Status Updates From Plastic, Prism, Void: Part One

I really cannot tell if I'm meant to feel intimidated by how many big words Acrasia uses or feel stupid by how many big words Acrasia uses. I think I feel a sense of both, but also a sense of "I think you could be less verbose, I feel like you're trying to make me feel intimidated and stupid"

Oy vey.

I think I may be too classically uneducated for this book. But I'm willing to take on the challenge, at least for a while.

I take back what I said from my last update. Marina also sucks. Every character in this book sucks. There’s not a single person in rooting for. Main character has abandonment issues and becomes evil because all her friends are moving out. Boo hoo

I feel only sympathy for Marina. Even though most of Acrasia’s crimes are past tense in this book, seeing her behave almost exactly the same just less blatantly villainous in the present shows she’s truly learned nothing. Marina is the only reliable narrator here

It’s just like watching a train wreck as the main character makes horrible decision after horrible decision. And she gets called out by her support system. They directly tell her that when everything goes wrong they have to deal with the aftermath AND support her. I really hate the main character. I like flawed characters but this one really hits too close to home with bad friends I’ve had

I still don’t really like this book. But I can say that I experienced some genuine real catharsis in reading one of the hero side characters telling Arcasia “you think you’re so clever. You’re just mean. Anyone can be mean. You think people don’t like you because you’re smarter than them or because you’re trans or black or whatever but it’s really because you’re fucking awful to everyone…”

This was custom written for me actually

I want to like this book so much. I’m trying so hard to like it. I think the problem is I really love the concept. But the execution of this star crossed lovers thing as an inception of time warping flashback and present is just too much. Between the typography, and the footnotes, and the cultural references from 100 years of culture and the fourth wall breaks it just is too much. One or two would be plenty