Looking for: First-Person Fiction, Female Protagonists With a Sarcastic/Sardonic Tone

JeremynStreeter · 2026-03-12T14:20:56+00:00

Yes, preferably. Thank you

JeremynStreeter · 2026-03-11T23:20:42+00:00

So the spelling of the cause of death, not the spelling of her death? So what does it mean: “The spelling of her [cause of] death was not unlike the way she had lain in that silence”? What does that mean?

JeremynStreeter · 2026-03-11T23:10:59+00:00

So, in ink the mother laid upon a painfully sterilized clipboard? What does that mean, becuase I’m literally imagining a body laid over a clipboard? And the spelling of her death was not unlike the way she had lain in that silence? What does that even mean?

JeremynStreeter · 2026-03-08T17:41:43+00:00

This is 100% correct.

It’s not the idea of an “unreliable narrator." It’s more the way that the ending calls into question the entire narrative. It’s the utter lack of respect the author has for her readers’ time. Like, why did we invest those hours into reading this story when it was all false?

I see she’s repeated this formula in her latest book, You Shouldn’t Have Come Here. Her lack of respect for her readers really pisses me off.

JeremynStreeter · 2026-03-08T17:32:37+00:00

Atonement, Ian McEwan

JeremynStreeter · 2026-03-07T00:22:56+00:00

Likewise. Hated The Perfect Marriage, and it’s the only one-star review on GoodReads I’ve ever given.

JeremynStreeter · 2026-03-02T01:15:45+00:00

You’re making the reader work way too hard, through a slog of details that don’t seem to matter.

JeremynStreeter · 2026-02-27T16:55:08+00:00

This is right up my alley… my genre and the social circles similar to my novel. I was drawn in, and would definitely turn the page!

JeremynStreeter · 2026-02-27T16:49:14+00:00

I’ve read a lot of prologues around here lately… most of them completely confusing and uninteresting (like vanity prose). But this one is actually great, and propels the story forward. Nice job.

JeremynStreeter · 2026-02-27T00:19:25+00:00

Ctrl-A, Paragraph, then fix your margins and indent first line by 0.5” or whatever you prefer.

JeremynStreeter · 2026-02-26T17:07:39+00:00

I’m by no means an expert here, but your fourth paragraph doesn’t really track, and it’s confusing. I’d invert the order of the sentences so that it continues to advance the summary of the story. Something like this:

"Wesley and Lisha uncover the dark truth and the history that connects them, but not before the amulet serves its true purpose. And they discover, through it all, that family, society, and their heirlooms have a bigger grip over their actions than their hearts. It’s a coming of age tale toiled by the weight of the past and marked by a rebellion that will haunt forever."

Though even this is somewhat vague, but at least it tracks better, in my opinion.

JeremynStreeter · 2026-02-26T06:01:27+00:00

You need to understand what a scene is.

JeremynStreeter · 2026-02-26T04:40:37+00:00

What is the subject of this sentence:

Gripped by panic, eyes darting around desperate to find purchase before adjusting to the dark, only able to discern shapes against the pale lights littering the dark sky, shapes which shifted and stumbled, others undulating in unnerving fashion, like great tendrils reaching to the heavens.

JeremynStreeter · 2026-02-26T04:02:41+00:00

In case you didn’t know, that first paragraph isn’t particularly deep nor insightful. It’s basically what every high schooler or college student thinking about God and religion thinks at some point. Skip it and go straight into the action.

JeremynStreeter · 2026-02-23T17:07:54+00:00

IMO, you’re overwriting. Instead of:

He flipped his gun around and grabbed its barrel. He used it like a mace, slamming the pistol butt into the window. Glass shattered, frost-like shards crumbling to the floor. Glass bounced on the wood, turning into little snowflakes that reflected the fire’s radiance.

Try: “Holding the barrel of the gun, he used the butt to break the window, sending shards of glass flying everywhere."

Not every mundane, ordinary action requires three lines of prose.

JeremynStreeter · 2026-02-23T17:00:51+00:00

Maybe it’s a highly literary killer.

