Welcome to Litsy!

This was a quick read but I found it to be one-note and repetitive. I understand why: the MC is completely obsessive over a married man who has multiple affairs. One specific other-other woman is an Instagram influencer and our MC becomes obsessed with her too. Some great great one liners though! Commentary on class, wealth, race, and icky men.

What can I say? I‘m not a fan! This was a hard pan from me. I skim read the second half. Very repetitive, NO character growth or plot progression. What was the point of it? There was some nice prose. I was sick of the characters racism and generalisations and constant whinging…ugh. I had been looking forward to this book for ages because the premise sounded great. It could have been so much better.

I‘ve been meaning to read this #roll100 since last year‘s Women‘s Prize announcement, so I‘m glad I finally got to it, especially because I love a novel about a woman obsessed!

The MC has become fixated on a married man, whom she‘s slept with several times. He juggles many affairs including an American he just can‘t get to love him, so the MC becomes obsessed with her too. The tighter she holds on the more he slips away.

I'm a fan was interesting.

The MC is infatuated with an (awful) man who openly admits he isn't interested in a relationship with her, & she becomes obsessed with changing his mind.

Alongside this tale of poisonous obsession, opinion pieces in poetic essay form are scattered throughout.

The insightful social commentary doesn't always sit right coming from the (intentionally) unhinged MC's narrative voice, but is still fascinating.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This chapter title... ?

*Sigh* I'm only a few chapters in and already I'm wanting to bop the MC on the nose with a copy of "he's just not that into you".

I'm getting "by Grand Central station I sat down and wept" vibes, but with more social media stalking.

I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of pining for an unavailable, unsuitable, and totally unworthy love interest... RUN AWAY, unnamed protagonist! Run away!!!

Amazing! It‘s either this or Big Swiss for 2023

On one hand, this is a very well executed portrait of obsession fueled by influencer culture. On the other, there‘s zero arc to either the story or the main character, who is the real focus of the book. That left me feeling like something was missing.

I read this because my wife felt aspects of this book put into words her own experiences as a WOC. Think pieces interrupt a fictional story(but never the flow) & read like open wounds festering on an author/protagonist‘s already bruised skin.Thus,smart critique weaves into a harrowing tale of obsession. The myth of equality & Neoliberalism is dismantled via Critical Social Justice ideology & paralleled with a WOC‘s exploration of intersectionality

This was hard to read. Well written, but I found it challenging to hear about this woman and her thoughts and behaviours in a toxic affair. Difficult because it was so real and true, but very hard to watch someone obsess and spiral and hurt themselves.

20th Sept 23

4/5 🌟

Sheena Patel has just won a new fan and follower on Instagram! At first, I was hesitant about the book due to the unlikable main character and my inability to relate to her life choices, but the engaging and clever writing, along with the thought-provoking themes explored within each vignette chapter, compelled me to keep reading and I'm glad I did! What a powerful debut novel! Definitely going to go and stalk SP now. 🕵️‍♀️

I‘m almost done with my second ever masters essay and emerging from my cocoon a bit! Making time for studying, a full time job and reading is HARD guys 🫠

Still working on the women‘s prize list though and while I went back and forth on this one a bunch, i wound up liking it. I see why it‘s dividing opinion but I love really twisted lyrical deep dives into jealous horrible people.

A quarter of the way through and calling it quits. Very short, but I am not enjoying this even a little bit. The blurbs say “addictive, exhilarating, spellbinding,” but I am finding it all pathetic, immature and annoying. Oh well, on to the next. #WomensPrize

A young woman is obsessed with “the man I want to be with” and a white and wealthy woman with “a perfectly manicured Instagram grid”.
The man is serially unfaithful. He‘s married and has an affair with the woman she is obsessed with. He holds her at arm‘s length, far enough for her to observe and interpret the toxicity of the situation. She recognizes structures in gender, race and power dynamics that are brilliant described. #womensprizelonglist

I feel like I‘m reading two books at one. One part is about a woman obsessed with another woman, one part is political essays and statements like these. I enjoy them both.
#womensprizelonglist

I'm not really. I see what Patel is trying to do with this, and I think she is successful. I just personally didn't enjoy it.
The narrator is unnamed, which I always find interesting, then there are mostly unnamed characters "the man I want to be with", "his wife", "the woman I am obsessed with" these phrases are repeated over and over and it became quite annoying.
??
#womensprizelonglist.

"First of all I didn't miss the red flags I looked at them and thought yeah that's sexy"

I am struggling a bit with this, but cannot deny there are some quotable (awful ?) lines.

A must visit next time @Emilymdxn & I hang out!

"I stalk a woman on the internet who is sleeping with the same man as I am "

#womensprizelonglist
#firstlinefriday
@ShyBookOwl

I went into this #womensprize long listed book fully expecting not to like it, as I just don‘t get the ‘influencer‘ world, but actually I rather enjoyed it.

It did take a while to get into but, at around 40% in, like @Leniverse , I really started to appreciate the essay-like sections on social media, politics and race, more than the actual ‘storyline‘.

It won‘t make my personal favourites but it‘s clever enough to make the shortlist, I think.

The characters are horrid, the plot is a combination of cringe and completely outside of my area of interest. But the rage against patriarchy, Capitalism, and white hegemony is magnificent. Would 💯% read an essay collection by this author. It took a lot of thought and reading reviews for me to work out why the book's protagonist is made so unlikeable, but in short I figure it's so she doesn't get the role of victim, and to show that while ⤵️

Our protagonist is stalking a woman on the internet. This woman has an affair with the same man. Both our protagonist and the man are in other relationships.

A book about how easy it is to stalk someone online who posts a lot about themselves and how easy it is for social media to take over your life.

I liked this one, but I didn‘t love.

#WomansPrizeLonglist
6th book for #MarchMadness @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES

Friday #bookmail! A few more from the #WomensPrize longlist. I much prefer this UK edition of Demon. So pretty and bonus, has cool endpapers and a ribbon bookmark. I need to get reading!!!

She buys Wagya beef and will demonstrate how she will wrap it in a dishcloth soaked with salt, red wine and herbs and roast it over a fire. The comments under the post all express urgent, alarmed concern for the sacrificed dishcloth and I think white people are wild for how they will have an acute empathy for anything bar actual melanated human beings.

This follows an unnamed narrator who is having an affair with an unnamed married man who is also having affairs with multiple other women while she herself has a long term boyfriend
A look at toxic relationships, obsession, patriarchy, power, race, class, narcissism and social media which felt very fresh and modern while being short and readable
Quite a frustrating read as all the characters are awful but I think that‘s the point
3 ⭐️

This was my little London book haul from last week's trip. Three of them were new to me, so let's hope I picked wisely.