"It's not horrible." I wonder if they'll use that blurb when the paperback comes out. 😂

@vanessappp5672

Жыл бұрын

Incredible blurb haha 😂

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

🤣🤣🤣 They're also welcome to quote me when I said the main character seems like a hypocrite. 🤭

What I hated is how the "answer" was stumbled upon almost accidentally. And I don't understand the narrative choice of making the whole book a "letter" to Bloch.

@panda5122

Ай бұрын

Agreed. I accidentally spoiled myself midway through the book when I glanced at the table of contents and saw that there were additional suspects after Bloch. So the narrative choice confused me after that.

I just finished reading my library copy today and I have to say, I feel about the same. It wasn’t awful, had me intrigued enough to finish it, but by the end I felt like I just wasted 450 pages for a dud of an ending. The best thing about the book I inadvertently had a great non-fiction/fiction pairing as I had just read the memoir Admission prior to reading this novel. Pairing this book with the lived experience of a black woman at a boarding school in the early 2000s reinforced the social commentary.

People keep asking who is watching her kids and I do think that was not fair to her. It was just two weeks and she was FaceTiming her kids and she went home on time without delaying her stay even though she was tempted to do so when the case was taking a turn. She was worried about her kids when she doubted if her ex was having a mentally tough time and was ok enough to take care of the kids.

Maybe whenever we see a super-hyped book, we should run for the hills where it is quieter, calmer, and better. I live a reading life that is haunted by books that are 50-100 pages too long. I blame the publishers and editors. I think they would rather pay for SoMe marketing hype than sound, professional editing. Thanks as always for your insightful review.

Thank you for the review. I have heard so much about this book from people who were looking forward to reading it--it's nice to hear from someone who has actually read it!

Your reviews are so informative yet succinct (something I need to aspire too 😅). Also love that you take the time to recommend further reading 👌🏽 x

Love your reviews!

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much!

Olive - thank you for an honest, frank review. I won't be adding this to my "someday I might think about reading it" list. Waiting for recommends for animal books.

Oh dear! Excellent review! I couldn’t wait to hear your thoughts on this one!❤

Literally just watched a TikTok raving about this and reminded me to come watch your review! I’m glad to have heard your thoughts, I wasn’t super curious about this one, thinking it’ll get a pass from me.

What a great review. I am listening to the audio version right now and am having so many of the same thoughts and criticisms that you mentioned.

Thanks for reviewing this one Olive. I won’t waste my time on it now.

I personally felt like the part with Twitter mobs was to demonstrate how people get really caught up in mob mentality when someone does something controversial instead of giving attention to worse things. Like she mentioned how no one cared when that Dorian guy harassed her for several years and she wishes the rage could be directed at people like him. Maybe I'm reading into it wrong though. Also really glad to hear somebody else say this book had too many characters because I lost track at least halfway through, and when it mentioned Beth and Geoff I didn't even remember who they were. The audiobook is 14 hours long, imo it could have been 10 or 12 hours long. Also totally agree that her situationship with the Israeli guy did not need to be in there. It was also hard to discern what the author's position on True Crime was.

Love your makeup

Thanks for your honest review. Loved her previous book, think I’ll pass this read.

I enjoyed your review I hope to read this book Thank you

Great review!! I haven’t read her previous book, and am unsure that I ever will, but I definitely will skip this one 😅

Great review. I wasn't sure I wanted to read it but this review intrigued me. Finding it for half price on Barnes and Noble tilted my decision. I liked it and am interested in reading more by this author.

I love your channel. and your thoughtful reviews from which I have learned so much, and so I will pass on this book. I have heard about another novel that came out a year or two ago The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St James that also deals with a main character that is a true crime Podcaster. Haven't read it but from reading another novel by this author, The Sundown Motel she is a talented writer

Ugh, I wished I would have listened to you with more clarity about this book and didn’t read it. You are completely spot on with your review. This seemed very commercial and not so literary, I read it expecting so much more from someone who has won such prestigious literary awards.

