Welcome to Unpopular Opinion where I'll be sharing my thoughts on a novel I've read. You could be for it or you could be against it.
Read it: Twice
Audiobook: Yep
Favorite character: Guinevere Beck
WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!
Today I want to talk about the this thriller novel, the first of the series by Caroline Kepnes. You isn't the first book I've read, but its the first that unexpectedly got me into reading books in general. I joined reading communities, started reading trackers and whatnot. Why?
Well, I'm a fan of psychological thrillers. Suspense mysteries. It's what I've always read back in my otaku days when I was binge reading 100 manga chapters a day.
The writing style is immersive. Captivating. (For me, of course.)
It's written in first POV, following the life of Joe Goldberg, a bookstore manager (or I think he is) who fell in love with a MBA student Guinevere Beck.
Joe's inner monologue is lengthy, not gonna lie. But it's not the kind of info dump that makes me wanna skip a paragraph because it's a wall of text, or the kind that makes me want to DNF because who wants to know what's inside the mind of a stalker? No, that's not the case here. Joe's monologue supports how he's describing what he sees with a spin of his own thoughts (or his delusion - yes, it's his POV).
He's become obsessed to become the perfect boyfriend to Beck, to the point of committing murder for her (or let's be real, it's all for him)... but little did he know, Beck... dear Beck has issues.
As sad it is for me to discover that Guinevere Beck has mixed criticism, we all have our own interpretation of her character. And this is my take. First, I'd say I'm biased. (I read the book first before watching Netflix's You, and then rereading it again with Joe's voice now in my head.)
Elizabeth Lail playing the role of Beck is exactly as I imagined it. (She is my favorite character already). Not because she cheated, but be because she's flawed. Her struggles as a student, bad choice in relationship (and I'm hoping Benji being the III doesn't mean he's the third mistake) and trusting the wrong (best?) friend (yes I'm talking about you son of Peach Salinger), the green pillow, the red ladle-- the aspect of her life is mundane yet relatable.
There's something about her being "average" that made me want to see where this terrible decision-maker is going, and how chaotic that journey with be with a guy like Joe. I like the thought of the unpredictable. It makes me think. Not gonna lie, it's been a boring couple of pages when they reached the point of Everythingship. (I honestly don't remember if it's the series or the book, I get them mixed up). Because by that point, everything seemed like a romance plot, and romance hasn't been my thing.
To sum things up: The book is basically about Joe's infatuation with Beck. How he wanted her. How he got her. How that went down. And how both of them made a choice which direction their relationship will go to.
Maybe it's the suspense. Maybe it's the stalking concept. Maybe because I enjoy the aspect of psychological stories. Maybe Joe had a charming narrative. Or a mix of all that.
Overall, it was an enjoyable read. I was sad with the ending, but at that point I had a hunch it might be a recurring theme of Joe trying to find his new obsession. This heroic stalker's hundred thousand-word "love" story was enough to satiate my joy in this genre. But I do not wish to keep reading a redoing of the plot (if that were so).
On the other hand, the only reason I refused to read the other books because I'm biased. But if you enjoyed Book 1, maybe you can try Book 2 as well.
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