Beauty is a Wound - Chapters 12-18 and whole book (spoilers)

[Hugh]

This is the open spoiler thread for the last third and the whole book.

[♑︎♑︎♑︎]

I just finished. I didn't hate it but it never became fully real for me, even in a metaphorically-real way. There were some parts I really enjoyed but frequently I was at a meta-level of interpretation as I read, where I was thinking, 'now, why did the author decide to write this scene?' rather than just diving into the story.

I also feel queasy about the amount of sexual violence and misogyny being played here as satire. This is probably a bigger issue for me than anything else about the novel. Except the dogs maybe.

I think K's novel Man Tiger is magnificent by comparison.

I wondered now and then about whether I might have been more receptive to the novel if it were written by a woman--but honestly I don't think so.

[Hugh]

I found some of those things hard to stomach too, and the picture Kurniawan paints is a pretty bleak one. Still found it an interesting read, but not one I could recommend without serious reservations.