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I Come for the Social Commentary, I Stay for the Murders

In a sea of insufferable characters, it’s best to be a cynical person who reads books.

Miranda Vidak's avatar
Miranda Vidak
Feb 16, 2023
∙ Paid

I didn’t expect to be mesmerized by You on Netflix as much as I am. When a movie or a tv-show is made based on a book, I usually want to read the book first. I want to imagine the visuals of the characters, and places on my own, and not have the optics decided for me. Then, I’d like to see how someone else imagined it by putting it on a big screen.

I didn’t read You by Caroline Kepnes first, and I will forever regret it. I watched it first. Then read it. And even in that order, it was an unbelievable experience. Her work is something you can’t even put in words; so different than anything out there, this world she pulls you in, so original, like nothing you've ever read before. You read about this killer, but his social commentary is so on point, he says all the annoying things you are thinking about this world; you forget he kills people.

Even Stephen King was mesmerized by Caroline’s work: “Totally original. Never read anything quite like it. Hope you're working on a new one.”

Steven K…

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