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Green Dot
An irresistible and messy love story about the terrible allure of wanting something that promises nothing
At 24, Hera is a clump of unmet potential. To her, the future is nothing but an exhausting thought exercise, one depressing hypothetical after another. She’s sharp in more ways than one, adrift in her own smug malaise, until her new job moderating the comments section of an online news outlet—a role even more mind-numbing than it sounds—introduces her to Arthur, a middle-aged journalist. Though she's preferred women to men for years now, she soon finds herself falling into an all-consuming affair with him. She is coming apart with want and loving every second of it! Well, except for the tiny hiccup of Arthur’s wife—and that said wife has no idea Hera exists.
With its daringly specific and intimate voice, Green Dot is a darkly hilarious and deeply felt examination of the joys and indignities of coming into adulthood against the pitfalls of the twenty-first century and the winding, tortuous, and often very funny journey we take in deciding who we are and who we want to be.
At 24, Hera is a clump of unmet potential. To her, the future is nothing but an exhausting thought exercise, one depressing hypothetical after another. She’s sharp in more ways than one, adrift in her own smug malaise, until her new job moderating the comments section of an online news outlet—a role even more mind-numbing than it sounds—introduces her to Arthur, a middle-aged journalist. Though she's preferred women to men for years now, she soon finds herself falling into an all-consuming affair with him. She is coming apart with want and loving every second of it! Well, except for the tiny hiccup of Arthur’s wife—and that said wife has no idea Hera exists.
With its daringly specific and intimate voice, Green Dot is a darkly hilarious and deeply felt examination of the joys and indignities of coming into adulthood against the pitfalls of the twenty-first century and the winding, tortuous, and often very funny journey we take in deciding who we are and who we want to be.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published February 27, 2024
About the author
Madeleine Gray
9 books149 followersMadeleine Gray is a writer and critic from Sydney. She has written for the Times Literary Supplement, the Guardian, the BBC, Electric Literature, Sydney Review of Books, and other publications. In 2019 she was a CA-SRB Emerging Critic, and in 2021 she was a finalist for the Pascall Prize for Arts Criticism, a finalist for the Woollahra Digital Literary Non-Fiction Award, and a recipient of a Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund grant. She has an MSt in English from the University of Oxford and is a current doctoral candidate at the University of Manchester. Green Dot is her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,374 reviews
April 1, 2024
being delulu is not the solulu !!!!!
this was genuinely very witty and funny, it's rare that a book makes me laugh out loud but i thoroughly enjoyed this one. a quick easy read - albeit frustrating because the main character is in a terrible predicament dating a (much) older man who cannot give her what she needs.
"what is defensiveness if not hands waving above a drowning body?"
4.5/5
this was genuinely very witty and funny, it's rare that a book makes me laugh out loud but i thoroughly enjoyed this one. a quick easy read - albeit frustrating because the main character is in a terrible predicament dating a (much) older man who cannot give her what she needs.
"what is defensiveness if not hands waving above a drowning body?"
4.5/5
April 25, 2024
this is about a young woman who hates the future...representation is so important.
unfortunately it turns out i can't relate that much to "dumb."
it is very hard to read a whole book without sympathizing with its main character once.
this is actually not because the character in question spends this entire book sleeping with a married man, and a large portion of it sleeping with a man married to a pregnant wife, and a slightly smaller portion of it sleeping with a man married to the mother of a newborn. i have sympathized with characters who have done worse. although not by much.
it's because this character is SO unfeeling, so shallow, and so cruel in the worst way — the way that comes from just not caring about the interior lives of others. i don't know if this character has no interior life or is just uninterested in showing it to us, but it is not on page. not even implied.
i liked the writing of this at first, but eventually the constant slang and pop culture and devil-may-care mentality got old. it reminded me of greta and valdin at first, and then bad greta and valdin, and then no greta and valdin at all.
time passes in this book without reference, feelings grow without reason, and the plot just bumbles on.
boats against the current.
bottom line: a frustrating read, and not in the ways it intends to be.
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
unfortunately it turns out i can't relate that much to "dumb."
it is very hard to read a whole book without sympathizing with its main character once.
this is actually not because the character in question spends this entire book sleeping with a married man, and a large portion of it sleeping with a man married to a pregnant wife, and a slightly smaller portion of it sleeping with a man married to the mother of a newborn. i have sympathized with characters who have done worse. although not by much.
it's because this character is SO unfeeling, so shallow, and so cruel in the worst way — the way that comes from just not caring about the interior lives of others. i don't know if this character has no interior life or is just uninterested in showing it to us, but it is not on page. not even implied.
i liked the writing of this at first, but eventually the constant slang and pop culture and devil-may-care mentality got old. it reminded me of greta and valdin at first, and then bad greta and valdin, and then no greta and valdin at all.
time passes in this book without reference, feelings grow without reason, and the plot just bumbles on.
boats against the current.
bottom line: a frustrating read, and not in the ways it intends to be.
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
July 3, 2024
If you love the idea of environmentalism and a call to arms for action are messages you believe need to be shared, "Green Dot" should be your next listen.
This may be a good book for you if you relate to Tang's ecological vision. By being in audiobook form it allows the listener to be more in the narrative, creating an immersive experience that lets listeners ponder the relationship between ecological places and human places. Many listeners will appreciate Gray's timely and compelling story about human ecological interactions and the larger challenges of creating Earth-positive manners.
The narrator adeptly captured the essence of each character, enhancing the audiobook with nuanced performances that reflected the emotional depth and moral dilemmas faced by the protagonists. Their expressive delivery added resonance to the narrative, making the environmental themes resonate deeply.
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This may be a good book for you if you relate to Tang's ecological vision. By being in audiobook form it allows the listener to be more in the narrative, creating an immersive experience that lets listeners ponder the relationship between ecological places and human places. Many listeners will appreciate Gray's timely and compelling story about human ecological interactions and the larger challenges of creating Earth-positive manners.
The narrator adeptly captured the essence of each character, enhancing the audiobook with nuanced performances that reflected the emotional depth and moral dilemmas faced by the protagonists. Their expressive delivery added resonance to the narrative, making the environmental themes resonate deeply.
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October 27, 2023
she is delulu but aren't we all?
