|My Dark Vanessa|Kate Elizabeth Russell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1583447793l/44890081._SY75_.jpg|67044583], in the way that it deals with a woman who is gaslighted and abused. It focuses on the horrific things that they face in these abusive relationships. However, Magma didn't do it as well as My Dark Vanessa did. Again, I think that's because of the writing style, and because of how short it is. Everything progressed way too quickly.

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So, this book was painful. Very, very painful. It has one of the most accurate depictions of depression and a downward mental spiral, ive ever fucking read. I appreciate how it shows how hard it can be to talk about trauma, and how you can end up resenting yourself for not speaking up about said trauma....
JUST WOW THIS BOOK FUCKED ME UP, im not ok. no one talk to me

Erm... what the actual fuck did I just read??
So I read the first book, and I gave it 3 stars. The first book was quite sad, and although I had a lot of issues with it, I thought it was interesting??

The sequel tho...

Wow. This book was awful. First of all, the racist undertones in this book was actually astonishing, I'm so surprised that I haven't read a single review commenting on the racism??? And then the fatphobic descriptions was another thing that really got on my nerves. But that's not even the worst thing. The worst thing is the incest

Well, this book was depressing.