Feb 26, 2025 3:54 AM
A solid read and I giggled a lot. Basically a sequence of short stories about rejects whose stories briefly intertwine with each other.
I don't really think it's a valuable commentary on inceldom as I see some suggest, but it is genuinely entertaining and reminiscent of the internet. The first two stories I found harrowing in the way they hold a mirror and amplify some of my worst fears, being hung up in my ways and unable to move past them (despite being perfectly self aware and cognisant of these shortcomings). The archetypes Tony Tulathimutte chooses are a bit on the nose in the sense they're almost caricatures, but I think this didn't bother me because I didn't read it in the mind of 'oh, I want to read about incels/rejects/mentally unstable individuals'. There's probably better books out there if you want to do that.
The book also quickly turns meta, where you're having a conversation with the discourse in the novel and at the same time, discourse with the author. It worked for me, but I think it would turn many off.
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed 'The Sluts' and is a fan of 'online' writing in general!
2 Comments
7 months ago
A good book in a makes-you-feel-gross kind of way. But honestly I can't really have an opinion because I found the third story so gross I stopped reading.
9 months ago
Going on my reading list. If it's even close to how good "The Sluts" was I'll be very happy.