August 29, 2023
ARC received for an honest review
i don't mean this lightly when i say that i was utterly devastated. finished this last night and i still can't get over it. that was a phenomenal reading experience.
i felt everything with the main character; i was laughing, i was falling in love, i was crying, i was angry, i was hopeful, i was crying, i was frustrated, i was desperate, i was delusional, i was longing, i was crying again. it was insane. and i think it is a testament to the author's writing skill to make a character so real and yet so endearing. i rooted for her. i saw myself in her. (and wow what a crazy thing to admit here.)
aside from the double ending punctuations, i don't think anything else bothered me. i usually don't like the presence of social media in novels but this one here is an exception. i also, on principle, don't think that three exclamation points should stand on their own as one line after a paragraph but here, it was appropriate and perfectly placed that i was just shocked of my own acceptance of it. plus, the karaoke scene that i usually love in fan fiction but don't commonly see done well in novels was so tense and so well set up and organized that i just have to applaud Madeleine Gray for this. add to this the sad yet humorous girl inner monologues, the music and movie references, and other pop culture or social media references, it was all arranged brilliantly. i don't know why it worked for me, just that it wasn't as corny or cringey as it is usually done in other novels.
i will say though, this book made me reflect on myself. a lot. i won't share them here but i must say that the author did such a great job with the progression of the plot, the presentation of the ideas, the rationalization of immoral actions, the expression of desperation, of hope, and of the absolutely sickening yearning. yearning for life, yearning for something big, yearning for someone, yearning for acceptance, yearning for love. and yes, it was sad, but it was also humorous. i was fully engaged and intrigued, so i really enjoyed myself here. and i bet the author was chuckling to herself naming her main character Hera!
anyway, pick this up if you like Madelaine Lucas' Thirst for Salt, Fleabag, Sally Rooney, and Diana Reid, and Genevieve Novak's books. or really, if you like a sad and funny novel that will make you reflect on your own life then go on ahead and read this one. this definitely made it to one of my top books this year!
i don't mean this lightly when i say that i was utterly devastated. finished this last night and i still can't get over it. that was a phenomenal reading experience.
i felt everything with the main character; i was laughing, i was falling in love, i was crying, i was angry, i was hopeful, i was crying, i was frustrated, i was desperate, i was delusional, i was longing, i was crying again. it was insane. and i think it is a testament to the author's writing skill to make a character so real and yet so endearing. i rooted for her. i saw myself in her. (and wow what a crazy thing to admit here.)
aside from the double ending punctuations, i don't think anything else bothered me. i usually don't like the presence of social media in novels but this one here is an exception. i also, on principle, don't think that three exclamation points should stand on their own as one line after a paragraph but here, it was appropriate and perfectly placed that i was just shocked of my own acceptance of it. plus, the karaoke scene that i usually love in fan fiction but don't commonly see done well in novels was so tense and so well set up and organized that i just have to applaud Madeleine Gray for this. add to this the sad yet humorous girl inner monologues, the music and movie references, and other pop culture or social media references, it was all arranged brilliantly. i don't know why it worked for me, just that it wasn't as corny or cringey as it is usually done in other novels.
i will say though, this book made me reflect on myself. a lot. i won't share them here but i must say that the author did such a great job with the progression of the plot, the presentation of the ideas, the rationalization of immoral actions, the expression of desperation, of hope, and of the absolutely sickening yearning. yearning for life, yearning for something big, yearning for someone, yearning for acceptance, yearning for love. and yes, it was sad, but it was also humorous. i was fully engaged and intrigued, so i really enjoyed myself here. and i bet the author was chuckling to herself naming her main character Hera!
anyway, pick this up if you like Madelaine Lucas' Thirst for Salt, Fleabag, Sally Rooney, and Diana Reid, and Genevieve Novak's books. or really, if you like a sad and funny novel that will make you reflect on your own life then go on ahead and read this one. this definitely made it to one of my top books this year!
February 20, 2024
I have a funny story about my road to reading this book. It jumped out at me straight away, so I headed to my library. It was available but not on the shelf. I, and a distant library colleague (she worked there, I don’t) were doing this quiet walk around seeing if it was being held in the hands of a current user. Not sure if it was unobtrusive. No luck. Then a regular was borrowing a whole bunch at the self-checkout (he returns books quickly, I was assured). Another quick scan of the shelves, the recent returns where another staff member was sure she saw it. No luck, a reserve placed. I was almost home when I did a U-turn after a follow up phone call, it had been found. Along the way (not even sure when) I also bought the book and ended up listening to the audio. You would think I’d be a little more organised than this. This little story may convey my affection for Hera in a small way.
I loved it. Hera, young and unsettled, has gone through university (what else to do, right?), completely uninspired and not at all keeping up with her friends. No career, no aspirations to do more. Nothing depresses her more than the trudge of work, repeat. She does find herself in an uninspired position, eventually. Every word the author selects is not wasted. Disastrous job interviews, delicious internal dialogue, insights befitting a weary more seasoned life traveller than her early years.
Witty, deadpan, completely uninhibited in thought and speech. All delivered in a text that appears to have been written by an established author, one I would group with the echelon of esteemed and experienced Australian women writers twice her age. Age doesn’t have anything to do with it really, what I’m saying is there is an insight I am thoroughly impressed with.
Hera, and Madeleine Gray has approached a young, chaotic, and unmoored life leading to an obsessive love and awareness so profound I was quite simply taken with. She has gotten into the head of someone so troubled yet with self-awareness, that I was just gunning for the whole way, wanting her to find her feet. I’ve been where she’s been, the author has written something I resonate with which adds more depth to my experience. This was a complete success for me, a credible and intricate story of a woman’s struggle, an absorbing read.
But what is lust if not if not generosity persevering. I wanted him to be what I needed, and so that is what he became.
The bar is Mexican themed, staffed by white students. Obviously.
I understand why people start wars. I understand why people blow up their lives. If the choice is this or not this I will destroy everything else, every time.
I am not at all surprised a manuscript such as this was snapped up immediately for release into the world. Well done, this is so different and poignant.
I loved it. Hera, young and unsettled, has gone through university (what else to do, right?), completely uninspired and not at all keeping up with her friends. No career, no aspirations to do more. Nothing depresses her more than the trudge of work, repeat. She does find herself in an uninspired position, eventually. Every word the author selects is not wasted. Disastrous job interviews, delicious internal dialogue, insights befitting a weary more seasoned life traveller than her early years.
Witty, deadpan, completely uninhibited in thought and speech. All delivered in a text that appears to have been written by an established author, one I would group with the echelon of esteemed and experienced Australian women writers twice her age. Age doesn’t have anything to do with it really, what I’m saying is there is an insight I am thoroughly impressed with.
Hera, and Madeleine Gray has approached a young, chaotic, and unmoored life leading to an obsessive love and awareness so profound I was quite simply taken with. She has gotten into the head of someone so troubled yet with self-awareness, that I was just gunning for the whole way, wanting her to find her feet. I’ve been where she’s been, the author has written something I resonate with which adds more depth to my experience. This was a complete success for me, a credible and intricate story of a woman’s struggle, an absorbing read.
But what is lust if not if not generosity persevering. I wanted him to be what I needed, and so that is what he became.
The bar is Mexican themed, staffed by white students. Obviously.
I understand why people start wars. I understand why people blow up their lives. If the choice is this or not this I will destroy everything else, every time.
I am not at all surprised a manuscript such as this was snapped up immediately for release into the world. Well done, this is so different and poignant.
