Bitching About Books
This post is about books where I loved the writing, but some plot point or another bugged the crap out of me. Because it’s a plot thing, and I don’t want to ruin these books for anyone who hasn’t read them, I’ll hide the content, and you can decide whether you want to read or not. I can only think of three right now, plus a bonus movie that was based on a book. Ready?
My Sister’s Keeper ~Jodi Picoult
The Fitzgerald’s daughter, Kate, has acute leukemia. In an effort to save her, they have a second child, Anna, in the hopes that Anna’s umbilical cord blood will cure Kate. It works for a while, but Kate relapses, and over the years, Anna is asked again and again to donate bone marrow or what have you to Kate. The parents love Anna, she is not merely a donor for her sister, but when she is 13, Kate goes into kidney failure, and they ask Anna to donate one of hers. Instead, Anna goes to a lawyer, and she sues them for emancipation, so she won’t be compelled to donate anymore.
Of course, if she doesn’t donate a kidney, Kate is going to die. She might die even with the surgery, which is bigger than any prior procedure the girls have endured. This book was so thoughtful, and handled issues of bodily autonomy and the morality of having a child to farm them for parts so well. Then there’s their other child, Anna and Kate’s brother, who feels invisible, and acts out all of the time. I was really enjoying this story, and was considering giving it to my friend as a gift, and then the ending. THE ENDING. It turns out that Anna is willing to donate to Kate, she wants to save her sister. It’s Kate who has had enough of living her life this way, who asked Anna to sue for emancipation in the first place. Well, Anna wins her lawsuit, she is free, but for some reason I can’t remember, Kate decides that she will accept this gift one last time, and as Anna is in the car on the way to the hospital to donate her kidney, SHE IS IN AN ACCIDENT AND IS NOW BRAIN DEAD. WHAT THE EVERLOVING FUCK, HOW LIFETIME MOVIE CAN YOU GET??? I was SO ANGRY. SO ANGRY. I felt cheap and manipulated. In the end, they harvest the organ, Kate is finally cured, and lives a bittersweet life, knowing a part of her sister lives inside her. Whatever. I give this book the side eye when I see it at the bookstore.
A Little Life ~ Hanya Yanagihara
This is the story of four friends in New York City, and how they become fabulously successful and wealthy. Jude is a lawyer, William is an actor, Malcom is an architect, and JB is a painter. As they grow up and become successful and wealthy, their relationship changes. Fights are had, they have a falling out, blah blah blah.
What this book is really about is Jude, who is violently raped when he is about 30, and refuses to go to the police because he believes that he deserved it. We then learn about Jude’s childhood, which is like a Dickens novel gone very, very wrong. He was an orphan, raised by priests, and is raped again and again as a child. He goes to someone for help, they rape him. One of the fathers kidnaps him and pimps him out. He tries to escape and the guy runs him over with a car, causing a debilitating limp and constant pain for the rest of his life. He cuts, he burns himself, he goes to therapy, he finally finds love, but then his lover is killed. He has his legs amputated. Eventually, he cannot take this bullshit one more minute and kills himself. I MEAN COME ON. This book was torture porn and every time I see it mentioned I am angry. I only finished it because I wanted some kind of happy ending, some justice for Jude. There was none. NONE. And yet…the writing is beautiful.
The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano ~ Donna Freitas
This book is nowhere near as horrible as the others. I just reviewed it the other day, and there’s a synopsis there. Then I went back and listened to it again. When I first listened to it, I was confused by the back and forth and the different possible outcomes for Rose. So I wrote up a quick review and posted it. But then I thought perhaps this was a me problem, so I gave it another try. I liked it a lot more this time. I think the author did a wonderful job of writing about the pressure placed on women to become mothers in our society, about consent and bullying within relationships, about a person’s duty to themself vs their marriage or whatever. I really liked it.
