Thank you to Crown Publishing for providing me with a copy of Melissa Broder's novel, The Pisces, in exchange for an honest review.
PLOT- Thirty-eight year old Lucy, has spent over a decade living in Arizona and working on her thesis involving the poetry of Sappho. Lucy is struggling with her thesis and when her boyfriend dumps her for a younger a woman, Lucy hits rock bottom.
Lucy needs a break from her desert life. Her sister, Annika, is spending the summer traveling and needs someone to dogsit, so Lucy moves into Annika's California beach house for three months. While in California, she tries to get her life back on track by attending group therapy for sex addiciton. Nothing seems to be making her life better, until one evening while sitting on the rocks at the beach, she meets Theo, a handsome and mysterious man, who likes to swim by moonlight.
LIKE/DISLIKE- I usually separate what I liked and dislike about a book, but in the case of The Pisces, I feel the two are so intwined that I need to speak of them together.
I likely would not have read The Pisces, if I had realized that it was erotica. The description of the novel said that it was erotic, but did not list it as "Erotica," which is a big distinction. I'm not a prude, but I also don't read erotica. It's not a genre that I'm familiar with, so perhaps someone who is familiar with the genre would have a very different reaction to The Pisces.
I found much of the erotica elements to be icky. There are plenty of vivid descriptions about fecal matter and period blood that are just gross. Broder writes incredible sensory descriptions, but they were often of things that I did not care to imagine. I thought erotica would be sexy and a turn-on, but there was nothing sexy about The Pisces. I felt that a lot of it was for shock value.
The Pisces is narrated by Lucy and she is a self-centered, bitchy character. She makes snide judgements about nearly ever other character in the story. She's terrible to her sister, who loves her. The worst part is she neglects the elderly dog that is in her care. I'm not sure if I've ever read a story with blatant animal abuse. As an animal lover, this was hard to stomach. Although, I think all of this is Broder's way of showing us that Lucy is a deeply disturbed person and as a reader, we really not supposed to like or connect with her. There is a subtle shift in her character in the last few chapters, but most of the novel she is not someone who is learning from her mistakes or even wishing to make changes.
I liked the colorful characters that Lucy meets in her group therapy, as they add another dynamic to the story. But the whole time the therapist and things there are being told to do in sex therapy, disturbed me. The advice was terrible, further damaging already damaged women. I kept looking for the plot or character that would redeem the story and shed some positive light, but this was hard to find. Annika seems to be the only normal, good-hearted character and her part is minor. The Pisces is a story about deeply damaged people.
This is also a fantasy novel with mythological creatures that requires a heavy suspension of disbelief. Logistically, there were elements that didn't add up. The scenes with Theo hanging out with Lucy in Annika's house were bizarre. I was paranoid about the white couch. I wondered why Lucy didn't question him more, she was too accepting.
I liked the ending. It's creepy and unsettling. I didn't anticipate the twist.
RECOMMEND- Probably not, although I think if you love to read the genre of erotica, maybe give The Pisces a try. This book wasn't for me.