January 25, 2024
this was fucking awful, like actually a very bad book that needs many more rounds at the editors before it should see the light of day
in the first 50 pages the author:
compares an office job to an abortion clinic “because everyone seems sadly determined to gain entry to another room that will take something from them.”
she describes a colleague who is giving her a tour as having “the embodied exhaustion of a Holocaust museum tour guide.”
she also references the Tiananmen Square massacre - no joke! - when describing Heras job role “This is not China: there are laws here. There is free speech. This is not Tiananmen Square. We are not comment deleters, we are comment moderators.’
after making it past that disrespect, Hera and Arthur are simply bad, dull, depthless characters. we see hardly anything substantial about their relationship yet are hoped to believe it’s genuine.
the writing is sometimes witty but overly try-hard.
the only redeeming thing is that at the centre of the book is a girl begging for love, something we can sadly all relate to.
in the first 50 pages the author:
compares an office job to an abortion clinic “because everyone seems sadly determined to gain entry to another room that will take something from them.”
she describes a colleague who is giving her a tour as having “the embodied exhaustion of a Holocaust museum tour guide.”
she also references the Tiananmen Square massacre - no joke! - when describing Heras job role “This is not China: there are laws here. There is free speech. This is not Tiananmen Square. We are not comment deleters, we are comment moderators.’
after making it past that disrespect, Hera and Arthur are simply bad, dull, depthless characters. we see hardly anything substantial about their relationship yet are hoped to believe it’s genuine.
the writing is sometimes witty but overly try-hard.
the only redeeming thing is that at the centre of the book is a girl begging for love, something we can sadly all relate to.
March 10, 2024
such an addictive, quick read. while this follows a common and somewhat trite (oversaturated as of recent) trope: woman in her 20s has an affair with an older married man. however, the writing and hera's imperfect yet relatable monologue allowed the book to have its own standout characteristics from the rest.
that being said, i feel like the monologue got a bit tiring after the halfway point of the book and i was not as interested in it as i was at the beginning. it was a weird dichotomy because while many points of her introspection were so painfully relatable, she was so hard to connect with as a whole character.
but if you are looking for a 'sad girl lit fic' (so broad, i know), this is definitely one to check out!
thank you henry holt for the arc!
that being said, i feel like the monologue got a bit tiring after the halfway point of the book and i was not as interested in it as i was at the beginning. it was a weird dichotomy because while many points of her introspection were so painfully relatable, she was so hard to connect with as a whole character.
but if you are looking for a 'sad girl lit fic' (so broad, i know), this is definitely one to check out!
thank you henry holt for the arc!
April 21, 2024
Alexa play Saving All My Love For You by Whitney Houston
No one cant tell me that song is not THEE song for side chicks!
Oh Green Dot you was a barrel of laughs satisfying read! This book is narrated by 24 year old Hera who has finished university and is pretty much like 'what now?' she ends up getting a job moderating the comments section of an online news outlet, it is there she meets middle ageddickhead Arthur. Arthur is married, Hera ends up in a long ass affair with him and we are pretty much reading this second hand embarrassment behind our hands peeking through our fingers.
I've seen the reviews and this is definitely a marmite kind of book. I for one lap this one up and enjoyed it thoroughly! There's something about delulu females that entertains TF out of me. Hera is a mess but she kind of knows this but a bigger part of her psyche has her believing that she is the anomaly and will get her married man! You cant help but sit on the 'delulu train' with her while she spews all her nonsensical thoughts and opinions.
These are my thoughts for each chapters:
➽ Part 1- Although verrrrrryyy long was a good introduction to Hera and the kind of woman she is
➽ Part 2- Urgh Hera you have no idea what you are getting yourself into
➽ Part 3- The biggest LOL! What an actual wasted journey!!
➽ Part 4- Hera STAND UP!!!!!!!!!!!!
➽ Part 5- Sigh!
Madeline Gray your writing style is simply addictive! I could not get enough and was drinking up the cool-aid! Besides Hera being a mess, she was very witty, and i enjoyed her dark humour. She looked at Arthur and saw nothing but GreenDot Flags and it truly chuckled TF out of me! Speaking of the POS Arthur, he was the true definition of
'After God, Fear Men'.
I really don't know what Hera saw in this loser, but i pictured a middle aged Jude Law (The Holiday) and well yeah... i guess 😏
I found this book so entertaining and can not wait to see what this author writes next!
4.5 ⭐
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⋆｡°✩pre read⋆｡°✩
This book has been flirting with me ever since i read the blurb!😏
The reviews say its giving 'Woman who is seriously DELULU about a man' vibes
Say no more, Lets Gooo! 🤣🤣💚
No one cant tell me that song is not THEE song for side chicks!
Oh Green Dot you was a barrel of laughs satisfying read! This book is narrated by 24 year old Hera who has finished university and is pretty much like 'what now?' she ends up getting a job moderating the comments section of an online news outlet, it is there she meets middle aged
I've seen the reviews and this is definitely a marmite kind of book. I for one lap this one up and enjoyed it thoroughly! There's something about delulu females that entertains TF out of me. Hera is a mess but she kind of knows this but a bigger part of her psyche has her believing that she is the anomaly and will get her married man! You cant help but sit on the 'delulu train' with her while she spews all her nonsensical thoughts and opinions.
These are my thoughts for each chapters:
➽ Part 1- Although verrrrrryyy long was a good introduction to Hera and the kind of woman she is
➽ Part 2- Urgh Hera you have no idea what you are getting yourself into
➽ Part 3- The biggest LOL! What an actual wasted journey!!
➽ Part 4- Hera STAND UP!!!!!!!!!!!!
➽ Part 5- Sigh!
Madeline Gray your writing style is simply addictive! I could not get enough and was drinking up the cool-aid! Besides Hera being a mess, she was very witty, and i enjoyed her dark humour. She looked at Arthur and saw nothing but Green
I found this book so entertaining and can not wait to see what this author writes next!
4.5 ⭐
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
⋆｡°✩pre read⋆｡°✩
This book has been flirting with me ever since i read the blurb!😏
The reviews say its giving 'Woman who is seriously DELULU about a man' vibes
Say no more, Lets Gooo! 🤣🤣💚
February 25, 2024
while the plot of this book isn’t anything new (aimless woman in her early twenties has an affair with an older married man), what really sold this book to me was the wry narration and wittiness of the protagonist.
it’s littered with pop culture references and includes a pandemic segment, both of which i usually steer clear from in books, but in this one it just worked. probably because madeleine gray did it so well, and probably because i was simply just having a good time reading this.
perfect for fans of (what i guess has become known as) ‘sally rooney style, fleabag esque novels’, with a witty narrative style and a little bit of cog in the capitalist machine ennui thrown in.
it’s littered with pop culture references and includes a pandemic segment, both of which i usually steer clear from in books, but in this one it just worked. probably because madeleine gray did it so well, and probably because i was simply just having a good time reading this.
perfect for fans of (what i guess has become known as) ‘sally rooney style, fleabag esque novels’, with a witty narrative style and a little bit of cog in the capitalist machine ennui thrown in.
