Open Wide
Wickedly liberating ... I was positively charmed by Theo; he had me feeling coy, like how I imagine Emily Henry’s novels make hearts palpitate ... Gross’s strength lies in leaning in; she understands that sex is murky and messy, strange and shameful ... [Olive's] delusions are entertaining, with the sickly twist of being somewhat agreeable ... It’s refreshing how easily the novel marries sex and disgust ...
Thank god for Jessica Gross and her strange, unforgettable women. Open Wide is as disgusting as it is sexy, as nauseating as it is arousing.
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Olive's first-person narration of her bizarre story is an inspired choice that makes readers privy to her fears, confusions, passions, and rationalizations. By the final pages, which reveal what has changed in Olive's surreal world, readers will feel dizzy with her perspective and its consequences ... A tense, engrossing examination of the bounds of love.
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Raising interesting questions about boundaries within relationships...the novel literalizes the romantic trope of becoming one with your partner, while ingeniously satirizing female neediness.
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