EXCEPT. In every single life, Rose becomes a mother. The one thing she didn’t want. In some lives the child is her daughter, in some it is her stepdaughter, but always, always there is a child. A child that she loves and adores. Does she regret having her? No, but in at least one life, she is still angry about the loss of the person she wanted to be, child free. The thing that made me angry about this book was that there was not a single instance when Rose got to live her life entirely on her terms. Sure, one could argue that she went into the relationship with her second husband, Thomas, knowing that he was a parent, and she could have simply walked away. Which is true. But she never does. In every instance, she becomes a mother and is fulfilled by that parent / child relationship. I’m spicy about this. I feel like the author was trying to write about women who do not want children, and the pressure that society puts on them, and then in the end she undermines that by having Rose become a mother every.single.time. If she had had one life, just one, where she didn’t have a kid, I think it would have been an excellent read. Maybe she could have changed her husband’s mind (he didn’t want kids when they got married, he changed his mind.) Maybe she could have divorced him and moved on, either with another partner or alone. There are a lot of ways to be happy and fulfilled in this life, and I felt like this ending failed to explore that at all.
A Little Princess ~ Frances Hodgson Burnett
Sara Crewe is a wealthy little girl in the late 1800s London. She was raised for her first several years in India, but her mother has died, and her doting father sends her to London to boarding school. There she lives with privileged status, befriending some of the children, while others are envious of her beautiful room, her expensive clothing, her sweet demeanor, her everything. Four years go by, and on her 11th birthday, after an extravagant party, word comes that her father has died, and has lost his fortune. Sara is penniless. The headmistress of the school wants to put her out on the street, but she doesn’t dare because it might ruin her reputation. So she sends Sara to the attic, to the room next to the scullery maid, Becky. Sara and Becky become great friends, and Sara has to work hard every day, and is generally cold, wet, hungry, and miserable. Still, she tells herself that if she were a princess, she would behave a certain way. She would not lose her temper, she would not complain, she would always be kind, she would try to cheer Becky up with stories that warm their hearts in the cold damp evenings in their dingy attic.
A few years go by this way, and a wealthy man (she sees him from the window when he’s moving in, and calls him ‘The Indian Gentleman’, because his furniture reminds her of her time in India) moves in next to the school. He takes an interest in Sara, and his servant, Ram Dass, comes up with charming ways to make her life better, bringing meals and blankets to her room, that kind of thing. When they discover that he was her father’s business partner, who has felt horrible guilt for these last years over the fortune that was not lost after all, that by all rights belongs to Sara, he becomes her guardian and she is again fabulously wealthy.
I don’t actually have a problem with this book, other than that when Sara is freed from her life of servitude, she takes Becky with her as a maid instead of as a sister or something, but it was written when it was written, so whatever. I love this book and have re-read it so many times. So many. My problem is with the movie adaptations. Both the 1939 version with Shirley Temple, and the 1995 version rob the story of its true heart. In the book, Sara is such a kind, loving person that when she discovers that the Indian Gentleman was her father’s partner, that he was in some way responsible for her father’s death, because he died of a broken heart after he thought the Indian Gentleman had betrayed him, she forgives him. In the movies, she runs around London looking for her father, who is very much alive and is in a hospital suffering from amnesia. STUPID I tell you, stupid. And for me, it ruins the story.
OK, your turn. Have you read any of these books (or seen the movie)? Do you agree with my gripes, or did they not bother you at all? Are there any books that you could have loved, because the writing was so wonderful, but the plot ruined it for you? I want to hear all about it.
46 Comments
mbmom11
My Sister’s Keeper is a book that threw across the room when I got to the ending. I really found her to be a great writer, and then that ludicrous finale!! I find I don’t like the ending of most her books – they just fall apart in the last chapters. I can’t read her anymore.
I can’t get mad at A Little Princess movie, as I’d rather the dad not be dead.
J
Solidarity regarding My Sister’s Keeper! Yeah, no one wants Sara’s father to be dead. But you don’t get the heart of the book without it, I think. Sigh.
Lisa's Yarns
I did not care for the ending of My Sister’s Keeper either.
I still can’t believe you read Nine Lives twice after not liking it at all after the first read. That is something I would never do! But I am not a rereader in most cases, even when I loved the book.
J
I re-read Nine Lives for two reasons…1. I felt like I was missing something and wanted to know whether it was a me problem or whether it was really as confusing as I thought. It wasn’t nearly so confusing the second time, I think it’s maybe not the best book to listen to vs. read. However, my #2 reason for re-reading it was that I didn’t have another book ready to listen to via Libby, so if I had read it in physical format, I doubt I would have re-read it.
Anvilcloud
I know on some films or serials that the plot twist. or something similar, is often too convenient.
