Reviews

Mona by Pola Oloixarac

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catsteaandabook's review against another edition

boring and vaguely zionist

okay... i was kind of getting into this, all of the commentary was really interesting and the mystery elements were compelling... Until the final 2ish pages. huh😭 what do you even mean. This is about a woman called mona (🤯🤯) who has been nominated for a fancy writing award that will be presented in sweden. it follows her for a weekend of panels and hanging out with other writers all the while she is trying to work out where the strange bruises on her body are from. I'm annoyed caused I really loved the prose and I liked how the book was kind of boring lol but then the final pages just confused me and made me feel like I'd just wasted all my time. What a flop. If you read this don't read the last 5ish pages cause I'm not speaking hyperbolically it really ruined the entire novel for me. 3 stars

melisbooked's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

oandrew's review

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2.0

I don’t even know what to say. I was expecting so much more from this book and all I got were random sex scenes, little-to-no character development, and a main character who is unbearable and like any other female character in distress (addiction problems, no recollection of events that happen to her, and cold personality)

Really had to force myself to finish it

aisabel_'s review against another edition

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dark funny sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

eleanor_rose22's review

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challenging dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

A surreal look at the contemporary literary world; the writing is excellent, visceral and visual, and Mona is an interesting, misanthropic, troubled character. But I spent most of this book feeling on the fringes of a conversation I didn’t understand- maybe I’m just not smart enough for Writers™️, or interested in their pretentious philosophical nonsense. The ending tho really packed a punch, the blurring of reality in a sort of apocalyptic rapture, I just wish there’d been more of That intensity throughout!