April 17, 2024
are you a job-hunting, aimless, university graduate who believes that there must be a higher calling than becoming a cog in the soul sucking machine that is capitalism?
so is hera! (except she’s super annoying about it and lives with the belief that she alone has reached this nirvana-level enlightenment)
i’ll be honest, when i read the premise of this book, i immediately thought “oh she has issues pertaining to the father figure, understandable.”
but no. source of issues: unknown. and frankly, she was so ungrateful for her dad, it was unbearable.
the writing was difficult because it’s all from hera’s perspective and hera is (very) delusional and self absorbed. the narrative is essentially a streamline of her thoughts, which became dense and confusing because she drops random anecdotes and opinions. i can concede that this was done to prove a point, but she was “self aware” to the point where the concept itself lost all meaning and her thought process becomes a repetitive, irksome cycle.
perhaps this is because her pre-frontal cortex still has a year left to develop. fingers crossed, there might be hope for her yet.
she’s funny and kinda relatable at best (rare), very nearly pretentious, aggravating, and ignorant at worst (99.8% of the time), and like many aimless university graduates (who engage in a bit of self obsessed delusion from time to time, lie about their photoshop skills on job applications, and have issues that could stem from being a lonely “gifted” kid who once showed great academic potential but fizzled out) could probably benefit from therapy, mindful meditation, and owning a journal with one of those fancy japanese brand gel-pens ( i recommend sarasa clip in 0.4).
she's not the only one at fault. arthur (the middle aged married man she has an affair with) is annoying as fuck too, don't worry.
[thank you to the publishers for the arc.]
so is hera! (except she’s super annoying about it and lives with the belief that she alone has reached this nirvana-level enlightenment)
i’ll be honest, when i read the premise of this book, i immediately thought “oh she has issues pertaining to the father figure, understandable.”
but no. source of issues: unknown. and frankly, she was so ungrateful for her dad, it was unbearable.
the writing was difficult because it’s all from hera’s perspective and hera is (very) delusional and self absorbed. the narrative is essentially a streamline of her thoughts, which became dense and confusing because she drops random anecdotes and opinions. i can concede that this was done to prove a point, but she was “self aware” to the point where the concept itself lost all meaning and her thought process becomes a repetitive, irksome cycle.
perhaps this is because her pre-frontal cortex still has a year left to develop. fingers crossed, there might be hope for her yet.
she’s funny and kinda relatable at best (rare), very nearly pretentious, aggravating, and ignorant at worst (99.8% of the time), and like many aimless university graduates (who engage in a bit of self obsessed delusion from time to time, lie about their photoshop skills on job applications, and have issues that could stem from being a lonely “gifted” kid who once showed great academic potential but fizzled out) could probably benefit from therapy, mindful meditation, and owning a journal with one of those fancy japanese brand gel-pens ( i recommend sarasa clip in 0.4).
she's not the only one at fault. arthur (the middle aged married man she has an affair with) is annoying as fuck too, don't worry.
[thank you to the publishers for the arc.]
Want to read
August 21, 2023i think i just might make “adrift in her own smug malaise” my new instagram bio.
is that plagiarism? even if it’s just the blurb? what if i put it in quotes? i know the narrator(s) in my head ask a lot of rhetorical questions through my mouth, but i would very much like an answer to that one.
anyways, i don’t typically like stories about infidelity, but i figure they keep getting written for a reason so i may as well try and figure out what that is.
is that plagiarism? even if it’s just the blurb? what if i put it in quotes? i know the narrator(s) in my head ask a lot of rhetorical questions through my mouth, but i would very much like an answer to that one.
anyways, i don’t typically like stories about infidelity, but i figure they keep getting written for a reason so i may as well try and figure out what that is.
December 1, 2023
What a self-involved and unlikeable book. Hera is a pain. All her inner monologue and sense of entitlement was hard to digest.
If this is an insight into the 20somethings of today, our world is doomed.
The complete lack of real connection that the characters had throughout this book was soul destroying for me, the reader.
Perhaps it would be better received by peers reading this book, and not a middle-aged woman who would take her child to task if they were like Hera.
If this is an insight into the 20somethings of today, our world is doomed.
The complete lack of real connection that the characters had throughout this book was soul destroying for me, the reader.
Perhaps it would be better received by peers reading this book, and not a middle-aged woman who would take her child to task if they were like Hera.
Shelved as 'dnf'
January 19, 2024dnf @ 25%
To quote Rebecca Liu in ‘The Making Of A Millennial Woman’:
"Being a millennial feels like being stuck in a permanent state of on-the-cusp adolescence. Sulky, prickly, and painfully hyper-visible, our every movement is tracked by a set of watchful guardians eager to land the next rage-inducing viral headline. […] One of the few things associated with millennials to have received a positive public reception is a particular form of millennial art. This art revolves around an archetypical Young Millennial Woman – pretty, white, cisgender, and tortured enough to be interesting but not enough to be repulsive. Often described as ‘relatable,’ she is, in actuality, not."
Or Emmeline Clein in ‘From Fleabag to Persuasion, the Rise of the Mussy-Haired, Self-Hating Sarcasm Machine’:
"A single woman is drinking alone, crying over a man. […] These days, she’s sobbing in a bathtub, wallowing in her romantic regrets. Luckily, she still has her incisive eye and sarcastic tongue. Narrating in voiceover, our heroine begins telling us her romantic history, why she’s crying, and we’re meant to laugh."
I'm rather weary of these Fleabag-esque female characters. Like, ha, here we go again : [insert twenty-something messy mc whose inner monologue consists of endless quirky one liners making fun of herself, of course she's self-deprecating, and others, she can barely make herself a cup of coffee let alone carry out normal interactions with others without making things weird cause she's just like that and falling for a guy who is emotionally unavailable, but then again so is she].
I'm tired of these books featuring these 'relatable' yet (supposedly) 'unlikeable' female characters who are mired by their own ennui, unable to adjust to adulthood, or to do the things people their age seem to do. The narrator here is someone whose voice is so generic as to be perfectly unmemorable. Her quirkiness and inner monologue feel derivative, painfully so. The book tries and fails to be self-aware ('wink-wink') as it goes on to depict a tired dynamic between a young woman and a married man...alas this is no Luster.
As per usual do not let my negative opinions dissuade you from giving this a read or at the very lest checking out some more positive reviews.
To quote Rebecca Liu in ‘The Making Of A Millennial Woman’:
"Being a millennial feels like being stuck in a permanent state of on-the-cusp adolescence. Sulky, prickly, and painfully hyper-visible, our every movement is tracked by a set of watchful guardians eager to land the next rage-inducing viral headline. […] One of the few things associated with millennials to have received a positive public reception is a particular form of millennial art. This art revolves around an archetypical Young Millennial Woman – pretty, white, cisgender, and tortured enough to be interesting but not enough to be repulsive. Often described as ‘relatable,’ she is, in actuality, not."
Or Emmeline Clein in ‘From Fleabag to Persuasion, the Rise of the Mussy-Haired, Self-Hating Sarcasm Machine’:
"A single woman is drinking alone, crying over a man. […] These days, she’s sobbing in a bathtub, wallowing in her romantic regrets. Luckily, she still has her incisive eye and sarcastic tongue. Narrating in voiceover, our heroine begins telling us her romantic history, why she’s crying, and we’re meant to laugh."