J
Sometimes that plot twist is OK with me, but sometimes, clearly NOT OK. And I have feelings about it.
ernie
OMG – I so agree with My Sister’s Keeper. That book was what I consider emotional hyjacking. My sister loves Jodi Picult books. Shock. I may have read another book by her before closing that chapter of my reading life.
I haven’t read the others here or seen the Princess movie.
I listened to Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder. I hated it. It was for book club, and I don’t remember – maybe the writing was good? Maybe this one doesn’t fall in the same category, but just dumb.
The other book that so many people liked and I do think it was well written was Where the Crawdads Sing. Oh my gosh. Nope.
J
Oh, I read Prairie Fires. I found it interesting enough but could have done with a lot less grousing about Rose’s politics. I did find the parts about the hypocrocy of them being so self made in the books vs the reality interesting though. I didn’t LOVE it, but I didn’t hate it.
ccr in MA
I am 1000% with you on My Sister’s Keeper! It was my first and last time reading a Jodi Picoult book, because NEVER AGAIN. I totally would have thrown it across the room, except it was a library book. The ending made me livid. How dare you engage me in the story and the characters and the emotions and then it was all for nothing! No, not over that, and it was years ago.
J
Yes, I read it YEARS ago and I’m still grumpy about it.
Jenny
I haven’t read any of these. Just for fun, I did read your gripes about three of them (I didn’t read the Rose Napolitano one because I might read that book someday). The Jodi Picoult sounds SO ANNOYING. You’ve actually convinced me to never read any of her books now. Also, the second one- oof. A Little Princess- meh. It doesn’t sounds as horrible as the first two, but still annoying. So, thank you for saving me from reading any of these (If I do read Rose Napolitano I’ll report back).
J
Oh, I LOVED A Little Princess, the book…which is why the movies ticked me off so much. It’s a reread for me for sure, comfort reading.
Coco
A little life is one of most impactful books I read. Yet I know the plot could be too intense.
J
The writing was so beautiful, Coco, I can see how it would be impactful. But GAH. I just wanted some happiness for Jude.
NGS
My Sister’s Keeper is THE WORST. I also threw the book across the room when I finished it and have refused to read any more books by Picoult. That was the cheapest plot device ever. #justiceforkateandanna
I was so worried when I saw The Little Princess on your list. Basically, I don’t think Burnett can go wrong, although your criticism of how Becky is now her personal maid at the end is spot on. Why can’t Becky just be a kid? Why does she have to work? Sometimes I think about Sara, Becky, and Emily and I just feel so terrible for them – fictional characters who have left such an impact on my life. (I’ve never seen a film adapation of the book and I don’t think I will.)
J
Engie, do yourself a favor and DO NOT BOTHER with the film version. I mean, the 1995 version is beautifully shot and perfectly enjoyable as long as you don’t give a crap about the book or the entire point of the story.
DB Stewart
Several years ago, I read My Sister’s Keeper. I don’t recall all the details but Piccoult is a reliable read; imho, her writing is compelling but more exterior than interior, if you know what I mean?
Many bloggers and vloggers have recommended A Little Life and I will read it, but it’s lengthy and apparently devestating and nowadays I’m much more tempted by short reads.
J
I liked Picoult’s writing until that shite ending. I know what you mean about exterior writing vs. internal. I like both, though I seem to become more immersed in a quiet, internal story.
Good luck with A Little Life. She’s a gifted writer, but UGH. That story was too much for me.
Michelle G.
This was fun to read! My Sister’s Keeper was the WORST!!!! I’m like you, I read it years ago, and I’m still angry about it. I haven’t read anything else by the author. I also loved the book A Little Princess. I haven’t seen the movie adaptations, and I’ll definitely keep it that way.
J
Good thinking Michelle! Stay clear!
Diane
I do love a good spoiler. There used to be a website called “Movie Spoilers” and I loved reading it because I’m always curious about how movies unspool, but I never really want to sit through them. So I’m eating up this post like candy.
I haven’t read any of the other book – I’ve had A Little Life on my shelf for a while, but it is very thick – welp now that I’ve read the plot – maybe I can skim it. I do like good writing. My personal book pet peeve is the unreliable narrator trope – I’ve definitely had books that I really liked and then threw them against the wall when the unreliable narrator is revealed.
