Scan barcode
katdid's review against another edition
3.0
I feel like I need someone to explain this book to me, basically. It was not a particularly enjoyable read, although there's a lot to admire in terms of style and form and characterisation and observations - particularly in light of when it was written. Stead is savage! and Sam Pollit is relentlessly unsufferable; jesus, he is the worst, maybe second only to Ignatius J. Reilly. Do really appreciate the term "Pollitry" to describe the antics of that side of the family.
rheashami's review
Real rating: 4.5
On Sam- “Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, I can’t stand your gassing, oh, what a windbag, what will shut you up, shut up, shut up.”
On the setting- especially the first half, felt very much like it was set in Australia and was hastily edited after the fact to change to the US, or maybe that’s just because I went in knowing the author was from aus.
On the ending- big oof.
On Sam- “Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, I can’t stand your gassing, oh, what a windbag, what will shut you up, shut up, shut up.”
On the setting- especially the first half, felt very much like it was set in Australia and was hastily edited after the fact to change to the US, or maybe that’s just because I went in knowing the author was from aus.
On the ending- big oof.
jayden_mccomiskie's review against another edition
5.0
This book grows on you. Please stick at it. You may want to quit after 100 or so pages. Sam Pollit is the evil that looms in half formed ideas and narcissistic kindness. He is a criminal who believes he has committed no crime other than love. But his "love" is toxic. It is malignant. It is childish. He is cruel. Stead has written a beautiful novel that can only be fully grasped by finishing its 500+ pages. I have given it 4 stars. But I feel other the next couple of days it will haunt me to a 5.
chloejoy's review
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
libbymon's review
dark
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Suicide
joejoh's review
3.0
I'll start by saying that I understand why many contemporary novelists are fans of this novel. The family dynamics in this novel are so life-like, I felt like a fly on the wall who is observing a real dysfunctional family. That being said, the novel suffers from a lack of critical editing. It could easily have been cut to half the length without any loss of resonance or truth. Still, I recommend it to anyone that writes about family dynamics and any fan of novels centering around those dynamics. Just be prepared to work hard to make it through the overly drawn out center of the novel.
nick_jenkins's review
5.0
Truly magnificent, but a book that justifies the existence of trigger warnings (at least for people whose parents fought with one another constantly, were bad with money, and took everything out on their children).
mendelbot's review
2.0
Buried somewhere beneath the muddled prose, the off-kilter dialogue, and the repetitious plot is a good book. But the above three aspects overwhelm an otherwise decent novel of a dysfunctional family. Pages upon pages of the title character speaking a kind of pidgin English/baby talk. Scenes that run into and out of each other. A book that is probably about 200 pages too long. I get what the author was going for, I just don't like it. When it works, it works wonderfully, but it works only about thirty percent of the time. The rest of the time I was waiting for one of these annoyingly miserable characters to kill the rest.
helenajcassels's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-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
3.5