I don't get this book. I heard such rave reviews about it and the premise sounds so interesting and yet the execution is bland and weirdly distant. I get a vague Frankenstein vibe from it which I guess could be a good thing but something isn't quite right about the tone. For starters, the author manages to make a story about a girl constantly spawning murderous clones boring. That in itself is kind of impressive. They also manage to create a novella with very little plot and no real resolution. Combined with a lack of character depth, why is this so popular again?
Okay, so my main issue with this book is that it didn't make me feel anything. The main character is extremely flat and distant, and there's absolutely no emotional reaction from her to anything. Again, maybe this was meant to reflect how traumatic her life is and how it's ruined her? But we start with her as a child and she is just as lifeless then. At no point did I feel like I understood Molly's actions or was worried for her wellbeing. All the potentially interesting things that could stem from this idea remain unremarked upon. What happens if a clone murders her? We never find out. Why is this happening? We kind of find out in the most unsatisfactory way. What the heck does the opening/ending mean? The author decided to just stop so we're definitely not finding that out. It's all so disappointing.
The more I reflect on this book, the more I find to dislike about it. It's not particularly bad or enraging, it's just kind of hollow and ultimately pointless. Even for a novella, there's very little to it. The book equivalent of eating a rice cracker.
Overall Rating:
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