This book honestly unlocked something within me because I was obsessed. I don’t mean that in a weird way but just something about the campus setting aThis book honestly unlocked something within me because I was obsessed. I don’t mean that in a weird way but just something about the campus setting and really strange character of Professor Q and his poor wife Maria had me completely hooked throughout.
Owlish follows an professor who despite having a young and gorgeous wife finds himself completely enamoured by a wooden ballerina doll he sees in the window of an antique shop. He buys her and begins a wild affair with the doll, turning him so mad he begins to forget about his university work and he becomes blind to the protests and civil rights riots happening around him at the campus. It is such a strange but enthralling book I could not put it down. The obsession in it reminded me a lot of Lolita in how he looked after the doll and also parts of the writing did to. I really recommend this for fans of Lolita but also people who want a strange and slightly surreal lit fiction book that will leave you confused and breathless.
I’m so glad I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would, literally binged most of it in one day. It cleverly comments on the political cultural movements in Hong Kong without directly mentioning it which is interesting to read about. ...more
I didn't really like this a whole lot. It's about a young woman named Clare who is moving to university for the first time and so the book is set at tI didn't really like this a whole lot. It's about a young woman named Clare who is moving to university for the first time and so the book is set at the University of Edinburgh. Whilst she is here she falls in with a group of friends she calls The Shiver and the leader of the group, Tabitha, comes up with an idea of how to make money off men who cheat on their wives.
My main problem with the book was that the main character was absolutely flat and had no personality at all. Even at the beginning of the book when she first moves it's such an odd introduction as you feel like her character is written really poorly and through the book you just get to know nothing about her. There is a sort of reveal on the very last page which is meant to shock you but it makes absolutely no sense when you have read the rest of the book and Clare is as boring as she is. I found the other characters to be a bit stronger but I felt like the plot was the only decent part of the book I enjoyed, as I found the whole troupe of characters a big cringe-worthy, tropish and unconvincing.
Being set in a university campus I was really expecting the vibe to be great but the campus hardly plays a role in the book at all. It could have been set anywhere in the country and I don't think it would have made a difference. It was sad because I think the campus setting could have made the book so much more atmospheric and if there had been some actual moments of academia in the book then it would have added a lot to it but the whole campus and university thing was really put on the back burner which I didn't like.
A lot of people are comparing this novel to Bunny which I completely understand however Bunny is clearly the better novel, and makes use of the campus, characters and folk horror a lot better than this book does. I think it crossed more into 'thriller' rather than 'horror' like Bunny does which is why the vibe was slightly off for me.
I appreciated the short chapters and the book did get better as it went on as I really disliked the writing at the start but thought the plot was quite intriguing and dark. I just can't say I was a fan of the book because of all the fronts it failed on for me....more
This book was absolutely crazy and I loved it. It's like a cross between Gossip Girl and Get Out. Chiamaka and Devon are the only two black students aThis book was absolutely crazy and I loved it. It's like a cross between Gossip Girl and Get Out. Chiamaka and Devon are the only two black students at Niveus Academy and then when someone called 'Aces' starts spreading their secrets through anonymous texts, they uncover a huge conspiracy that is absolutely wild and had me completely hooked to the story. I felt like it took a few chapters to get going but it was seriously a book I could have stayed up late into the night reading because the plot twists were so good and it was really addictive. I would have liked a few more little loose ends tied up such as the memory loss stuff and the whole deal with Martha which I still don't get, but other than that it was such a wild book and I really enjoyed it. ...more
Rachel Louise
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