phoenix erotic review

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WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

“Electrifying” (People) • “Masterly” (The Guardian) • “Dramatic and memorable” (The New Yorker) • “Magic” (TIME) • “Ingenious” (The Financial Times) • "A gonzo literary performance” (Entertainment Weekly) • “Rare and splendid” (The Boston Globe) • “Remarkable” (USA Today) • “Delicious” (The New York Times) • “Book groups, meet your next selection" (NPR)

In an American suburb in the early 1980s, students at a highly competitive performing arts high school struggle and thrive in a rarified bubble, ambitiously pursuing music, movement, Shakespeare, and, particularly, their acting classes. When within this striving “Brotherhood of the Arts,” two freshmen, David and Sarah, fall headlong into love, their passion does not go unnoticed—or untoyed with—by anyone, especially not by their charismatic acting teacher, Mr. Kingsley.

The outside world of family life and economic status, of academic pressure and of their future adult lives, fails to penetrate this school’s walls—until it does, in a shocking spiral of events that catapults the action forward in time and flips the premise upside-down. What the reader believes to have happened to David and Sarah and their friends is not entirely true—though it’s not false, either. It takes until the book’s stunning coda for the final piece of the puzzle to fall into place—revealing truths that will resonate long after the final sentence.

As captivating and tender as it is surprising, Susan Choi's Trust Exercise will incite heated conversations about fiction and truth, and about friendships and loyalties, and will leave readers with wiser understandings of the true capacities of adolescents and of the powers and responsibilities of adults.

From the Publisher

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07CRJB8WJ
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Henry Holt and Co. (April 9, 2019)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 9, 2019
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1619 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 267 pages
Reviewer: Dave Barth
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Deceptively Highbrow Take on 'Me Too' in the Hands of a Master
Review: The fragments of this book come together to paint an amazing portrait of sexual power dynamics, memory, and accusation in the modern era. A straightforward pop novel this is not - if you buy it because of the National Book Award seal on the cover, you are on the right track, but if you buy it because of the quote from People magazine then you risk disappointment. This is a book for people who enjoy seeing the skill of a master painting their canvas as much as the picture it presents at the end.The story follows students at an elite performing arts high school and their various love and sexual entanglements. The less you know about what follows the better (I regret even flipping ahead to see the chapter headings), but whether you enjoy the book will depend in large part on whether you're the type of reader who gets a kick out of tricks the author plays with unreliable narrators and changing perspectives throughout.The book itself is a bit of a "trust exercise". In the first two pages, you get scene setting that at least assures you Susan Choi is in full control of her pen. But what follows sometimes resembles an eye-rollingly pulpy YA novel tracking the drama of over-sexualized kids. There is even a hilariously obvious appearance of Checkov's gun, but by the time it fires you are well-in on the joke. The author knows exactly what she is doing, although as the one-star reviews here indicate, her publisher is a bit too eager to frame this as the traditionally-structured narrative that it is not.

Reviewer: Asia Siev
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Stick it out
Review: I was assigned this novel for class, and so I was required to read it, from start to finish. I don't think I would have finished it if I hadn't had a grade attached to it. However, I am glad I did. Trust Exercise is a trust exercise. Yes, Sarah's character is probably one of the worst narrators ever and there are moments that make the novel seem like a poorly written YA romance. It has a slow start, and that feels like an understatement. Sarah and David's romance felt a lot like the love story in Sally Rooney's Normal People, but far less interesting. The other characters seem like caricatures of what the Choi imagined high schoolers to act like. But, if you stick it out, you will be rewarded. Choi's prose is clever and it draws you into her world. The twist about midway through the book forces you to reevaluate every aspect in new and interesting ways. I have read a lot of books, and I have never been more surprised by a book than I have with Trust Exercise. There is nothing quite like it, and I believe that a lot of the negative reviews stem from that. Once you learn to read the novel, however, it does become a pleasant read. Despite my initial misgivings, I thoroughly enjoyed Choi's novel. I'm not surprised it won the National Book Award. All in all, I promise, if you stick it out through the end you'll enjoy it.

Reviewer: Erin
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: SUCH potential, but way too cryptic.
Review: Let me preface this by saying that this whole book made me feel like I was doing a word problem in math, and I have dyscalculia. Lol.I’m totally torn on this one. The plot was great, with all its twists and turns, but the ending left me scratching my head. There should really be a q&a with the author at the end, where she ties up these loose strings; the magician explaining the trick step by step. But maybe her point was to not reveal the trick. It certainly leaves you thinking.Part one is more-or-less a straightforward (though actually not, lol) YA novel about a girl, Sarah, finding love, finding herself, and finding heartbreak at a school for the arts in the ‘80s.Part two is years later. One of Sarah’s art school acquaintances explains that the first part is a novel written by Sarah, then tells you how things “really” went down.As for the third part, there’s no way I can go into this one with out spoilers.Which brings me to***SPOILERS***Are we supposed to believe that Lord is Kingsley, and that he was actually bi instead of gay? Did Tim represent a wife? He mentions a wife and kids, which left me scratching my head.I feel like maybe Sarah and Karen are one and the same, like Karen is Sarah’s conscience, maybe? And Sarah/Karen had a thing with Kingsley/Lord and that’s where Claire came from? And all that stuff with the British troupe, was that to protect Kingsley/Lord, as was maybe the gay thing?Did Martin represent Kingsley, and when Karen shot him in the dick, was it metaphorical, like she was finally releasing her past grudges? I STILL can’t figure out who Claire’s parents are and whether the British guys really existed, and it’s killing me!***END SPOILERS***I can see why this is a book club pick, as it leaves a LOT to discuss and ponder. It begs conversation. You want someone to help you solve the mysteries. Maybe that’s the point, that everyone sees things differently, and will interpret them in their own way. There’s no one “truth” when many people, with their separate identities and feelings, are involved.EDIT: I’m adding a star because writing this review made me realize how thought-provoking this book actually is. I guess that’s the point. Let’s call this genre “word problems, without numbers.”

