The Pisces: A Novel

"These things never happened but always are."An instant classic. How to describe a story that is smart, incredibly funny, profoundly sad and highly erotic? Oh yes, and there’s a merman, too! I love this author!Honestly, I have been having a hard time letting go of Lucy and Theo. A book that mixes humor and eroticism AND Greek mythology? A THOUSAND YESSES TO THE PISCES!! Lucy is despondent (but still neurotically funny) after a messy break-up with her long-time boyfriend. She leaves Phoenix where she has been working on a dissertation for years, to travel to L.A. to dog-sit for her sister Annika for the summer.Lucy is forced to enter group therapy (which is hilarious and tragic at the same time) and is not really supposed to be dating yet at all. So of course because she has an addictive personality she immediately throws herself into the online dating pool with sometimes disastrous results."I came to know and love into another kind of stranger: a physical manifestation of time and letting oneself go eclipsing both the stranger and the honeybear until they all but disappeared. I felt irate. How dare he not give a f---? What a luxury, the luxury of a man. The luxury of someone who looked at the ravages of time and went,“Eh.”Lucy's sister's house is on the beach and one night Lucy encounters a gorgeous surfer boy named Theo. He only comes out at night when she is sitting on the rocks, looking out into the wild Pacific Ocean."I looked out at the ocean. It was as though I hadn’t noticed it before, or hadn’t wanted to see it. I was scared of its wild ambivalence, so powerful and amorphous, like the depression itself. It didn’t give a f--- about me. It could eat me without even knowing."Lucy may be despondent but she is still funny and sexy and very desirable. It is hard to adequately describe the hilarity and poignancy of Melissa Broder's writing but every single page was a delight. Lucy becomes completely entranced by gorgeous but elusive Theo:"His is chest was hairless, and I noticed that the color of his nipples matched perfectly his lips, like pencil erasers. He looked like he was twenty-one, at most. If this was death then death was hot."Lucy still hooks up with men she meets online but is strangely drawn back to Theo and their deep connection. She eventually comes to accept who he is after several passionate kisses and much conversation. And who he really is doesn't seem so unbelievable after all."Was there any wildness anywhere, or was all of it inhabited by tech dudes now, juice places and blow-dry bars? Had anything been left undiscovered, or did the Internet snatch it all up the moment it existed? Nothing remained untouched. Or maybe some things weren’t completely mapped out yet and there was still a little room for the mystery. Maybe some strange and beautiful boy could still pop out of the sea and surprise you."This book is so funny that I was crying from laughter throughout most of it. Melissa Broder has a magical way with words. I just want to scream from the rooftops for everyone to read this book! Yes it is weird but it is wild and beautiful and life-affirming. And the description of Venice beach life and the L.A. dating scene was hysterically funny and poignant.“I’m back,” he said. “How have the dates been treating you?”“Disgusting,” I said.“Ah, too bad.”“Are you real?” I asked. He laughed. “I suffer like I’m real. I have wants like I’m real. I fear that I will be unliked or unloved. Men, women, I think that maybe everyone wants the same thing.”This book is funny, sexy, magical and very, very real. Even though there is a merman. It is about everyone's quest for love and to be loved. 'The Pisces' is absolutely one of my favorite books and not to be missed!!"I felt the Earth rotating around us, or that we were the planet—spinning on its axis. In my head came a deep buzz of the Earth again and I didn’t know if I was actually humming out loud or if it was all inside me. This is how you exist in the world, I thought. This is how you are alive."

I'm still talking mad ish about this book. This is a type of book in which you are either going to love it or you are going to hate it. You have to have some sort of uncouth sense of humor to just let your bun down and enjoy the tongue-in-cheek scenarios that this book puts our protagonist in.And it will also help if you are cynical about the dating scene and living in the Westside of LA to feel extra connection to this book. (NO lie, this book mentioned about the salon where my friend works and where I got my last haircut. Thought it was cool to take a mental walk with the protagonist on familiar streets.) But I digress...What cracks me up is that in my goodreads friends list and in the book clubs I am part of, several of my friends are into supernatural/fantasy eroticas. I had mentioned it and have often teased them about it. Well, I guess I unknowingly joined their team as this is a merman erotica, not a cynical jab at modern dating involving astrological signs.Before you start, ask your self if you are ready. I already gifted this book to a couple of friends who can get a laugh out of it.