I'm rather weary of these Fleabag-esque female characters. Like, ha, here we go again : [insert twenty-something messy mc whose inner monologue consists of endless quirky one liners making fun of herself, of course she's self-deprecating, and others, she can barely make herself a cup of coffee let alone carry out normal interactions with others without making things weird cause she's just like that and falling for a guy who is emotionally unavailable, but then again so is she].
I'm tired of these books featuring these 'relatable' yet (supposedly) 'unlikeable' female characters who are mired by their own ennui, unable to adjust to adulthood, or to do the things people their age seem to do. The narrator here is someone whose voice is so generic as to be perfectly unmemorable. Her quirkiness and inner monologue feel derivative, painfully so. The book tries and fails to be self-aware ('wink-wink') as it goes on to depict a tired dynamic between a young woman and a married man...alas this is no Luster.
As per usual do not let my negative opinions dissuade you from giving this a read or at the very lest checking out some more positive reviews.
November 26, 2023
The writing was endearing at some points (and saturated with Fleabag vibes) but there is nothing likeable about Hera or Arthur. To do something so inherently awful and then, in the final moments of the story in some kind of redemption arc, look down on and pity someone who tangoed with her in the affair is so off-putting.
The best character was Jude the dog.
The best character was Jude the dog.
May 27, 2024
I loved this book. You will love it, too if you relate to Hera. She is the one telling the story. Hera is 24 and a bit adrift, she has 3 art degrees, but she just isn’t that excited at her job prospects. She knows it’s time to finally get a Real Job, and well being a Communications Moderator is a mind-numbing and useless job. How will she possibly endure this? Fortunately, Hera gets through life with her sarcastic dark humor. She starts making jokes with her fellow worker, Mei Ling. It is quite funny, and right away Hera was my girl that I would route for.
Then things get much more complicated. She starts messaging Arthur, an older journalist and they start being a little flirty, then that moves to drinks with colleagues, and next are alone at Hera’s. Right away, she finds out he is married. Hera knows she should end it, but deep down she knows this guy is different. She has dated both guys and girls, but it never meant much to her. Arthur she has intense feeling for and when they talk about it, so does he. This is not just going to be a fling or a short romance. No, both say they are all in. Hera has been feeling depressed and unsure how to get on track with her life. It is completely understandable at her young age. I think before Arthur, she would roll her eyes if you asked her if she be with a married man. She does worry about the effects this will have on Arthur, his wife, and at the bottom of the heap, herself. Yet, she tells us she is not going to walk away. Many more incidents happen and she tells Arthur she needs time to think it over, but she knows she is not leaving this relationship. It comes to completely define her.
Hera wants something more out of life. This is it, she is intoxicated on love. I could understand that and felt for her. It’s easy to say something is completely wrong, but when you love someone deeply, you lose site of that. So, I wanted Hera to be happy. I wanted her to have the future both her and Arthur were planning. She even admits maybe she just wanted to achieve something, that someone would give up all the things he wanted and do this just to be with her. It satisfies her sense of purpose and she will feel safe, secure, and loved as she always wanted. Hera makes many mistakes trying to get this to work. She is lucky she has her friends Soph and Sarah to listen and ground her, but they are not going to change her thinking.
At 24, you are just stepping into yourself and meeting someone older who is smart and accomplished, well I get that. Hera is also very intelligent herself and she is funny. The book made me laugh so much and then I’d cry with Hera. It made me remember being that young and how the world seems a little simpler. Pushing Hera’s sarcasm aside is easy, she’s just using it to cope. Deep down, and you really don’t have to dig far, she wants to be accepted, accomplished, and loved. It moved me so much more then I expected.
This is Madeleine Gray’s first novel and she does a fantastic job with it. Best debut I’ve read this year by far.
Thank you NetGalley, Madeleine Gray, and Henry Holt & Company for granting this book to me. I always leave reviews of books I read.
Then things get much more complicated. She starts messaging Arthur, an older journalist and they start being a little flirty, then that moves to drinks with colleagues, and next are alone at Hera’s. Right away, she finds out he is married. Hera knows she should end it, but deep down she knows this guy is different. She has dated both guys and girls, but it never meant much to her. Arthur she has intense feeling for and when they talk about it, so does he. This is not just going to be a fling or a short romance. No, both say they are all in. Hera has been feeling depressed and unsure how to get on track with her life. It is completely understandable at her young age. I think before Arthur, she would roll her eyes if you asked her if she be with a married man. She does worry about the effects this will have on Arthur, his wife, and at the bottom of the heap, herself. Yet, she tells us she is not going to walk away. Many more incidents happen and she tells Arthur she needs time to think it over, but she knows she is not leaving this relationship. It comes to completely define her.
Hera wants something more out of life. This is it, she is intoxicated on love. I could understand that and felt for her. It’s easy to say something is completely wrong, but when you love someone deeply, you lose site of that. So, I wanted Hera to be happy. I wanted her to have the future both her and Arthur were planning. She even admits maybe she just wanted to achieve something, that someone would give up all the things he wanted and do this just to be with her. It satisfies her sense of purpose and she will feel safe, secure, and loved as she always wanted. Hera makes many mistakes trying to get this to work. She is lucky she has her friends Soph and Sarah to listen and ground her, but they are not going to change her thinking.
At 24, you are just stepping into yourself and meeting someone older who is smart and accomplished, well I get that. Hera is also very intelligent herself and she is funny. The book made me laugh so much and then I’d cry with Hera. It made me remember being that young and how the world seems a little simpler. Pushing Hera’s sarcasm aside is easy, she’s just using it to cope. Deep down, and you really don’t have to dig far, she wants to be accepted, accomplished, and loved. It moved me so much more then I expected.
This is Madeleine Gray’s first novel and she does a fantastic job with it. Best debut I’ve read this year by far.
Thank you NetGalley, Madeleine Gray, and Henry Holt & Company for granting this book to me. I always leave reviews of books I read.
March 17, 2024
i would like to request a refund and the hours of my life i spent on this novel back, thank you.
October 14, 2023
In a world as troubled as this one currently is, I cannot work out why I wasted 3 days of my life reading about white girl trauma when having an affair with a married man whose wife is pregnant. For the first 40% of the book the writing hooks you in. It’s witty but you soon get over it because you already know the plot so you can safely flip flip flip the last 100 pages knowing the end. I felt disappointed that this book is getting such rave reviews. Where’s the sisterhood? The wife! Who cares about the wife?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 8, 2024
arthur belongs in PRISON
March 2, 2024
Update 2/27/24: Reposting my review to celebrate that today is publication day!
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sending me an ARC of Green Dot in exchange for an honest review.
Hera is a 24-year-old woman who lives with her father in Sydney, Australia. She’s finally finished school with an art degree but she has no real interest in actually working. So she bluffs her way into a position working for a news website as a content moderator, and it’s there that she meets Arthur, a 40-something British journalist. At first, she finds Arthur diverting, a bright spot in a dreary job. Soon, though, she falls for him, and falls so hard that she chooses to maintain the relationship even after she learns that he’s married.