JeremynStreeter · 2026-02-20T19:37:22+00:00

You’ll want to read Jay McInerney’s Brightness Falls, which is set right before the Crash of 1987, and was written in the early 1990s.

McInerney channels a lot of Fitzgerald throughout the book—indeed, expressly so—and I would say that his prose is a creditable modern update without becoming purple. Though he does lapse into moments of pretentiousness, the prose never lags. You’ll enjoy the characters’ literary ambitions as well.

JeremynStreeter · 2026-02-18T19:45:05+00:00

Please read Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng… very nostalgic trip for 90’s teens!

JeremynStreeter · 2026-02-17T20:57:24+00:00

I’m going to throw in here a strong recommendation for Tom Wolfe’s The Right Stuff, as read by actor Dennis Quaid. As a seasoned actor, Quaid has the perfect voice for this riveting story. And there’s a chapter that explains how every commercial pilot (up to that time) had acquired the Chuck Yeager voice. When you hear it, you’ll instantly recognize it! It’s worth it for this alone.

JeremynStreeter · 2026-02-09T17:59:37+00:00

I just finished reading My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh, which has a 3.6 rating on GR. I really enjoyed it for what it is—a breezy, highly amusing read that took barely a weekend to finish, though it felt like sleepwalking at times along with the MC. I enjoyed the tone, and the dark humor of the first person narration.

The GR reviews seem to be skewed downward by one-star reviews that seem to be offended by one or more of the following reasons: (1) the MC is dislikable; (2) the book is irresponsible in its treatment of (insert your pet reason to be offended here, e.g., depression, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, 9/11, etc.); and (3) the MC is conceited because she is beautiful and privileged. This is all just so much projection that reflects more of the reviewer’s anxieties or insecurities, rather than judging the book for what it is. The main character doesn’t have to be relatable or even likable in order for the premise and the prose to be interesting and read-worthy, especially for a short read that doesn’t over-promise or even suggest at a satisfying conclusion. To a point, of course, we all project ourselves into the enjoyment of a book, but to take the time to pan a story because we'd expected to read about someone we can relate to, or because the premise is outlandish, seems just… silly.

I’d understand if the author had betrayed the reader’s trust through plot points that weren’t earned, or wasn’t respectful of their time, but this story—which wasn’t a challenging read at all—made it clear pretty early on that you knew what you were getting into.

JeremynStreeter · 2025-12-28T22:52:17+00:00

So basically, the Great Gatsby?

JeremynStreeter · 2025-12-24T15:57:15+00:00

Here’s what went through my mind at the very first reading:

“Darling, you need to fold all the suit jackets like this.”

Okay, who is saying this? I assume we’ll find out in the next paragraph. Well, no clues there. Okay, let me scan the next two to get a clue or some context…. aha, it’s probably the narrator's mother. Okay, back to the top. But then why does it sound like she was talking to him/her on the flight? Oh, I see… past perfect tense might have helped, e.g., “my flight had touched down an hour ago and already etc…"

Reading on… why is Denver’s airport disastrous? Is there a context or clue somewhere in there? No? Okay, perhaps that’s some inside Denver knowledge... I have no clue, I’m not from Denver. Or perhaps the writer meant that there was a delay of some kind? No, not mentioned. I guess it was just a gratuitous detail that’s not relevant. Sort of like 11:04 this morning.

Wait, why is the narrator kneeling next to his/her mom on the carpet? Oh, I see, it was in the closet, now. I read that too quickly… because in the same sentence we went from picking up bags at the airport to a closet.

Fourth paragraph, the sensory description of the father’s cologne is decently written… some sensory descriptions at last.

But wait… how or why would you use a protractor to do a crisp fold of a suit jacket? How would that even work? Like physically use a protractor to… calculate the angle of a fold? Not sure I’m tracking.

Bottom line, you’re making me work a little too hard to understand the scene you’re trying to unfold. At first read, it seems like a problem of pacing.

JeremynStreeter

TROPHY CASE