Alexander R.
I had high expectations for this book, since it has been critically acclaimed and has received quite a few awards, incl. "Goodreads award". The main plot explores a lot of interesting topics, all revolving in one way or another around the "publishing industry", you can even make an argument that "the industry" is a b*tch (just kidding), a main antagonist in the book.
I would recommend this book for people with an interest in the following topics: writer's habitus + the inner working of one's mind, racism not just in a general, but in a broader circle of writing and publishing environment (with a few jabs at the capitalistic society and consumers included as bonus).
In my honest opinion, the book tried to cover too much and didn't succeed in allocating the time to cover each topic efficiently. Thus, in some chapters the pace is dragging due to the constant mental struggles of the main protagonist (June), the potentially interesting side-characters and environment don't get enough time and feel sacrificial to the more of "Oh no I am almost discovered as a fraud" or "Oh no somebody said this on the internet!". Don't get me wrong, I do understand that the dynamic between the June and the "internet mob'' and "publishing colleagues" is described very close to heart for anybody working in the 21st century, the only problem is that it gets WAY too much attention, making some parts feel like a repletion in a bad "Groundhog Day" way.
The plot structure with cliffhangers at the end of some chapters is kind of barebones plain at best. As put by Rebecca F. Kuang it in Chapter 2 through the words of June reading "The Last Front" manuscript: "it's more like an amalgamation of startlingly beautiful sentences, bluntly stated themes. But she's laid out enough breadcrumbs that I can follow the trail. I see where it's all going.'' You do get the feeling that the book was written the same way as if some parts were highlighted while others put in the backseat.
I don't think I will remember any of the side-characters, they are all very forgettable (some are one-sided) and we don't get enough time with any of them, they are just "there" for the sake of plot. What we do get is the enormous amount of time with the main protagonist June Hayward which we simply do not need, circling back to the point I made earlier.
Sometimes you do feel empathy for her, other times I just wrote "why?" or "what?" on the margins, because her thoughts and decisions were too unrealistic (Remark: I can be wrong here since she could be an "unreliable narrator") or quite emotionally immature, but I do like her smart and witty remarks with a neat sense of humor.
TO SUM UP: This is a book with a weak plot and a "meh" twist at the end, the best part of the book was some of the insights and observations made alongside the story by June + a few in the dialogues in the ending chapters. I would argue that maybe I am not the target audience for this book, but oh well, what's done is done.
P.S. I put a 3/5 because I see no point in re-reading it and I enjoy the writing style, so this is an average book which left more to be desired in the end.
I had high expectations for this book, since it has been critically acclaimed and has received quite a few awards, incl. "Goodreads award". The main plot explores a lot of interesting topics, all revolving in one way or another around the "publishing industry", you can even make an argument that "the industry" is a b*tch (just kidding), a main antagonist in the book.
I would recommend this book for people with an interest in the following topics: writer's habitus + the inner working of one's mind, racism not just in a general, but in a broader circle of writing and publishing environment (with a few jabs at the capitalistic society and consumers included as bonus).
In my honest opinion, the book tried to cover too much and didn't succeed in allocating the time to cover each topic efficiently. Thus, in some chapters the pace is dragging due to the constant mental struggles of the main protagonist (June), the potentially interesting side-characters and environment don't get enough time and feel sacrificial to the more of "Oh no I am almost discovered as a fraud" or "Oh no somebody said this on the internet!". Don't get me wrong, I do understand that the dynamic between the June and the "internet mob'' and "publishing colleagues" is described very close to heart for anybody working in the 21st century, the only problem is that it gets WAY too much attention, making some parts feel like a repletion in a bad "Groundhog Day" way.
The plot structure with cliffhangers at the end of some chapters is kind of barebones plain at best. As put by Rebecca F. Kuang it in Chapter 2 through the words of June reading "The Last Front" manuscript: "it's more like an amalgamation of startlingly beautiful sentences, bluntly stated themes. But she's laid out enough breadcrumbs that I can follow the trail. I see where it's all going.'' You do get the feeling that the book was written the same way as if some parts were highlighted while others put in the backseat.
I don't think I will remember any of the side-characters, they are all very forgettable (some are one-sided) and we don't get enough time with any of them, they are just "there" for the sake of plot. What we do get is the enormous amount of time with the main protagonist June Hayward which we simply do not need, circling back to the point I made earlier.
Sometimes you do feel empathy for her, other times I just wrote "why?" or "what?" on the margins, because her thoughts and decisions were too unrealistic (Remark: I can be wrong here since she could be an "unreliable narrator") or quite emotionally immature, but I do like her smart and witty remarks with a neat sense of humor.
TO SUM UP: This is a book with a weak plot and a "meh" twist at the end, the best part of the book was some of the insights and observations made alongside the story by June + a few in the dialogues in the ending chapters. I would argue that maybe I am not the target audience for this book, but oh well, what's done is done.
P.S. I put a 3/5 because I see no point in re-reading it and I enjoy the writing style, so this is an average book which left more to be desired in the end.