On one level, Green Dot is a very late Millennial/Gen Z story. Hera works only because she has to, and is no happier working in an office than she is working retail. She is deeply cynical about capitalism, and quickly understands the insanity of her content moderator job, where she flags but never actually bans the posters of inappropriate content. She’s bisexual, and regularly engages in casual sex at various points throughout the story (though almost always off-page). She knows that she shouldn’t try to find value in making others happy, but she cannot seem to help herself. Hera often sounds like a blend of my own 20-something kids.
On a more important level, Green Dot is a timeless story of love. Hera knows—she knows—that she is risking her heart by giving it to a married man. But each time she learns a troubling new fact about Arthur, and has the chance to walk away, she chooses to stay even though staying slowly shrinks her life in ways she doesn’t like. Hera is that messy friend who’s life looks so incomprehensible from the outside, except here, Hera is explaining why she made each choice she made, why she always thought her decisions would work out a bit better than they did. The story is often funny, and written in a very engaging, conversational style. The audiobook’s narrator, Sasha Simon, did an excellent job bringing Hera to life.
Green Dot probably won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but it should be. Hera is a fascinating character, imperfect but charming in her way. You may think you know how the story will end, and you may be right, but you’ll be rooting for her on the journey (which, as my kids would tell, is the friends she makes along the way 😄). 4.5 stars rounded up to five. Highly recommended.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sending me an ARC of Green Dot in exchange for an honest review.
Hera is a 24-year-old woman who lives with her father in Sydney, Australia. She’s finally finished school with an art degree but she has no real interest in actually working. So she bluffs her way into a position working for a news website as a content moderator, and it’s there that she meets Arthur, a 40-something British journalist. At first, she finds Arthur diverting, a bright spot in a dreary job. Soon, though, she falls for him, and falls so hard that she chooses to maintain the relationship even after she learns that he’s married.
On one level, Green Dot is a very late Millennial/Gen Z story. Hera works only because she has to, and is no happier working in an office than she is working retail. She is deeply cynical about capitalism, and quickly understands the insanity of her content moderator job, where she flags but never actually bans the posters of inappropriate content. She’s bisexual, and regularly engages in casual sex at various points throughout the story (though almost always off-page). She knows that she shouldn’t try to find value in making others happy, but she cannot seem to help herself. Hera often sounds like a blend of my own 20-something kids.
On a more important level, Green Dot is a timeless story of love. Hera knows—she knows—that she is risking her heart by giving it to a married man. But each time she learns a troubling new fact about Arthur, and has the chance to walk away, she chooses to stay even though staying slowly shrinks her life in ways she doesn’t like. Hera is that messy friend who’s life looks so incomprehensible from the outside, except here, Hera is explaining why she made each choice she made, why she always thought her decisions would work out a bit better than they did. The story is often funny, and written in a very engaging, conversational style. The audiobook’s narrator, Sasha Simon, did an excellent job bringing Hera to life.
Green Dot probably won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but it should be. Hera is a fascinating character, imperfect but charming in her way. You may think you know how the story will end, and you may be right, but you’ll be rooting for her on the journey (which, as my kids would tell, is the friends she makes along the way 😄). 4.5 stars rounded up to five. Highly recommended.
June 15, 2024
what can i say? i love when my lit fic characters are a mess 💁♀️, especially when they're just like me
(and by that i mean being a bisexual girlie in her 20s who still lives with one of her parents, doesn't have a "dream job" because she knows she's not meant to be working at all, doesn't feel like she fits in anywhere, and is just waiting for the right partner to take her out of the misery that is to be part of the workforce ―yes, i'm ignoring the fact that she's dating a married man because that's where she's not like me)
finishing this little mess of a review with some of my favorite quotes:
(and by that i mean being a bisexual girlie in her 20s who still lives with one of her parents, doesn't have a "dream job" because she knows she's not meant to be working at all, doesn't feel like she fits in anywhere, and is just waiting for the right partner to take her out of the misery that is to be part of the workforce ―yes, i'm ignoring the fact that she's dating a married man because that's where she's not like me)
finishing this little mess of a review with some of my favorite quotes:
"I need to go on Seek and find myself a job, and then do that job, and then “start” a “life.”
"I can never get over the sense that when people call me a woman and not a girl they are teasing me somehow."
"All I can think about is when this waiting period will be over, when real life will begin."
"I think back to Soph, to Sarah, to the cafés we used to sit in after school, to not knowing what the future held and thinking that was a hopeful thing. I smile at the schoolgirls and they do not smile at me, as I am old and irrelevant. I want to yell, “Stop! You don’t understand! I was once one of you, I understand you, I love you!”
“I hope I have taught you, my girl, that sometimes the best thing you can do with a day is leave it behind and then start again tomorrow."
March 1, 2024
Hera is a 24 year old woman, living in Sydney and beginning her post-graduate life. She starts her new job as an online comment moderator, disliking her boss, but quickly falling for her coworker, a slightly older journalist, Arthur. Hera’s level of infatuation skyrockets, and soon she is all-consumed by this affair.
Hera tries to navigate this new phase of life as a working adult and her affair with Arthur. They mostly communicate through an app where Hera can see Arthur’s “green dot” indicating his online status.
Some of Hera’s behavior as she find her way in adulthood is relatable, but not all of it. She’s a bit unhinged at times, a bit naive at others, and has questionable judgment, but I couldn’t look away! I was entertained throughout Green Dot, not lacking in tense moments.
Thank you to Henry Holt and Netgalley for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Hera tries to navigate this new phase of life as a working adult and her affair with Arthur. They mostly communicate through an app where Hera can see Arthur’s “green dot” indicating his online status.
Some of Hera’s behavior as she find her way in adulthood is relatable, but not all of it. She’s a bit unhinged at times, a bit naive at others, and has questionable judgment, but I couldn’t look away! I was entertained throughout Green Dot, not lacking in tense moments.
Thank you to Henry Holt and Netgalley for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
April 5, 2024
3.5
I was curious about this novel, I thought it'd be a romance, rom-com Aussie novel. It's not.
Hera is twenty-four and just muddles through life. She doesn't know what she wants from life, she's intelligent but not willing to settle, and she's antsy. She's got a couple of humanities degrees, she'd rather study than work for a corporation, but one needs money to survive, even though she's living in her father's place and doesn't have to pay rent.
So she takes a job to moderate comments for a news website. She hates her job, most colleagues and is quietly dispering. One day she stumbles upon Arthur, a forty-something journalist, who is intrigued by her bluntness and sense of humour.
Hera has mostly been with women, suddenly she's into this guy and enjoys having snarky, teasing chat message exchanges. Besides, she's so damn bored. So what's a man and a woman to do - they hook up. Besides the age gap, there's one little problem - the dude is married. Oh, the cliche. Hera is aware, she's not stupid.
So what will happen to them, will he leave his wife? They are both declarative and the guy makes promises, but because he's such a nice guy he has to find the right time, he doesn't want to hurt his partner of twenty years. Feel free to roll your eyes, I certainly did.
I get why some would hate this book - Hera is not that particularly likeable, she makes a problematic choice, or several, still, despite those barriers, there were quite a few things I appreciated about this novel:
- a realistic, flawed main heroine, bonus points for her being bisexual;
- she's witty and quite in touch with herself, oh the irony that she still lies to herself for a man, an undecided, coward - but, it's love!
