Fleishman is in Trouble

[pollyhemlock]

Anyone else read this yet? If so what did you think? What did you feel about Toby and Rachel?

[ElleMcFearsome]

Read it last week (on holiday!) I did like it but I'm not sure it's as profound as it thinks it is, if that makes sense? I felt like it could have been by a number of authors (Franzen et al) and whilst that's not necessarily a bad thing, it didn't make it stand out to me in any meaningful way.

However... I read Lake Success just before reading it and they are similar books in a lot of ways (to me, anyway) so maybe it was more on me for not mixing up my reading list better! That said, it was a perfectly acceptable way to while away a few days and I might re-visit it again (I also laughed hard at Private Eye's predictably savage review of it, which was OTT as usual)

I'm not sure of it was meant to have a 'big reveal' when the narrative and perspective switched but I felt that it was a bit of a damp squib, and the ending REALLY irritated me!

[MrsGrindah]

Thought it was a massive disappointment given all the hype. Didn’t find either character engaging enough and thought the plot line was really thin.

[pollyhemlock]

Yes, I enjoyed it and thought it was quite clever, but I don’t think it’s ‘ the book of the summer’ as some have suggested. I found Toby and Rachel believable, though often very irritating, which is presumably intentional. Obviously I get that it’s a feminist book, but by the end I felt I was being hit over the head by the feminist message. Must try and find the Private Eye review.

[Springfern]

I enjoyed it but also found it underwhelming. Also I didnt find the 'twist' very shocking at all. To me it was obvious from the beginning that Toby was a self absorbed twat

[pollyhemlock]

Indeed. The way he treats Mona is a strong indicator of the kind of guy he is.

[Bookridden]

I didn't like Rachel. Was she assaulted during her labour, or not? I couldn't tell.

[slipperyeel]

I liked it though the characters were both ridiculously over privileged

Agree with @Springfern that it was pretty obvious. I did like the fact that Rachel only got such a small piece of the book and that became part of her silencing.

[ImAShowPony]

I'm on p86 and it's really not grabbing me at all. Just a relentless catalogue of Toby's dating conquests and bitching about his ex.
Should I give up or carry on? Will something engage me soon???

[beanaseireann]

ImAShowPony
I'm reading it at the moment and it's not realky grabbing me either.

[MyReadingChallenge]

Recently finished this and thought it was very lacklustre... Even having lived in NYC I just couldn’t relate to “their world” at all. Found it quite boring to be honest and didn’t really see what having Libby as the narrator added...

[ImAShowPony]

@beanaseireann I read another 20 pages last night. It's improving slightly- well the plot and characters appear to be building so it's moving on from a long, dry, boring list of Fleishman's fucks.
The characters are all so uninteresting, dislikeable and one dimensional that it's offputting rather than engaging.

[beanaseireann]

I finished it.
A couple of hours of my life I'll never get back.

[ImAShowPony]

Thanks for helping me decide- it's going back to the library.
Reading should be a pleasure and this book has turned into some horrible job that i felt i had to do.