The main character acted like a 10 year old who just learned something new in class. She went on and on about various topics in a very obnoxious way. So much angsty philosophizing. Leave the existentialism in college, lady. Philosophy is only cool if it's something new. I've found that all of these mostly plot-less contemporary novels have a very similar absurdist-type backdrop (cough, Conversations with Friends, cough). It gets old. And I like it when narrators talk about philosophy, but does it always have to be the same stuff? Jeez. Quote some Hegel or something. Anyway, so I was thinking I'll endure her incessant blabbing if there's gonna be some sexy stuff soon. But nah. The "sexy stuff" was almost always also gross at the same time. I'm so not easily grossed out, but lets just say that smells are involved. I draw the line at smells. And there's some other sex stuff that I'm sure at least 3/4 of the population wouldn't be okay with. Other than that though, the book did have some thought provoking points. I actually got through it pretty quickly, so it's not unreadable or anything. I do think you have to be a very particular person to love it though.

I wanted to like this book, but I just could not. The main character has very little to like about her, and the way she talks about other people makes me sad. I gave up on it two thirds of the way through.

I found the sample of this book interesting, so I ordered it. I then became quickly bored, followed by totally appalled. The protagonist is tragically self-absorbed, excruciatingly self aware and totally committed to her suffering. Even her philosophical and academic musings are shallow and just overall annoying. I can't believe I actually spent money to buy this and proceed to spend even a few hours of my time with a character so devoid of any sort of redeeming qualities, no sense of self, just overall very superficial and lacking in integrity. Don't believe the hype.

Enjoyable read

A fast and steamy read it narrates pop culture perfectly.Highly recommended if you like Bret Easton Ellis and if you found him too cruel.

I read some reviews in which a lot of readers disliked The Pisces, based on how the main character Lucy, treated the dog in the book. No offence, to any dog lovers, but seriously? It's a book, not a reality show. I am a big dog lover, but that would not stain my whole conclusion of a book, or make me stop reading a book. I have read many books with disturbing subject matters and scenes that upset me, but that is part of the plot. We are so used to "liking" the protagonist, when a writer focuses on the flaws, as Melissa Broder does, we become appalled. What I enjoyed most about this book is the gritty, raw existential monologues in the book. There were a few that make me stop and think. Theo, the love interest, the merman, whose name literally means " God " in Greek, turns out to be a complete narcissist. I truly connected with so many parts of this book.I felt as if the rock was a hotel room of an affair. I saw how fantasy and reality are two separate entities yet they have this life of their own. They merge in the mind. This book may not be for everyone. I think first of all you have to have an open mind and also know that Melissa Broder holds no punches. I suppose as a writer, I read and study the craft of writing at the same time; and I must say, that this book is unique. Just because an author writes dark, and satirical, it does not mean the book is horrible. Firstly, I have to say that this book is hard to categorize because of its unique style of writing and subject matter. It definitely is satirical and dark. Don't expect a love story like Twilight. If you follow Melissa Broder on her Twitter accounts you should know that it won't be a happily ever ending story. A brilliant debut novel.

The Pisces é um romance que te prende pelo texto ágil, coloquial, mas que consegue ter fôlego para tratar de temas muito sérios, misturando lucidez, ironia e desespero. Lucy é uma acadêmica de 38 anos que está em crise. Sua dissertação sobre a poeta Safo não vai para frente. E ela acabou de terminar um relacionamento de oito anos. A irmã a convida para passar um tempo em sua casa, na Califórnia. Certa noite, sozinha na praia, Lucy conhece Theo, um nadador deslumbrante de vinte e poucos anos. Para espanto e admiração dela, ele acaba se revelando um sereio. O que faz desse romance uma leitura envolvente é a voz narrativa. Lucy conta sua história em primeira pessoa, revelando com muita honestidade seu caos emocional. De maneira rasa, Lucy por ser taxada de desagradável, sarcástica, maldosa. Mas isso seria uma injustiça. Primeiro, porque sua ironia é um dos grandes trunfos do livro. E segundo, há momentos de tristeza e de reflexão que a torna muita tridimensional. Momentos em que perguntas difíceis são feitas e verdades duras são ditas. Acompanhamos por páginas e páginas as digressões de Lucy e dificilmente ficamos entediados. Fala-se de amor, sexo, carreira, maternidade, expectativa social e outros temas caros às mulheres, sob a perspectiva de alguém que questiona tudo e todos. The Pisces é sobre uma mulher no limite justamente por não saber direito seu lugar no mundo.

I learned tons from this book. Felt related and made me think about my previous relationships.This was the book I needed to read to forgive myself.