sissi

So I think I learned that I don't like continental philosophy.

Overall the book gave me plenty to think about and I definitely learned some things, but I truly dislike this kind of writing. Feels very self-aggrandizing. I loathe the usage of mental health terms to diagnose systems such as capitalism. And I mean my man spoiled tens of films throughout the book lol.

Also it's meaningless to have a back cover blurb saying the book is genius by an author the book quotes every other page. In a way this captures the notion I had while reading: this exists to justify itself.

This low score is partially because I had a hard time following the audiobook during some stressful times. I found the writing to be very good and engaging, and the setup very mysterious and with potential. Unfortunately it didn't quite live up to it; I'm not sure what the book is trying to tell me about authoritarianism, education or even language.

While not groundbreaking, this was such an effective text in feminist theory. This perspective of a woman as a tool and as accessory to a man, defined by his whims, got very raw at times and definitely made me think of myself and my relations in a new, sometimes uncomfortable way. Annie's discomfort managing what she was made for and what she was becoming, or learning she could be, was pushed in very interesting ways. It was a great read!

Full disclosure, I did power through the second half of the book. I wasn't enjoying it at all but wanted to see it through. The writing wasn't great - quite flat characters doing a lot of tell, not show, which made for an uninteresting read. This coupled with poor pacing made me lose interest. The book dips its toes into a lot of different genres but didn't really interest me as any of them. I don't think it made good use of mesoamerican cultures either, it almost felt like watching an MCU movie by the end (derogatory)

It's pretty middling, and the ratio of heist-to-romance is not what i was hoping for. The plot is very simple and the two main characters and their relationship felt shallow, but the crew was lovely.