Reviewer: Susan Jonas
Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Ridiculously overrated
Review: I’m bewildered by the accolades. I thought it was dull, inauthentic, poorly written. Aside from a few insider chuckles about amateur theatre, it provided little insight. And at times it was just creepy— but perhaps the creepy parts, unappetizing as they were, were the only parts that really resonated with the grimy truth of adolescence. But I couldn’t muster the least interest in any of the characters. For all its contrived structural cleverness, it seemed amateurish and never went below the surface. Totally forgettable.

Reviewer: lucytea
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Very enjoyable. One really heartbreaking bit in Karen’s section made this book for me. I think about it a lot.

Reviewer: Marilia
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Thoughtfully written and brilliantly emotive.

Reviewer: David Bravos
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: If you want a page turner, this does the job. It is very good at luring you in and keeping you interested. I found the ending unsatisfying, but the overall reading experience was excellent.

Reviewer: tamako
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: 主人公は地元の舞台芸術学校CAPAに通う１５歳の早熟な少女Sarah。彼女は人気カリスマ教師Kingsley とも対等に話す。母子家庭の彼女は大人の世界に通じている。裕福で優等生の同級生DavidはそんなSarahに近づく。ふたりは性的関係で結ばれ、セックスに夢中になるが、やがて亀裂が入る。愚かなことにSarahはDavid との親密な私事をKingsleyにもらし、Kingsleyはそれを授業中に口外してDavid の自尊心を痛めつけたのだ。２０１９年の全米図書賞受賞作品。アメリカで始まった＃MeToo運動が世界に拡がり、性暴力を受けた女性たちが自らの経験を語り始めていた。著者Susan Choiは、＃MeToo運動が作品に影響したかと問われて、大いに影響したと述べ、小説のラストを書き換えたと答えている。確かに性被害者の文脈でこの小説を読めば分かりやすい。ここに描かれるセックスは子供の好奇心であり、大人の遊びであり、人間関係を作るための手段ではない。感じるのはcrotchでありheartではない。著者はloveという言葉をこの小説に持ち込まない。描かれるのは愛の問題ではなく、被害の問題である。Trust Exerciseとはカリスマ教師Kingsleyが担当する実技科目。“自己改造のための自己破壊”と称して生徒に独特な心身訓練を行わせる。暗闇でのボディタッチや、膝を触れて繰り返す台詞トレーニング。生徒同士の感情をあおり、関係を壊しては修復させる。生徒の承認願望を利用して彼らをコントロールし、自分の影響力を楽しむ。後年、もうひとりの主人公KarenはTrust Exerciseを「ある種のポルノグラフィだった」と語る。しかしそのまやかしをいち早く感じていたのはSarahだろう。３０歳のSarahはTrust Exerciseの記憶を小説にして作家となり、さっさと過去を清算する。一方不器用なKarenにはそれができない。彼女には誰にも明かさない過去がある。それにしても小説内小説や小説内演劇の手法を駆使し、語り手を変え、仮名と実名を混用し、技巧を凝らして著者は読者の興味を駆り立てる。好き嫌いの分かれる本らしいが、何かが足りなく何かが多すぎる。リアリティを求めるなら事実が足りない。面白さを求めるなら人物が月並みに過ぎる。SarahもDavidもStanleyも類型だ。セックス場面が多いのはプラスかマイナスか。Trust Exerciseのタイトルが４回も使われる。それでもこの小説に大切な真実が含まれていることは間違いない。著者が＃MeToo運動の影響で書き換えたと思われるラストである。それは“加害者を決して野放しにしない”ということなのだが、どうであろう。ついでながらCAPAは実在し、著者Choiの母校であり、作家になったSarahの髪形は著者を思わせる。ゲイの民主党大統領候補として一時期大いに支持を集めたピート・ブティジェッジは、著者の出身地サウスベントの前市長である。ちなみにKingsleyはゲイである。

Reviewer: Vlad Thelad
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: For all the lavish praise that critics have heaped upon this book, and there are good reasons for some of it, Choi’s latest does not coalesce into the great novel some claim it is. Pondering the ethics of retelling in fiction form the shared memories of adolescent years, tackling the two sides of abuse and consent in the “me too” era, and the dexterity in switching narrators and writing style amidst unexpected twists in plot, are all indicative of the author’s strengths and her ability to pose uncomfortable questions and provide fodder for discussion. These indicators are construed as literary merits mostly through critics’ reviews, because however aware of them I became, for me they did not amount to a memorable reading. You can decide, either to buy into the hype or give it pass, unless as it is likely, it is next month’s choice of your book club.