the 1 star reviews are all so annoying lol. this book is sick. I gotta get a wool overcoat and some more suits.
addressing what people hate about this book, and why thinking that is dumb:
“the book climaxed halfway and then nothing happened (ФωФ)”
the point of the second half is the mental and physical decline of a group of people who were so convinced of their moral superiority, who believed they lived beyond humanity, in a world of greek prose, away from the physical and in the sublime. but they are NOT, and the 2nd half shows their slow collapse, each in their own way. their hubris leads to tragedy.
“the characters are bad hmpfh also Richard is not a good narrator! ( ;｀Д´)”
the characters don’t have to be likable lol. books aren’t good if the characters are honorable and bad if they’re mean to each other. and the narrator describes them in an idealized manner because his memory of them is idealized. DT tells us that ghosts in the modern world live on in memories, and he is literally relaying memories of them as they continue to influence and haunt him. he is not “unreliable” he is just a person, which is THE POINT !!!!! they all are. fucking. it’s a Greek tragedy obviously.
“Julian is barely in the book wut even was the point of him ￣(=∵=)￣”
Julian isn’t actually that important. his entire character is a coward hidden behind charm. many times when Richard knocks on his door, he opens it a crack and peers out. he’s a coward. and when things get real he dips. Now, he isn’t in the book much, because pragmatically it’d be mad annoying to write more speeches of his, and narratively, its necause Richard is lured in by Julian by truly swept up by Henry. Henry is the ringleader, not Julian. Julian can talk ideals, Henry lives and dies by them.
“the characters have no traits (((￣へ￣井)”
it’s bc they’re supposed to be like greek gods. catch the vibe.
“the funeral scene was too long (#ﾟДﾟ)y-~~”
this is kinda valid tbh lol. but the writing style is good so I don’t complain about the extra pages. you could even metaphorically say it’s so long because it’s agony for our crew to endure the grief they’ve caused.
9/10 good read