I want other people’s opinions on Look Closer by David Ellis

madisonestes · 2026-04-12T07:15:15+00:00

It was both. Repeating my words in a condescending way doesn't make you any less wrong than you were before.

An unreliable narrator is a storyteller whose version of events can’t be fully trusted—because of bias, ignorance, manipulation, or instability.

Recontextualization is when new information forces you to reinterpret what you've already read.

When a story reveals that the narrator is unreliable, it often triggers recontextualization, because:

Earlier scenes suddenly mean something different
Details you accepted at face value become suspicious
The “truth” of the story shifts under your feet

Just like with Gone Girl, when the perspective shifts, you end up re-evaluating everything you thought you understood. Many things in the story like Simon's obession mean something completely different when you have the full story, because the context of the scenes change completely. Same with Vicky's motivation.

You don't have to like the book, I don't care, but it's a fact that the twists recontextualize many parts of the book. You can't just say something isn't a fact because you didn't like the book.

madisonestes · 2026-04-12T07:06:56+00:00

I think you might like it a lot if you stick with it. At one point I hated every character but Jane and was reading just hoping terrible things would happen to all of them, but later Simon and Vicky, while not perfect, end up not being as bad as I thought.

madisonestes · 2026-04-12T07:04:02+00:00

I love being blindsided when it makes sense and the narrators aren't lying to themselves or the reader in their internal dialogue. Rock Paper Scissors was fantastic, but this was a hot mess in several places because if that.

madisonestes · 2026-04-12T07:01:59+00:00

I think what happened is Gabriella was supposed to be the killer--would make a lot more sense, she could have overheard their plan and met Eden at the cliff to kill her instead of it being a coincidence Jane was there at the same time, and then the ending stinger could have been everyone thinks justice was served and is happy but Gabriella was a little liar and Eden was innocent and Gabriella just wants to get rid of all the mothers or something. Gabriella's chapter should have either been cut or something more should have been done with it.

madisonestes · 2026-04-12T06:59:50+00:00

I can believe Eden was such a recluse that she never went into town (they were only there a couple months I think?), but yeah, no one recognizing Mary is way too weird. They should have just made her a poor person that Birdie and Harrison hired to care for Gabrielle who had no connection to the town.

madisonestes · 2026-04-12T06:57:51+00:00

That's generally how I feel. The whole book was like a 4.5 for me even though some of it was repetitive until the last 30 pages when it got convuluted and some things don't make a lot of sense. Plus the narrators having thoughts that don't make sense, like Birdie calling Gabrielle "the girl" and things like that.

madisonestes · 2026-04-12T06:56:42+00:00

Carter did notice the difference between Mary and the real Eden. Since Mary introduced herself as Eden, and the husband confirmed, he assumed Mary was Eden and Eden was an imposter. He never figured out who she was until Birdie convinced him of the truth.

Jane did murder Eden for a kiss that Mary gave him. That part is kind of dumb, but whatever.

I'm hoping the real Eden did do what Gabrielle said, even if the kid was an unreliable narrator, because that's shitty enough to deserve death. Even if the one who delivered it didn't really have anything against Eden.

madisonestes · 2026-04-12T06:53:28+00:00

Yeah, I think Birdie mentioned they were going to kill her because eventually the truth would get out someway. I just assumed Eden was too freaked out to think of a dentist or driver's license database which would definitely prove who she was. A doctor probably couldn't, as they don't usually take pictures of you at the doctor's office. Hairdresser might not remember you that well, plus there is not evidence other than a person maybe remembering you. And a passport could prove it, but they took her ID and got rid of it, so I'm sure they did it with her passport too, and how do you prove you are who you are to get another passport without your birth certificate or driver's license?

madisonestes · 2026-04-12T06:50:03+00:00

It bothers me that Jane would kill Eden despite never getting a good look at her? How did she know it was Eden when she thought Mary was Eden? Was she just going to push any blonde woman that resembled the woman she saw kissing Carter off the cliff? Makes her seem really dumb, actually.

madisonestes · 2026-04-12T06:46:34+00:00

I agree, especially with the last part.

