A review by cerenf
Mona by Pola Oloixarac

challenging funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is a triumph. Of all the unhinged woman character studies that are in style right now, this is the one that reigns supreme. A fantastic examination of the sarcastic, criticizing exterior a woman will build to avoid a dark past. 
It has the conversational structure of Rachel Cusk’s Outline trilogy and that “yucky”, gross tone of Ottessa  Moshfegh. Every page there’s some jab at the literary elite, at contemporary social politics and the performance of being a writer and an academic. There’s blow after blow, to the point where it feels like you’re playing catch up with every page just to make sure you got every roast. 
This well crafted criticism and the absurdist style are both smart distractions for the core of this story as Mona travels for an international writers conference in Sweden. Which is what makes the contrast of what you thought it was about and what hits you near the end all the more striking. All the wit and irony aside, Mona is running away from a deeply inflicted wound of sexual trauma. She’s distracting you with jokes as she buries farther into herself. This reckoning comes as a small surprise but the result is a striking portrait. 
It’s short length and internet sensibility add to the pleasure of this story. This is what Fake Accounts and many other “internet” books wish they could be and more. 

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