- it was just different from all the other Gen Z, millennial sad female character novels.
This is not for everyone, but a worthy debut novel.
I was curious about this novel, I thought it'd be a romance, rom-com Aussie novel. It's not.
Hera is twenty-four and just muddles through life. She doesn't know what she wants from life, she's intelligent but not willing to settle, and she's antsy. She's got a couple of humanities degrees, she'd rather study than work for a corporation, but one needs money to survive, even though she's living in her father's place and doesn't have to pay rent.
So she takes a job to moderate comments for a news website. She hates her job, most colleagues and is quietly dispering. One day she stumbles upon Arthur, a forty-something journalist, who is intrigued by her bluntness and sense of humour.
Hera has mostly been with women, suddenly she's into this guy and enjoys having snarky, teasing chat message exchanges. Besides, she's so damn bored. So what's a man and a woman to do - they hook up. Besides the age gap, there's one little problem - the dude is married. Oh, the cliche. Hera is aware, she's not stupid.
So what will happen to them, will he leave his wife? They are both declarative and the guy makes promises, but because he's such a nice guy he has to find the right time, he doesn't want to hurt his partner of twenty years. Feel free to roll your eyes, I certainly did.
I get why some would hate this book - Hera is not that particularly likeable, she makes a problematic choice, or several, still, despite those barriers, there were quite a few things I appreciated about this novel:
- a realistic, flawed main heroine, bonus points for her being bisexual;
- she's witty and quite in touch with herself, oh the irony that she still lies to herself for a man, an undecided, coward - but, it's love!
- it was just different from all the other Gen Z, millennial sad female character novels.
This is not for everyone, but a worthy debut novel.
April 7, 2024
This first novel by Sydneysider Madeleine Gray should have been a shoe-in for me. Clever, well written and taking place in Sydney. 24 year old Hera hasn't had a real job since graduating from Uni and her first is a mind numbing one in an office at a media company. Hera is snarky, negative, doesn't really seem to understand the world around her. So she starts an affair with an older man in her office. Not for me, DNF at around 30%. Don't like snarky or affairs with married people. Library ebook.
'It’s 11.30 on a Friday night, but we’re not in a particularly bar-filled area, so there aren’t many of them. There’s the bus driver, who looks like she wants to die, if only she had the energy to do so.' pg 64.
Snarky indeed.
'It’s 11.30 on a Friday night, but we’re not in a particularly bar-filled area, so there aren’t many of them. There’s the bus driver, who looks like she wants to die, if only she had the energy to do so.' pg 64.
Snarky indeed.
October 22, 2023
Green Dot is also full to the brim with dark, wry humour. I loved it. I laughed out loud, a lot. I particularly enjoyed the fun little meta nods to the format that Gray sprinkles throughout the narrative. Something tells me that she’s done a stint as an aimless 20-something Sydneysider, because I can tell you from experience that she nails it. The only thing that struck me as unrealistic was the fact that Hera’s office didn’t hot-desk.
My full review of Green Dot is up now on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
My full review of Green Dot is up now on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
August 30, 2023
3.5*
“Is love just when you decide that having power is less important than having your person?”
Green Dot rather perfectly encapsulates the lonely, insecure existence of being “the other woman”. The writing was witty and warm, and Grey peppers the text with popular culture references that sang to my soul…Bernard Black, Arrested Development and Lucille Bluth, Eternal Sunshine, Clueless and so on.
I was utterly charmed and wanted Hera (our hero) to be my friend, but all the references did begin to get a bit tiresome after a while, and their arguably excessive usage will undoubtedly mean the book will age horribly.
Her father sounded adorable, but I wish her difficult and damaging relationship with her mother was explained, it was mentioned too often to remain so mysterious. And it felt a shame to not write more about her time in the UK.
I think any woman who has been waiting for the mythical knight in shining armour to rescue her from the banality of life will relate to much of what’s written.
“ Maybe I gave him too much credit from the beginning. But what is lust if not generosity persevering? I wanted him to be what I needed, and so that is what he became.”
It’s definitely a novel for the sad girl fans, but that’s not a slur, I’m certainly in that camp. It just felt a little repetitive, meandering, and opportunities for investing in areas of interest were missed. Tonally it felt a little unsure of what it as trying to be, and seemed to move over and back from incredibly clever and insightful, to self conscious pretence to flimsy fluffy fun. And the random breaking of the fourth wall near the end was just confusing.
I did enjoy it though, what I liked I loved, and and for a debut effort it’s strong enough to make me keep an eye out for Gray’s next work.
“Is love just when you decide that having power is less important than having your person?”
Green Dot rather perfectly encapsulates the lonely, insecure existence of being “the other woman”. The writing was witty and warm, and Grey peppers the text with popular culture references that sang to my soul…Bernard Black, Arrested Development and Lucille Bluth, Eternal Sunshine, Clueless and so on.
I was utterly charmed and wanted Hera (our hero) to be my friend, but all the references did begin to get a bit tiresome after a while, and their arguably excessive usage will undoubtedly mean the book will age horribly.
Her father sounded adorable, but I wish her difficult and damaging relationship with her mother was explained, it was mentioned too often to remain so mysterious. And it felt a shame to not write more about her time in the UK.
I think any woman who has been waiting for the mythical knight in shining armour to rescue her from the banality of life will relate to much of what’s written.
“ Maybe I gave him too much credit from the beginning. But what is lust if not generosity persevering? I wanted him to be what I needed, and so that is what he became.”
It’s definitely a novel for the sad girl fans, but that’s not a slur, I’m certainly in that camp. It just felt a little repetitive, meandering, and opportunities for investing in areas of interest were missed. Tonally it felt a little unsure of what it as trying to be, and seemed to move over and back from incredibly clever and insightful, to self conscious pretence to flimsy fluffy fun. And the random breaking of the fourth wall near the end was just confusing.
I did enjoy it though, what I liked I loved, and and for a debut effort it’s strong enough to make me keep an eye out for Gray’s next work.
December 8, 2023
The protagonist of this story is Hera, who strikes me as a perfectly typical young woman. Mid twenties, no real ambition or drive, aimless in love and life, selfish (and aren't most of us quite selfish at that age?), quite unconcerned with the life that happens around her. What makes Hera slightly different is that she has a couple of degrees but no job. She lives at home in Sydney with her father and dog, Jude.
This book is written long after the action takes place and she admits, quite openly, that in her mid twenties she gave herself heart and soul to a married man, turning herself into whatever he wanted so she could have him. But then she starts talking about the rest of her life and I thought - oh, no - go back, tell me about that.
Thankfully she does and what follows is an account of her affair with Arthur, who she meets at the first job she's held down for any length of time. It seems clear that Hera has (despite obvious clues) no idea that Arthur is married but even when she does she continues with the affair.
Don't think for one instant that this is some salacious story about the young femme fatale luring the hapless husband from his cosy life. It is a thoughtful, often funny, touching and salutary tale that, if you are thinking of taking up with a man who already has a wife, you might want to read. Having had friends who have had such affairs and known men who have embarked upon them I can tell you that this book is very close to the truth.