I loved the 1995 Little Princess movie – I thought it was really beautiful and the score was gorgeous. I do remember getting to the ending and being like, “Wait, that’s not how the book went down….” That reunion scene in the rain gets me every time, though….Perhaps if you didn’t know the original book, it’s quite a good movie.
J
I think that’s totally fair regarding A Little Princess! A gorgeous movie, as long as you don’t care about the book. I don’t remember it all that well, mostly I remember the Shirley Temple version (her movies used to play on a local station every Sunday morning, so I’ve probably seen all of them) and her father laying in his hospital bed saying, over and over again, in his delierum, ‘Sara….Sara…’ And Queen Victoria makes an appearance! I mean, it’s also a perfectly fine movie, it just betrays the story of the book. OH WAIT…isn’t there something in the 95 version about how All Girls Are Princesses? AGAIN, pretty much opposite of the book’s meaning. SIGH. I had forgotten that detail.
Gigi
I remember being really irritated with My Sister’s Keeper; but couldn’t remember why until I read the spoiler. What kind of trope was that?!
Also, popped by from Suzanne’s and wanted to say make the linguinie and clam sauce and keep it for your lunches. You love it and you deserve to eat it.
J
I may have to do that Gigi, thank you for the encouragement!
Elisabeth
I didn’t remember the specifics of My Sister’s Keeper and then as soon as I read your spoilers it ALL CAME BACK TO ME. I remember having all the feelings with that book.
My only exposure to A Little Princess was when my daughter did it as part of her acting class. It’s been on my must-read list for… a long time. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get around to it.
J
I loved A Little Princess, and as it’s mainly for kids/tweens, it’s a pretty quick read.
Birchie
The only one of these books that I’ve read was A Little Princess, but it was so long ago that I don’t remember it. My Sister’s Keeper and A Little Life are already on my DNR (do not read) list thanks to their repuations. I can’t see ever getting around to Nine Lives of Rose.
A recent book that I hated the ending to was Dissection of a Murder. Up until the end it was a twisty courtroom procedural, and then it decided to go full thriller. The rest of the book was so good that the ending didn’t ruin it, but I just wanted to chop off the last few chapters. The Secret Lives of Murders’ Wives was another “who cares?” ending that I can remember from recent reads. In that case, the ending made it not worth it to read the book.
J
Noted on those two! I don’t read that kind of book too often, so it won’t be difficult to avoid them.
Hks
There’s a 1987 miniseries of A Little Princess that is much better, though it starts with Sara being older than in the book. This was the first version i saw and then when i saw the 90s movie, i was appalled. Yes i do have strong feelings. I love that book and The Secret Garden despite their flaws. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090474/
J
WHAT???? I am going to look into this RIGHT AWAY. Thank you!
Melissa
So I have read My Sister’s Keeper and remembered everything up until that plot twist, and even being reminded it still did not ring any bells. Maybe I’ve blocked it out? But, yes, I agree, that is a cheap trick.
J
I think that’s the best way to remember that book! I wish I could remember it that way.
StephLove
I do remember liking The Little Princess as a kid (not as much as The Secret Garden, which also has its problems in re colonialism) but I don’t have detailed recall of the plot. But one thing I remember about when my younger sister was reading it and a friend of my dad’s asked what it was about and I answered “Rich girls get poor and then rich again” and my sister was so mad at me for spoiling it.
J
LOL, SPOILER ALERT! Too funny. I think generally The Secret Garden is more popular than A Little Princess (I base this on you and Engie liking it more, so a very small sample size), but Sara’s kind heart wins me over, so I like ALP more than TSG. And yes, both are definitely products of their time.
nance
I haven’t read any of these. AND NOW I WON’T…EVER! LOL
One book that irritated the hell out of me was Life Of Pi. I felt so disrespected when I got to the end. Everyone I know thought it was fantastic and wonderful, and I just hated it. I was so annoyed and irritated after reading it that I immediately gave it away.
J
I think giving away a book that angers you is kind, especially if others love it. It would be tempting to burn it, right? I remember liking Life of Pi, but being disappointed by the ending. I hate dream endings.
Suzanne
I am late to the book bitching party, but I am Here For It. Agreed 100% on My Sister’s Keeper. It was my first book by Jodi Picoult, and it made me so angry I swore off Jodi Picoult and haven’t looked back.
