Stream Thoughts
I think all in all, the book was pretty good, there are just a few things that bothered me throughout the read that holds it back from a 4-5 star rating.
First and foremost, I think it is important to understand that this story revolves around dialogue to convey how the characters feel about each other and that sometimes can take away from the experience a bit. I feel like this was an intentional to portray the perspective that regardless of how we feel as individuals, sometimes what we say misconstrues our actual thoughts. In this case though, the dialogue was often stale and I didn’t feel like I got to experience the characters develop as much as I wanted to.
Yes, Connell embraces Marianne at their school reunion at the end of the story but at that point, Marianne has supposedly “gotten a lot prettier” and they have experienced so much in their lives together. It doesn’t necessarily mean that Connell has grown as a person and doesn’t care about social status anymore. I don’t know, I just wanted more development from both Marianne and Connell at the end of the story.
Marianne does seem to grow more and we can clearly see this from when she kind of bashes on Eric during the funeral for bringing up her and Connell’s history in front of Connell’s current girlfriend at the time. Still, I wish we got to explore more of her with her family and standing up for herself rather than not exploring that submissive side of her at all.
To make the book better, I think we need more side characters that add value to the book rather than intensely focusing on Connell and Marianne.
Key Takeaways
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Don’t let your pride get the best of you.
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Be clear in your communication, failure to do so can lead to a life long of unhappiness and missed opportunity.
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Do not change yourself based off of other people’s thoughts. Situations are temporary, focus on what matters in the long term.
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Nobody is perfect, do not let past actions dictate how you perceive someone in the future.
Ratings
- Enjoyment: 3/5
- Formal: 2.5/5
- Recommendation: 2.5/5
Linked Map of Contexts