A review by rustycabbage
You Know You Want This by Kristen Roupenian

dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Highlights are "Cat Person", "The Good Guy" and maybe "Matchbox Sign".

I don't understand a lot of these stories. Mostly they end at a reasonable point in the plot, but rarely with a satisfying or thematic resolution. Mostly I think the author wants these characters to suffer. There's one scene where a woman with a debilitating (painfully euphemistic term) itch goes to a doctor and receives nothing but some over the counter antihistamines and an admonishment not to scratch, so you know she's quite good at it.

It doesn't quite reach the point of grotesque or outright horror (maybe I'm jaded), but definitely it explores complex and uncomfortable and dark places and emotions which I think you do need to be in a certain headspace for.