While A Little Life affected me deeply (I still think about Jude), it didn’t make me angry. The writing was so lovely and the character development so incredibly rich that I felt like even the horrific ending was okay. Not justified, not right, but… handled deftly, I guess. It’s been a long time (a decade????) since I read it, and your summary kind of made me want to read it again? That seems… ill advised.
I have read two books recently that made me SO MAD. One of them basically ended with the old trope “and it was all a dream!” and I wanted to scream. WHO DOES THAT. THAT IS SO LAZY. And, okay, I suppose that it might interesting to try and play with that cliche and see if there was a way to make it fresh and surprising and not INFURIATING, but this author did not accomplish that and I may never be able to read another of her books.
The other book was Trust Exercise by Susan Choi. I found so much of it tedious, and the only reason I powered through is because I’d read so many reviews about how transformative the book was in the end, and that the tedium of the first section was worth it. AND THOSE WERE LIES. I did not find the book transformative. I found it confusing and also predictable and, oh yeah, TEDIOUS. Just thinking about it makes me cranky. What I really want is for someone who loved it to sit down and walk me through the book and tell me WHY FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING.
J
Interesting about A Little Life, because when I look back at my review, I didn’t hate it…I too was pulled in by the beautiful writing. But I was angry about Jude, and now that I’m removed from it by quite a few years, it makes me angry.
I’ve never heard of Trust Exercise, but I shall consider myself WARNED.
Jacquie
The only one of those books I’ve read is A Little Life and I loved it. I had 2 coworkers “insist” I read it so we could discuss it and I am so glad I did. The writing was beautiful and I loved the ending. My favourite character was Harold, Jude’s mentor, and even typing this, I have such a vivid memory of how I felt reading those last few pages. I agree, however, it is definitely not for everyone.
I have had reactions like you to other books – names escape me at the moment – when you invest so much into reading a book and are completely shocked in the worst way at some weird sudden plot twist that makes you wonder if the same author is actually writing the book!!
J
Gosh, the writing in A Little Life is so beautiful, right? But OMG, the TORTURE poor Jude went through was traumatizing! I wanted to burn down the entire world reading it.
Tamara
I’m very late to this but wanted to jump in. The only book I’ve read on the list is The Little Princess, but I couldn’t help it and read all the spoilers! I’ve never read Jodi Picoult, and won’t read this one, as that plot twist made me angry just reading it. Interesting to learn about A Little Life. This is the kind of book I probably would have really enjoyed for the writing and the pathos when I was younger, but not now. I’m with you, there is no need to read about suffering. The last book I read that I might have loved but just didn’t was Paul Auster’s 4321. It was long, and dull. I was so irritated by it that I marched it down to a nearby free library when I finished it.
J
Pathos is the right word for A Little Life. Sigh. I’ve never heard of4321 or Paul Auster, but after your review I doubt I’ll search it out, LOL.
Tobia | craftaliciousme
I havent read any of them and I wont after reading your thoughts.
There was one by Jodi Picoult I read but I didnt much like it so it never occured to me to pick up another one of hers.
And A little life always felt off to me. Goof think I never even bother to loook into it more.
I really disliked The Weekend by Barbarow Wood. It is supposed to be a friendship book but it is gross and the characters are not friends at all. It was just aweful and made me so angry. I I try to sell it for years and no one wants it either.
J
I’ve never heard of The Weekend but will now avoid it. Too bad you don’t have any Little Free Libraries in your neighborhood, you could dump it there.
Stephany
The Nine Lives is a book I have such strong feelings about, especially as a child-free woman myself. The whole book was supposed to be about the different ways our lives can unfold, and it starts with a woman who doesn’t want children finding out her husband does (I think, it’s been a while since I read the book)… and then there’s not a SINGLE LIFE WHERE SHE DOESN’T HAVE A CHILD????? It made me so mad. What was the point if she’s ALWAYS going to become a mother??? ARGH.
J
Stehpany, EXACTLY! Justice for Rose! I thought it was really weird, because the author specifically says in the afterward that she wrote this book FOR women who didn’t want children, that she wanted them to feel seen, and for people to see the pressure these women go through from society. And then, not ONE SINGLE LIFE does she get no kid. And every single time, that mother – child relationship is so wonderful and seems to make her life more complete. WTF was with that? I liked the book aside from that, but it’s such a BIG qualifier, it bothered me.