My friend said I have to read this book. I just got to
She put her hand between his legs, wrapping her fingers around the cylindrical chamber of blood sponges that was his (and every) penis
And instantly remembered seeing this line mocked endlessly.
Other than that I am not hating the book , but man, that really pulled me out of it. It has to be up there either worst/most awkward sex scene descriptions ever, right?
by EatYourCheckers
24 Comments
Yep it’s honestly a heinous line I can’t believe it got published
I thought it was fine in context? Like it was meant to be kinda morbid, clinical, and awkward to match the character. The book is purple prose front to back anyways so it wasn’t really jarring to come across such a weird sentence for me at least. Idk if the line is super successful, but people are dunking on it as if the author was trying to write a standard romantic sex scene.
i must have blocked this out omg
Honestly this is probably the worst line of the whole book. In general it’s not a bad book. I must have completely glossed over that line.
Idk I think it’s kind of funny??? Haven’t read the book yet but I could see it working in the right context. Like, if it was coming from a very science-minded, possibly awkward character.
Have you ever seen a raw oxtail?
I did – in my mind – when those words assaulted my eyes.
I forgot this line but also I am a member of the small but mighty Tomorrowx3 hate club. Was it the worst book I ever read? No. But did I like it? Also no. And therefore was I infuriated by all the hype around it? Yes. 😂
So maybe I just blocked this line out.
I think it works. It’s gross, but in my option it’s fully on purpose. It’s exactly how Sam thinks about his body after half a lifetime of health issues and reconstructive surgeries. You can absolutely draw a direct line from how Sam and other characters describe his mangled foot elsewhere in the book to this less than poetic description. For Sam, his body isn’t magical or sexy or something that deserves to be described with poetry. It’s a sack of flesh and blood that sometimes works and, for him, often doesn’t.
This book was one of the biggest disappointments in the most disappointing year of reading in my life.
Even worse than the YA for grownups prose is the fact that so many people love it. I’m so confused
Wasn’t it supposed to be how the character saw things? Seemed to fit with his personality to me.
You folks aren’t discussing “MacBeth”, are you? This doesn’t sound like “MacBeth”.
That “(and every)” has me rolling.
I mean i didnt like that book so im here for the mocking of this line
The story of two friends who hate each other
I really don’t remember this line, but I loved this book. It was an instant favorite of mine.
I mean, out of context I get why people think this is ridiculous, but, uh, in context it’s the POV of a self-loathing disabled man who hates his body, right? So one can understand why he thinks this way………….
didn’t bother me but the lack of a satisfying ending and ultimately under developed characters who i was interested in sure did!
I gave up on that book. Thought it was super boring.
I will defend this line until my last. This is the novel version of the the “HA HA HA” scene from Final Fantasy 10 to me. It looks silly or cringey out of context, but it context and thematically it works.
In a book about women havng their work appropriated without attribution, she appropriated the work of an actual female game developer without attribution. The author is a giant trash can.
Also, none of the gaming terminology is correct.
What do you think of the phrase “adult beefswelling”?
I don’t remember that line, but I remember the writing and this style of description actually seems to fit the prose of the rest of the book. Characters looking at things in a slightly ‘wrong’ way – not technically wrong, but missing the *point*, because they’re seeing their own point of view instead of considering everything around them.
The line itself may seem stilted, awkward, immature. But I agree that it in a way fits the character.
The book on the whole, however, was a major disappointment. I really, really, really wanted to like it; a story about two friends coming of age and growing up in the era of 90s/00s video games. But I felt both Sam and Sadie were some of the most forgettable protagonists in recent literature. There was nothing in either of their characters, or their friendship, that made me want to explore more. I finished it and just went ‘meh’.
Those who criticized that book, I don’t quite understand you. It is a quirky line that perfectly reflects Sam’s introspection about his body. When you read this line, you don’t actually think about sex as is because it’s not meant to convey that. In the book, Sam is portrayed as a misanthrope. My feeling about him throughout the book was that he is a self-loathing character with personal tragedies and profound struggles. After the accident and losing his mother, he became disconnected from the world. His disability, the surgeries, the pain, and the loss of his mother made him blame himself.
After reading this line, you even kind of feel pity for Sam. The beauty of this is that it invites empathy, engagement with Sam’s internal world, recognizing the layers and complexities that define his actions and outlook on life.