Take a photo of a barcode or cover
tashreads2manybooks's Reviews (1.06k)
I never do this, but I could not finish this book. On page 166 I decided to put it aside and maybe try again some other time.
Well that was one messed up, dysfunctional relationship! Not many likeable characters are there? Nick so obviously hated women and yet turned out to be the 'Good Guy', while Amy was strong and intelligent but a complete psychopath!! But that was the point wasn't it?
I was a little disappointed with the ending (although I can see the beauty of letting Amy win) only because I have such a innate sense of justice, and can't stand someone not getting what they deserve. I would have liked to see Amy exposed - but then I suppose, she wouldn't be Amy ;)
Thrillingly addictive
I was a little disappointed with the ending (although I can see the beauty of letting Amy win) only because I have such a innate sense of justice, and can't stand someone not getting what they deserve. I would have liked to see Amy exposed - but then I suppose, she wouldn't be Amy ;)
Thrillingly addictive
.jpg)
Did not finish. Characters were flat and plot mundane. It was just unrelenting misery throughout the story - alcoholism, miscarriages, death, illness, bullying - and that was only the first quarter of the book! I know I am in the minority as most people loved this book - but I needed to see a glimmer of hope (or even a likeable character), and Matthew Thomas failed to deliver it.
Ben said it best: "She is a Drama Queen. Wants attention." Thank goodness this ended the way it did, otherwise I would have thrown the book across the room. Nice save John Green.
Out of sheer curiosity I sorted my Goodreads TBR list (all 106 of them) by descending order based on the average rating. Right at the very bottom was Christos Tsiolkas’ controversial The Slap with a measly 3.11. This did not bode well for my next ARC by the same author - Barracuda (kindly supplied by Netgalley). I expected to meet characters I disliked; choppy, fragmented narrative; and some pretty in-your-face grit that was rather uncomfortable to read. Well, I was right. It was all of those things – and I really enjoyed it.
Barracuda follows the story of Daniel Kelly – an on-the-rise star of swimming. Plucked from his working class neighbourhood, a scholarship places him at a prestigious boys high school, where he has to endure bullying and isolation. The novel examines the extents we will go to to fulfil our dreams, and the shattering consequences that occur when our expectations fall short.
The characters in the book are mostly unlikable (I did like Dan’s mother – Stephanie, and his best friend Demet.) although I think they are very realistic portrayals. I’m not sure what that says about the kind of people I know, but I think that there is a darkness in all of us, just as there is light. Some reviewers have labelled Danny as “wooden and self-indulgent” and while I agree with the latter, I believe Danny is a very complex and interesting character.
There are a lot of ‘time-jumps’ during the narrative and I sometimes had to flip back to try and understand the timeline, but I quickly got used to it, and soon the narrative flowed.
Tsiolkas does not shy away from the gritty reality, so be prepared for some uncomfortable descriptions (at one point we get a really vivid description of Danny’s diarrhoea, along with the charming smells that accompany it – TMI!)
In the end the story is about the price you pay to reclaim your life.
I enjoyed Tsiolkas’ writing, and despite the low average user rating, I am going to read The Slap anyway.
Barracuda follows the story of Daniel Kelly – an on-the-rise star of swimming. Plucked from his working class neighbourhood, a scholarship places him at a prestigious boys high school, where he has to endure bullying and isolation. The novel examines the extents we will go to to fulfil our dreams, and the shattering consequences that occur when our expectations fall short.
The characters in the book are mostly unlikable (I did like Dan’s mother – Stephanie, and his best friend Demet.) although I think they are very realistic portrayals. I’m not sure what that says about the kind of people I know, but I think that there is a darkness in all of us, just as there is light. Some reviewers have labelled Danny as “wooden and self-indulgent” and while I agree with the latter, I believe Danny is a very complex and interesting character.
There are a lot of ‘time-jumps’ during the narrative and I sometimes had to flip back to try and understand the timeline, but I quickly got used to it, and soon the narrative flowed.
Tsiolkas does not shy away from the gritty reality, so be prepared for some uncomfortable descriptions (at one point we get a really vivid description of Danny’s diarrhoea, along with the charming smells that accompany it – TMI!)
In the end the story is about the price you pay to reclaim your life.
I enjoyed Tsiolkas’ writing, and despite the low average user rating, I am going to read The Slap anyway.
I understand what Amis set out to achieve in this novel (and he succeeds!) - Mass murder as a business, dehumanising of victims etc etc - but I just couldn't take the horror any longer, so I gave up on this about halfway through. One of the darkest and most shameful periods of our history is treated as a 'dark comedy', and I simply could not stomach it. 2.5 stars.
