Madeline m’s Reviews > Banal Nightmare > Status Update

This is a new, insufferable writing style that made Jennette McCurdy’s novel so unbearable to read for me.

It’s like a punchy, extremely self assured, drawn out monologue style that relies on characters with narcissistic tendencies who are grasping for meaning in the world w/out looking around/hyper self interested, very little environmental/scene description/adjective use. dark materialistic & contemporary

The extremely long, detailed, and emotionally aware monologues are making the novel feel like a “what I would’ve said at that party” vibe, like all of this is just playing out in the minds of each character.

“It turned out that she was in many ways right, which was a comfort. She didn’t agree with the politics of the show, but she did understand the show’s appeal more now that she spent roughly half of every waking moment praying to become more stupid so that she could bear the crushing tedium and confounding horrors of her life. Such is the way of the Tao, she thought, and laughed.”

“Her hand turned the knob of the front door, pushed, and the door opened on Nick, lying flaccidly on the couch looking at his phone. His brain was rotten and all of his opinions were inherited, none of them spontaneous, completely rotten.”