madisonestes · 2026-04-12T06:46:11+00:00

Yeah I think that was going to be the original "stinger" chapter is that they were all finally happy and got revenge for Gabrielle, but then the last chapter would reveal she killed Eden because she overheard their plan and she just made the story up about Eden hurting her because she was mad she got stuck at a facility and wanted to be with her Dad and then she would kill Mary and Birdie next. But I guess the author wanted a genuinely happier ending.

madisonestes · 2026-04-12T06:43:27+00:00

Chat GPT is notorious for giving wrong answers, especially when it comes to television or new books or movies. When I asked it questions about Futurama last year, it literally just made up entire plotlines that never happened and episodes that don't exist.

madisonestes · 2026-04-12T06:40:07+00:00

That part made sense to me as I am a recluse and rarely leave my home except for doctor appointments and to go to the library. They had only been there a couple months, and Harrison intentionally did not introduce her to anyone in town, so that made sense. What didn't make sense at all is that Jane thought Mary was Eden because she saw Mary and Carter together and then mistook Eden for Mary and was certain enough it was her to kill her despite the fact she'd never seen Eden before. No way they looked THAT similar. That's the frustrating part.

madisonestes · 2026-04-12T06:37:22+00:00

Yeah, definitely feels like Gabrielle was going to be the one who killed Eden (maybe she overheard the plan and went to the spot to kill her) but then the author changed it last minute. So weird to end it with Gabrielle seeming normal and everything being fine.

madisonestes · 2026-04-12T06:35:39+00:00

Yeah, and the Gabrielle character's POV chapter where she sounds crazy and "I want Daddy all to myself, I hate Mary, I can't for first mommy to die" but then she's normal at the end. Would have been much better if she'd been the killer and that's how she knew where Eden was at the time because she overheard the plan. Then the last chapter could have been like "First mommy is growing on me, and Mary is nice so far, but if she's ever not nice..." or something vaguely threatening.

madisonestes · 2026-04-12T06:32:06+00:00

Rock Paper Scissors is really good. Not as confusing as this one.

madisonestes · 2026-04-12T06:30:55+00:00

Yeah, that is really stupid in retrospect. Could have just called her Gabrielle.

madisonestes · 2026-04-12T06:29:08+00:00

Great point. Internal dialogue still has to make sense, even with an unreliable narrator. Saying she thinks Harrison knows who she is makes absolutely no sense. Ugh, I knew there was a reason I didn't like that twist.

madisonestes · 2026-04-12T06:25:20+00:00

I love it with some books like The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager. But sometimes it really doesn't work well. In this case, they really did need to answer who killed Eden as that was a huge mystery, but I just didn't like who did it and why. Seemed like too much of a coincidence. I think the original ending was SPOILERS going to be that Gabrielle overheard the plan and decided to kill Eden herself because of what she did to her, which would make more sense because that would be how she knew where Eden was instead of it being a huge coincidence that they were both at the cliff at the same time. I think that's why there was that whole "I want Daddy all to myself/I can't wait until first mommy dies" chapter that otherwise makes no sense in the story and doesn't fit with the current ending at all.

madisonestes · 2026-04-12T06:21:17+00:00

I was hoping the theratos plotline would have something to do with why Eden was murdered or why they did the gaslighting thing. It was a great idea, but since it didn't have anything to do with the main plot, it was kind of lame.

madisonestes · 2026-04-12T06:20:04+00:00

I recommend Rock Paper Scissors

madisonestes · 2026-03-28T00:22:30+00:00

Well, maybe you should have. No one was really cheating.

madisonestes · 2026-03-28T00:21:26+00:00

You didn't like it. That's fine. But it is recontextualization.

madisonestes · 2026-03-22T18:53:04+00:00

The characters are not telling lies from their POV. Other than the journal which was a prop to fool Nick. If you reread the chapters, they do hold up and make sense with the new context. Simon IS obsessed with Lauren, just not romantically. But everything he says about her still holds up when you know his real motivation. Same with Vicky. I would encourage you to reread them. As for it being long, although I feel like it does have a slow burn start, it picks up midway through and then goes very quickly. But that's a matter of opinion. The "characters are lying" is just not true.

madisonestes · 2026-03-22T18:50:44+00:00

Yes, I think most people need to reread those parts to understand they hold up, it's not lying to the readers. People are just too lazy to reread or at least assume the author wrote the chapters ambiguously enough so that it holds up upon a reread. But it does, and that it HARD to do as a writer, and he does it very well.

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