Disappoint Me : Discussion Thread

[Trisha]

An electrifying story of love, betrayal, and the complicated allure of bougie domesticity.

You can fall in love with an outline, you can even make a home with one, but there will come a time where you can’t deny the bones their flesh. A person is no fewer than two things.

Thirty years old with a lifetime of dysphoria and irritating exes rattling around in her head, Max is plagued by a deep dissatisfaction. Shouldn’t these be the best years of her life? Why doesn’t it feel that way? After taking a spill down the stairs at a New Year’s Eve party, she decides to make some changes. First: a stab at good old-fashioned heteronormativity.

Max thinks she’s found the answer in Vincent. While his corporate colleagues, trad friends, and Chinese parents never pictured their son dating a trans woman, he cares for Max in a way she’d always dismissed as a foolish fantasy. But he is also carrying baggage of his own. When the fall-out of a decades-old entanglement resurfaces, Max must decide what forgiveness really means. Can we be more than our worst mistakes? Is it possible to make peace with the past?

Funny, sharp, and poignant, Disappoint Me is a sweeping exploration of love, loss, trans panic, race, millennial angst, and the relationships—familial and romantic—that make us who we are.

[Trisha]

I actually had an arc and just finished this one. I read it with a buddy so I'm bringing my thought here too

5 chapters

(view spoiler)[ hmmm.. . this one was slow to start. I'm glad we're through that party.

Arthur was insufferable. I'm glad she's not with that guy anymore. .his poem was terrible! lol

I like Vincent but I hate that his friends made her feel weird.
I like Simone.

interested to see where it goes from here (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

9 chapters / 50%

(view spoiler)[ wow, Fred was really gross previously. I wonder how he feels about it now. If he's learned some things and is more accepting now because he's treating Alex horribly

also, I wonder how this relates to now. Why are we learning about Vincent's previous experiences

I'm liking Max more. (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

14 chapters / 75%

(view spoiler)[ wow, this one got very heavy
I'm shocked at what Fred did. Just absolutely beat another person because he was scared. what a horrible thing to do

but it's an interesting question. Did Alex owe it to Fred to tell him? That's tough - seems like it would be a personal decision for the person faced with it. What do we owe partners like that, what kind of pre-disclosure? I don't feel like I have the right to chime in on what is right or wrong. It just breaks my heart that Alex was abused for it.

and wow, it is a lot for Vincent for someone he just met. how tough, though. how could he leave Alex though?

and holy moly! Max having a brain tumor was a complete surprise.
and I'm surprised by Jamie's response to the pregnancy. I was surprised he was so "all in" when, I agree with his ex and Max. It's like he liked the idea but wasn't actually ready to make the changes to do it. (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

and done

(view spoiler)[ wow, I was so glad Max found out about Alex
and I thought it was interesting how Max reacted. Again, I don't think I get a say in whether it was wrong or right - just interesting to try to untangle the emotions and how tough that would be to experience.

I was glad when we got that last chapter from Vincent and he could show how he was trying to be different (hide spoiler)]