256 pages
English language
Published Oct. 21, 2022 by Simon & Schuster.
Content warning Spoiler
And I really thought it would turn to murder when she had the guy drugged and chained, what the hell. Kind of glad it didn't. Would have be one hell of a twist though. Then again the drugging in itself already shocked me so much. Wtf.
I keep recommending this book to friends, and adding, "if there's a bare-chested man on the cover, don't be turned away." This book is a smart and fun take on sexuality in an older (young 60s?) female professor who is also close to a #metoo-style scandal at her small American university. It's a fast, fun, literary read.
...and frustration, and who has power over whom. Unusually, I liked the book even though it had no likeable characters.
This book is hard to rate and review. On one hand, I appreciated the premise – viewing the "Me Too" movement from the perspective of the accused man's wife, who herself (a lit professor) is prone to exploit her position of power over younger men. I also tend to enjoy dark books set on college campuses that involve writers and writing.
On the other hand, it was hard to like anyone in the book. And it violated my Ferris Bueller Rule – so many unnecessarily bad decisions were made (by everyone) that I practically had to read it by peaking through my fingers while I cringed. Even so, I might have been inclined to give this four stars if it had wrapped with a clever ending that revealed an elegant final full of a thread that had been discretely woven throughout its pages. Alas, the ending left me confused and …
This book is hard to rate and review. On one hand, I appreciated the premise – viewing the "Me Too" movement from the perspective of the accused man's wife, who herself (a lit professor) is prone to exploit her position of power over younger men. I also tend to enjoy dark books set on college campuses that involve writers and writing.
On the other hand, it was hard to like anyone in the book. And it violated my Ferris Bueller Rule – so many unnecessarily bad decisions were made (by everyone) that I practically had to read it by peaking through my fingers while I cringed. Even so, I might have been inclined to give this four stars if it had wrapped with a clever ending that revealed an elegant final full of a thread that had been discretely woven throughout its pages. Alas, the ending left me confused and unsatisfied.
