TAMPA by Alissa Nutting

 

Tampa by Alissa Nutting
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is one of those books that you see readers mention every now and then. So, when I found a discounted copy in a bookstore, I picked it up. And finally decided to read it.

I'm not going to summarise the plot because I think we all know what this is about. 😳

Well, I wish I could say good things about this book... but I can't. This is just not a memorable story. Actually, the best thing about Tampa is the writing style. I quite like this author's voice, but the subject matter is so gross that I never warmed to the characters and the shitty things that were going on. Which I personally think is a good thing.

Celeste is despicable. She's a disgusting predator who spends most of her days and nights fantasising about how to seduce 14-year-old boys. She doesn't care about anyone but herself. She doesn't care about anyone but herself and her putrid excuse for a libido. She's a teacher, someone entrusted to enhance the lives of her teenage students, not to see them as targets. Or to take advantage to the point of violence. She's also one of those people who tries to cover shit up by making everything so much worse.

She thinks her looks and sex will get her out of anything. And unfortunately, she's not wrong. Ugh.

Not to mention how she screws up the lives of these boys and doesn't give a crap about the aftermath. Especially Jack. I felt gross throughout this whole book and found myself skipping past the horrid sex scenes because they were just SO fucking wrong. 🤢

Celeste is so unapologetically despicable that every selfish thought centres around lustful fantasies featuring young flesh.

I felt so dirty every time I picked this up, but thought the story would be interesting enough to keep me glued to the page. I was wrong. Also, I didn't see the humour in any of this. At all. This woman is a predator and there's nothing humorous about that.

Anyway, even the ending disappointed me.



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