The writing is great. I could see Hera and her friends very clearly. It's a great little book that I really enjoyed (despite shouting advice at Hera - a lot - during it). I'd definitely recommend this novel.
Thanks to Netgalley and Orion Publishing for the advance review copy.
This book is written long after the action takes place and she admits, quite openly, that in her mid twenties she gave herself heart and soul to a married man, turning herself into whatever he wanted so she could have him. But then she starts talking about the rest of her life and I thought - oh, no - go back, tell me about that.
Thankfully she does and what follows is an account of her affair with Arthur, who she meets at the first job she's held down for any length of time. It seems clear that Hera has (despite obvious clues) no idea that Arthur is married but even when she does she continues with the affair.
Don't think for one instant that this is some salacious story about the young femme fatale luring the hapless husband from his cosy life. It is a thoughtful, often funny, touching and salutary tale that, if you are thinking of taking up with a man who already has a wife, you might want to read. Having had friends who have had such affairs and known men who have embarked upon them I can tell you that this book is very close to the truth.
The writing is great. I could see Hera and her friends very clearly. It's a great little book that I really enjoyed (despite shouting advice at Hera - a lot - during it). I'd definitely recommend this novel.
Thanks to Netgalley and Orion Publishing for the advance review copy.
January 14, 2024
i actually didn’t like so many parts of this book but i feel it is owed more credit than a low rating just bc i disagree with the protagonists choices. some wild commentary in a few parts, but the book treads the line between sincerity and irony so perfectly that i actually cannot tell if the comments are serious (and therefore unfortunate) or so self-aware so as to obviously be said in jest as some form of despairing comment on society, feminism¿ etc etc
what i rly enjoyed is that it is largely deeply depressing and the plot awfully distressing, but it reads as quite lighthearted and unaffected. a refreshing duality in the contemporary fiction space which imho makes it possibly the perfect metamodern text
what i rly enjoyed is that it is largely deeply depressing and the plot awfully distressing, but it reads as quite lighthearted and unaffected. a refreshing duality in the contemporary fiction space which imho makes it possibly the perfect metamodern text
August 1, 2024
5/5
Kaip žmonės pasirenka būti kažkieno meilužiais? Kaip elgiasi, kaip gyvena, ko laukia, ko tikisi? Nu, kad paliks žmoną – čia toks pirminis atsakymas. Bet kas už viso to? Kokie psichologiniai išgyvenimai, kokie savęs pateisinimai ir pakurstymai, kokia kaltė? Kokia meilė? Aistra? Knyga, arčiausiai priartėjusi prie Fleabag balso ir vaibo (kaip ir dažniausiai, tos, kurios žada, kad primins tą šedevrą, šalia net nestovi, o šita, mano žiniomis, nežada), mane pakerėjo nuo pat pirmų sakinių. Tikrai pasakojimo stilius ne visiems patiks, tikrai humoras ne visų skonio, daug pop kultūros ir tiesiog internetinio pasaulio referencų, bet eina sau, kaip mėgavausi! Ir daug čia visko, su kuo galima tapatintis – tas nuostabus, mielas, žavus santykis su tėčiu, tas nereikalingų studijų baigimas, kai net nededi vilčių, kad dirbsi pagal specialybę, tie santykiai su draugėmis, kurios ir tau atrašo pizdako, bet ir pateisina kiekvieną tavo sprendimą, net patį durniausią, nes, kaip žinia, merginų in their 20s santykiai dažnai veikia „blind leading the blind“ principu. Ir jos tau pasakys, kad esi durnė, bet teisme prisiekinės, kad nieko nežudei ir neįsivaizduoji, kas ir kaip paslėpė lavoną.
Ir ta meilės linija, nors, savaime suprantama, labai pagal nusimušusį moralinį kompasą, vis tiek įtraukia. Jauti skaitydamas ir empatiją, ir pyktį, ir jautiesi geriau išmanantis kaip kiti turėtų elgtis, nes tu niekada, nu niekada nebūtum tokia durna. Įsivaizduoju, kad vyresniem skaitytojam (ar jaunesniem, bet mažiau internet fluent) knyga nepatiks dėl n priežasčių, bet rekomenduoju tiem, kurie gyvena pagal Fleabag religiją. Man viena įdomiausių knygų pastaruoju metu.
Kaip žmonės pasirenka būti kažkieno meilužiais? Kaip elgiasi, kaip gyvena, ko laukia, ko tikisi? Nu, kad paliks žmoną – čia toks pirminis atsakymas. Bet kas už viso to? Kokie psichologiniai išgyvenimai, kokie savęs pateisinimai ir pakurstymai, kokia kaltė? Kokia meilė? Aistra? Knyga, arčiausiai priartėjusi prie Fleabag balso ir vaibo (kaip ir dažniausiai, tos, kurios žada, kad primins tą šedevrą, šalia net nestovi, o šita, mano žiniomis, nežada), mane pakerėjo nuo pat pirmų sakinių. Tikrai pasakojimo stilius ne visiems patiks, tikrai humoras ne visų skonio, daug pop kultūros ir tiesiog internetinio pasaulio referencų, bet eina sau, kaip mėgavausi! Ir daug čia visko, su kuo galima tapatintis – tas nuostabus, mielas, žavus santykis su tėčiu, tas nereikalingų studijų baigimas, kai net nededi vilčių, kad dirbsi pagal specialybę, tie santykiai su draugėmis, kurios ir tau atrašo pizdako, bet ir pateisina kiekvieną tavo sprendimą, net patį durniausią, nes, kaip žinia, merginų in their 20s santykiai dažnai veikia „blind leading the blind“ principu. Ir jos tau pasakys, kad esi durnė, bet teisme prisiekinės, kad nieko nežudei ir neįsivaizduoji, kas ir kaip paslėpė lavoną.
Ir ta meilės linija, nors, savaime suprantama, labai pagal nusimušusį moralinį kompasą, vis tiek įtraukia. Jauti skaitydamas ir empatiją, ir pyktį, ir jautiesi geriau išmanantis kaip kiti turėtų elgtis, nes tu niekada, nu niekada nebūtum tokia durna. Įsivaizduoju, kad vyresniem skaitytojam (ar jaunesniem, bet mažiau internet fluent) knyga nepatiks dėl n priežasčių, bet rekomenduoju tiem, kurie gyvena pagal Fleabag religiją. Man viena įdomiausių knygų pastaruoju metu.
April 11, 2024
I INHALED THIS BOOK! I could not look away, or tend to responsibilities.
How does a writer make a situation you viscerally morally disagree with, entertaining, funny and at times light hearted. What a debut.
5 star rating disclaimer: I am making a conscious effort to not vote on how I feel about the ending and remembering the quality of writing, that deadpan humour and the lure.
How does a writer make a situation you viscerally morally disagree with, entertaining, funny and at times light hearted. What a debut.
5 star rating disclaimer: I am making a conscious effort to not vote on how I feel about the ending and remembering the quality of writing, that deadpan humour and the lure.
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