M > Recent Status Updates

This book has gone from really bad to really really really bad.

Was this self published?

And so the toxic mom tear continues

I’m not sure what’s worse: the unearned and contrived self righteousness of the protagonist, or the equally distasteful self righteousness of the author.

Protagonist went to Harvard?? With a SCHOLARSHIP?? Explain.

Currently *hate* reading. I have issues with speculative fiction, and all the more so when it’s dripping with its agenda, and all the more so when the agenda is offensive and the writing is awful. One page in and I gave it a pass for the above confirmed reasons. But people kept pushing it on snooty literary sites so I’m giving ir a go - and rolling my eyes along the way.

This woman is so disgusting.

I love Ayad, as a writer and a person, but this book has me really perplexed. A tiny sliver is right on, a bigger piece is frustrating virtue signaling, and a much much bigger chunk is HUH? Aside from content editing, there is also so much that is way over written.

Ok this went from mediocre to laughably bad but - maybe it’s just my mood - I’m here for it.

It’s so interesting how there are certain universal signs of a toxic relationship and then some real outliers - signs but of a different flavor. Like controlling and neglect are on the same spectrum of abuse.

🤢

NPR promised. NPR did not deliver.

This book be like -
Val: my parents physically and emotionally abuse me with no redemption and THEY WONT RETURN MY CALLS
Milly: I’m a sucky wife and friend and demand sympathy
White men: we are completely emasculated by our black queens and yet they hate us
Author: I have no idea what the point of this book is
Me: why am I reading this? Why?

God what is wrong with these people

I find the sweeping assumptions about what I think and feel as a white to be consistently false, insulting, and hypocritical. This book seems really dumb anyway that this isn’t helping.

This book is reminding me a little bit of that movie about the Nuremberg trials where a psychologist tried to establish whether or not there is a difference between people who commit evil as far as they’re innate disposition. Like, we’re doing a deep dive on this monster’s familial background, but is it really shedding any light?

Yikes on freaking bikes.

So good I’m trying to delay reading it

Here we go
😬

What the hell is wrong with these people??

NPR insisted this is a more nuanced book than it appears. Since I’m at the beach this week but usually hate beach reads, this one will hopefully be an unlikely gift.

I really wish the editor had done a CTRL F to track down and erase every gratuitous, sweeping, unhelpful statement about men being large babies whose sole purpose in life is to destroy the souls of women. This would be a decent book if so.

Poorly written but I’ll stick it out for the post Dobbs anger factor.

This is why I don’t read historical fiction.

Once again I am left wondering what on earth is the appeal to the love interest.

Meh.

Girlfriend needs some serious Prozac.

This book sucks. Curse you, WNYC summer reading challenge.

I am trying so hard to see the buzz for this book and I just cannot.

For someone who claims to avoid eating anything white, that seems to be all she actually eats.