From what I had heard, I thought I was going to love this too. Maybe not though. I do find a lot of books I’ve read lately would massively benefit from an editor asking to cut 50 pages. Might still give this a go at some point, but I won’t be in a rush to get to it. 😊📚

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

You may still enjoy it, even if it fell short for me! All that hype has to come from somewhere (if everyone was being honest, which I hope is the case).

You said this so much nicer than I did. I have never been so annoyed with a protagonist the way I was annoyed with Bodie and this entire story in general. I literally said to my boyfriend that if she’d quit digressing so much and this book was shorter, I probably would’ve enjoyed it a little bit more than the huge distaste I have for this letdown novel right now.

I totally agree with you. I should have known by the length. This was a totally disappointment. Way too much fluff and the lead was spacey😂

If I had a dollar for every novel that I thought 50 or even 100 pages should have been trimmed off...

Did you like the Great Believers better?

I agree with so much of this. I left not sure how she felt about true crime or internet culture. It was murky. I listened on audio and felt it was serviceable, but not great

Sounds interesting but going to pass on this one.

I kind of now want a book about a woman who goes back to her university and bumps into the ghost of herself.

Yeah, I think I'll be taking this one off my goodreads tbr. I don't really want to read about a hypocritical narrator and Twitter lol. Thanks Olive!!

“But you would think that she would at least sometimes mention her kids” Maybe the author forgot that Bodie had children? Or maybe Bodie being a mother was used as a detail to make the character seem more real without going deeper than just surface level trivia? Either way, it seems like something that should have been addressed during editing.

I liked your review. I am in the middle of the book and am very put off by the endless number of characters. It seems way too long and hard to follow. I think the rave reviews are unwarranted so far. How to find your book recommendations?

I will skip this one. Thanks Olive!

Maybe the author is doubting her own motives because she loves true crime but thinks it’s not intellectual so she journaled about it and that turned into a book? 😅 Love your review! When you started telling about the book I was intrigued and had opened Goodreads already, now I’m not so sure…

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

Hah! It's possible!

@barbaradora

Жыл бұрын

@@abookolive right?! 😁

Based on your review, I'll give it a pass. I've got too much to read already.

@allisonryder4781

Жыл бұрын

Same here!

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

Probably not the worst idea, haha!

I loved this book and because of that, I had no problem with the length. I don't think there's any question that Makkai was trying to point out how complicated true crime, internet culture, and even the Me Too Movement are. I didn't find Bodie a hypocrite- I found her to be a conscientious woman who is deeply disturbed by violence against women, to the point that she's made her career partly about it, and who finds herself in a situation where she might be able to bring justice to a murdered girl. I thought this was a great combination of an old fashioned school murder mystery (ala The Secret History by Tartt or The Secret Place by French), as seen through a 2023 lens which includes what we've learned about sexual violence since 2017 and Me Too. I'd urge anyone who's interested to get a library copy and give it a try.

@Djcooksandbooks

Жыл бұрын

I loved this book too! I was just thinking how it reminded me of The Secret History and also of My Dark Vanessa. Of the good parts of these two books.

@theresemurphy2578

Жыл бұрын

@@Djcooksandbooks I haven't read My Dark Vanessa. I'll have to check that out!

Protagonist's name is Bodie Kane, not Klein.

@abookolive

Жыл бұрын

Yes, that's what I said in the video. The captions are auto-generated, if that's what you're referring to.

I'm 10% in, about 1.5 hours audio. And I'm so confused with what this book wants to be. Ex.: the critiques on white privilege... while Bodie indulges in white privilege. As you said, she seems like a hypocrite. I don't think the premise landed with this one.

I found this book to be a slog. It lacked the pacing and suspense I enjoy in crime fiction and the dazzling writing I expect in literary fiction. I also couldn’t discern the point of this book. Brodie didn’t come together (except in rare moments) as real character for me. She felt more like an amalgamation of viewpoints that also didn’t cohere and her apparent hypocrisy in embracing the very things she is critical of annoyed me. And her passion for proving the arrested man’s innocence didn’t feel genuine and a lot seemed tacked on at the end.There were many moments when I also wanted to stop reading but I forced my way through hoping for something that was never delivered.

Good 🫡 I won’t have to pick this up then lol