A review by minimicropup
Other People's Clothes by Calla Henkel

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved how this was unsettling in that watching-things-slowly-unravel-way. I’d recommend if you like slow, character-driven drama with a dash of intriguing mystery and unhinged obsession.
 
Energy: Compulsive. Sardonic. Egotistical. 
 
πŸ• Howls. Some transitions are clunky where it’s unclear where a character is or when they got there. 
 
🐩 Tail Wags. The toxic dynamic between roommates. How one character is gradually discovering more about herself while the unravels as things don’t go the way she expected. The mundane, day-to-day moments and watching character interactions evolve over time. The creepy apartment owner/author. Balance of obsession, unhinged behaviour, and cringe-worthy moments. 
 
Scene: πŸ‡©πŸ‡ͺ Set in various boroughs of Berlin, Germany
Perspective: An art student who tends to fixate on others decides to leave it all behind and go to Berlin on an exchange after the loss of a best friend, a relationship breakdown, and feeling left out of their peer group. 
Timeline: 2008. Winter to Spring. 
πŸ”₯ Fuel: What happened to Zoe’s best friend? How will the apartment roommate situation work in Germany between her and the student she is traveling with on this art school exchange? How will she fit in and evolve while in Berlin? 
πŸ“– Cred: Realistic
 
Mood Reading Match-Up:
Dentyne Ice. Coal heater. Black dyed clothes. Skeletal trees. Law & Order SVU. Amanda Knox. Wet snow. Second-cheapest prosecco. Door buzzer. 
  • First-person learning about characters, getting context on how they got here, how they feel about things
  • Early 2000s nostalgia and pop culture
  • Second-hand social cringe
  • Toxic roommate and new adult drama
  • Long chapters with contextual tangents
  • Vibey day-in-the-life/slice of life exchange student life 
  • Psychological literary suspense with a heaping side of desperation, complicated friendships, ennui, and fitting in fixations
  • Modern party life tragedy
  • Decisions snowballing into chaos
  • Authors behaving badly
  • Montage of monotony, banality, nostalgia, narcissism, and paranoia
 
Content Heads-Up:
Alcohol (intoxication, hang overs, parties). Death (discovery of). Drug use (ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine). Eating disorder (on page; bulimia). False accusation. Homophobia (community, workplace; brief recall). Infidelity. Institutionalization (psychiatric). Intoxicated driving (brief mention). Loneliness, desperation. Loss of best friend, grief. Murder. Narcissism. Paranoia. Parental abandonment (as baby). Sexual content (consenting; on page; hook ups, clubs). Sexual harassment (unwanted advances). Suicidal ideation (very brief). Toxic friendship. Victim blaming (media, law enforcement). Vomit.
 
Rep: American. German. Second generation Iranian. Austrian. Cuban American. Cis. Hetero. Queer, questioning. Lesbian. Gay. Freckled, dark, sunburnt, and fair skin tones.
 
πŸ“š Format: Kobo
 
My musings πŸ’– powered by puppy snuggles 🐢
 
πŸ€ͺ Potential Fav of 2024
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