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The Lesser Bohemians
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March 2017: Ireland > The Lesser Bohemians - Eimear McBride - 5 stars and a ❤️

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message 1: by Susie (new) - added it

Susie Eimear McBride is an Irish authour to whom I already held in high regard after reading and adoring her debut novel, A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing. I had high expectations for her second novel, The Lesser Bohemians, and I was not left disappointed.

This novel pushed my bookish buttons in a big way. I couldn't put it down, and when I had to put it down because of life I was suitably unimpressed. I finished it this afternoon, and this evening I went to a parent evening at my son's school. I wanted to interrupt the internationally renowned education consultant to inform everyone that I had just read a wonderful novel. I did decide that was overkill, and so I will tell all of you instead.

I love love loved this novel. It tells the story of a unnamed-until-near-the-end-of-the-book girl from Ireland who moves to London to go to acting school. She meets and falls in love with a famous 38-year-old actor. The novel tells the tale of their year long relationship. What unfurls is the baggage that both of them bring to the relationship. It is made clear that they are both incredibly damaged individuals, and reveals how that damage imapcts the dynamic between them.

As with her debut novel, The Lesser Bohemians is written in a stream of consciousness, or almost a pre-stream of consiousness. If that is not your thing then this book is absolutely not for you. It required quite a lot of concentration to get in the zone, but once I was I found it easier to read. I really don't know how she does it. Her style lays raw emotion bare in a way I have never experienced in writing before. It is stripped back and blatant, crude and disturbing, and I couldn't get enough of it.

If you don't like dark novels, this is not for you. If you don't like graphic sex, this is not for you. If you don't want to read about childhood abuse, this book is not for you. I'm hesitant to recommend it to anyone without saying proceed with caution, but I for one will be reading everything this woman ever writes. The Lesser Bohemians is going to the top of my books of 2017 list.


message 2: by Jennifer (new)

Jennifer Pope (jenjunum) | 902 comments Ah, I love when books click. Sounds great. Maybe I'll check out her first one.


message 3: by Sara (new) - added it

Sara (mootastic1) | 770 comments Ack! But I still haven't read her first book, and now I need to add this one to my TBR too!


message 4: by Joi (new) - added it

Joi (missjoious) | 3970 comments Sounds super intriguing. Adding to the TBR


message 5: by Anita (new)

Anita Pomerantz | 9281 comments Oh my gosh . . .lol . . .do you feel it has as much of an experimental feel as her first book, Susie?


message 6: by Susie (new) - added it

Susie I think it is ever so slightly easier to read. There are chunks where the lead voice is listening to someone else speak, and during those sections the sentence structure is relatively straightforward. It's still a challenge though.


message 7: by Regina Lindsey (new)

Regina Lindsey | 1005 comments Ha! I remember that feeling with Rooftops of Tehran. I wanted to carry extra copies in my car, run up to random people, shove the book in their hands, and yell, "go home and read this immediately!" But, I didn't think a stay in a psychiatric ward was how I wanted to spend the evening.


message 8: by Amy (new)

Amy | 12921 comments You made me laugh out loud!


message 9: by Susie (new) - added it

Susie Regina, I'll come and read in the psych ward with you! I've not read Rooftops of Tehran so I'll add it to my list.


message 10: by Regina Lindsey (new)

Regina Lindsey | 1005 comments Well reading friends might make me reconsider a stay in the psych ward


message 11: by Nicole D. (new) - added it

Nicole D. | 1573 comments i'm trying not to read your review because I don't want to know anything. I tried to start this today on Audio, and i was very lost. Did you read or listen? I'm thinking this may be a "read" book.


message 12: by Susie (new) - added it

Susie Definitely a read book rather than listening. I can't imagine keeping track of the audio, although I am interesting in trying now that I've read it. I see it's on BorrowBox so I'll give it a whirl.


message 13: by Barbara M (new)

Barbara M (barbara-m) | 2594 comments Susie, what is the BorrowBox - a loan from a library?


message 14: by Susie (new) - added it

Susie Yes, much the same as Overdrive. I think in Australia different publishing companies have affiliations with different applications? We can't borrow audio from Overdrive, only BorrowBox, which is run by Bolinda Digital.


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