Too much Shakespeare, not enough trills

This story is about Oliver who just got out of jail who might have not actually committed the crime he was convicted for. After the ten years he starts telling the proper story about everything that happened at the elite acting school where he and his friends were studying Shakespeare all these years ago.

Sadly, I didn’t enjoy this book. Probably could have guessed that I wouldn’t enjoy the amount of references to Shakespeare since I haven’t read or seen any of his plays/books. But I decided to give it a chance because I usually enjoy dark academia.

This book however just really didn’t do it for me. I didn’t really care about any of the characters and was rather annoyed by the lengthy parts of Shakespeare references and description of the plays the characters performed. Also the mystery didn’t really get me. It just felt too lengthy and not thrilling for me to be invested in the reveal.

However, I am sure there is an audience for this type of book and I probably just shouldn’t have picked this up knowing that there was a big chance of me not liking it. So, if the premise still sounds interesting to you go ahead! You might enjoy the story as many others did!

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2 Leute fanden das hilfreich

beautiful and heartbreaking story

I come back to this book over and over again. it might be my favourite story of all time. it's the perfect book for theatre nerds and fans of the bard. 100% dark academia vibes.

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1 Person fand das hilfreich

I love it.

It makes you suffer and feel, laugh and cry.
The ending broke me.
Thank you for that.

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3 Leute fanden das hilfreich

got me out of a reading slump!!

the plot was somewhat predictable but i found the execution made up for it, be prepared for heartache!! someone with more knowledge of shakespeare‘s works will likely appreciate the datails more than i was able to

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Dark academia at its finest

This book is my all time favorite book. The characters are cleverly written and the structure of the story with the two timelines of the present and Olivers' retelling of the things that happend 10 years ago makes this book interesting. The narrator does a great job and gives all characters a immediately recognisable voice and vibe.
I always come back to this book and you can find new aspects of the story and foreshadowing in each new consummation.

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One of my abosulte favourites

When it comes to dark academia, I find it very hard to find books that manage to capture me with their characters and plot. Most of the time they end up being too pretentious or suffer from bad writing. This book, however, was everything I wanted it to be. The strong point of this book are definitely the wide range of characters. The only thing that bothered me a bit was that the commited crime (, which I thought would play a greater role) faded in the back and seemed not so important anymore, which was a questionable choice. Regardless of that, I think this book is even better than 'The Secret History'.

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1 Person fand das hilfreich

Too much Shakespeare, otherwise really good

The book was very well written and compelling but the continuous use of Shakespeare’s lines was very off putting for me especially since I’m not familiar with his works and the plots of the plays aren’t necessary explained beforehand so i think i would’ve enjoyed the book more if i were an Shakespeare fan. The narrator was perfect

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10/10 cried on the bathroom floor

"You are the knife I turn inside myself; that is love. That, my dear, is love."
- Franz Kafka, Letters to Milena
This book thoroughly wrecked me. I finished it and immediately started listening to it again, because I wanted there to be something else. Listen to it, it is absolutely worth it!

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5 Leute fanden das hilfreich

Love

I've loved this book beginning to end. The characters draw you in, make you guess. Your heart will ache for them, break for them. It's compelling, every word, highly recommend it.

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1 Person fand das hilfreich

Pretentious and boring

I don't get the hype. The only good thing about this audiobook was the narrator. The characters are one dimensional, the endless Shakespeare quotes tedious and the writing mediocre at best.

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