Once More, with Feeling
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- Create Date：2022-10-15 06:53:22
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Sophie McCreesh
- ISBN：0385696191
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Summary
Calling to mind smart， deadpan and unrepentant novels such as The New Me and My Year of Rest and Relaxation， Sophie McCreesh's distinctive and arresting debut novel is about a young woman veering towards self-destruction。
Once More， With Feeling follows Jane， an artist navigating her closest relationships while fixating on her own perceived failures and self-imposed isolation。 When Jane receives a student grant to attend a workshop in London， England， she sees the opportunity to leave her tedious life behind and start anew， bringing along her new friend Kitty， who Jane will not admit she has little in common with other than a shared appreciation for boxed wine and various other drugs。
In London， Jane struggles to improve both her craft and her mindset while Kitty thrives， and a once exciting trip abroad transforms the already uneven dynamic of their friendship， leaving Jane feeling more withdrawn than ever。 As her increasingly destructive behaviour gets in the way of her artistic ambitions， her most important relationships--those with Kitty， her absent lover Richard and a discredited therapist named Anna--begin to deteriorate as Jane starts to examine her growing dependence on substances。
Darkly funny， piercing and tender， Once More， With Feeling is a portrait of a detached young woman trapped in the perils of self-loathing and addiction， who is searching for originality in an age of profound social disconnection and anxiety。
Once More， With Feeling follows Jane， an artist navigating her closest relationships while fixating on her own perceived failures and self-imposed isolation。 When Jane receives a student grant to attend a workshop in London， England， she sees the opportunity to leave her tedious life behind and start anew， bringing along her new friend Kitty， who Jane will not admit she has little in common with other than a shared appreciation for boxed wine and various other drugs。
In London， Jane struggles to improve both her craft and her mindset while Kitty thrives， and a once exciting trip abroad transforms the already uneven dynamic of their friendship， leaving Jane feeling more withdrawn than ever。 As her increasingly destructive behaviour gets in the way of her artistic ambitions， her most important relationships--those with Kitty， her absent lover Richard and a discredited therapist named Anna--begin to deteriorate as Jane starts to examine her growing dependence on substances。
Darkly funny， piercing and tender， Once More， With Feeling is a portrait of a detached young woman trapped in the perils of self-loathing and addiction， who is searching for originality in an age of profound social disconnection and anxiety。
Reviews
noor
，
astonishing
daniella ❀
，
"feeling nothing is a full-time job。" wow。no plot， just a sad twenty-something girl in life vibes。 don't listen to goodreads ratings， this book was so good "feeling nothing is a full-time job。" wow。no plot， just a sad twenty-something girl in life vibes。 don't listen to goodreads ratings， this book was so good 。。。more
Caro
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no plot， just cocaine and codependency
kyli🌈
，
the way I am Jane I am literally the mc I read the synopsis to my counsellor and she was like “she is so u”
Cat
，
In her debut， Sophie McCreesh has captured the true-to-life experience of a woman in her mid-20's who， without much trajectory or purpose， goes through life in a grey， unglamorous Toronto。 This is most definitely akin to books like My Year of Rest and Relaxation， Luster， and the like。 I am here for narratives of everyday women having no particular direction or goal， just dealing with mental illness， being horny， and lackluster qualities of life， so I of course enjoyed this book as well。I connect In her debut， Sophie McCreesh has captured the true-to-life experience of a woman in her mid-20's who， without much trajectory or purpose， goes through life in a grey， unglamorous Toronto。 This is most definitely akin to books like My Year of Rest and Relaxation， Luster， and the like。 I am here for narratives of everyday women having no particular direction or goal， just dealing with mental illness， being horny， and lackluster qualities of life， so I of course enjoyed this book as well。I connected to the protagonist immensely。 Being in a relationship with a kind of lame person， but allowing it to happen （if only for the physical benefit）; becoming codependent with an emotionally volatile， charismatic， substance-abusing friend; having parents that weren't neglectful per se， but just didn't seem to care （especially the way in which her mother was written）; etc。 Additionally， Jane is most definitely， if not autistic-coded， then at the very least representative of quite a lot of autistic traits--having a certain deadpan ennui， texture preferences （clothing）， the way she approaches substances， codependency， art， the need to isolate， analyzing social situations。 To summarize， I'm rating this a 5 because I found it so relatable， and a realistic depiction of what my early 20's felt like。 But I think it's more realistically a 4， and I can see how a lot of people may not like it; it doesn't have a straightforward plot but is instead is just kind of observing this period （and relevant past memories） in Jane's life。 The character doesn't really develop in one particular way， but she does change。As I listened and didn't read， I heard quite a few passages I wanted to quote but just couldn't take from the page--so I think I would probably recommend the physical copy， although the narration was well done。 Audiobook accessed via Libro。fm， a platform supporting indie bookstores。 。。。more
Meghan McCracken
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I was hoping I was gonna love this - an unhinged woman living in toronto going to England sounds right up my alley but nope rushed， the main character was annoying and crazy so I did not enjoy it AT ALL
Jowita Bydlowska
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I've been waiting for a book from Sophie for far too long and I had to do terrible things to get a hold of this book ahead of its publication （then I bought a copy like a regular person， I am a regular person）。 I loved this book。 I've been waiting for a book from Sophie for far too long and I had to do terrible things to get a hold of this book ahead of its publication （then I bought a copy like a regular person， I am a regular person）。 I loved this book。 。。。more
Justice （arieslibraries）
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if the protagonist from my year of rest and relaxation was canadian and a tiny bit more likeable 。。。 still not sure how i feel about it so 3 stars for now
Fawn Parker
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A very good book by Sophie McCreesh
crookie bookie
，
very very easy and light read。 though it was like a hazy fog。 i loved the way the author writes in abrupt thought patterns and it reminded me of a toned down version of my year of rest and relaxation。
Maria González
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My year of rest and relaxation 2。0。 Even though it is a plotless story， it was weirdly really enjoyable。
bookcaked
，
Once More， with Feeling sadly left me empty。 We have an early-twenties protagonist who is self-centered， insecure， and struggling with addiction。 She thinks everything is about her and simultaneously， that she doesn't matter。 Usually this is the kind of book that speaks to the darker things inside of me， or times when I was younger。 Jane spoke to nothing and no one but herself。While the writing maintains a flat， dead-pan style throughout， it did not add to the story for me。 What I did enjoy （or Once More， with Feeling sadly left me empty。 We have an early-twenties protagonist who is self-centered， insecure， and struggling with addiction。 She thinks everything is about her and simultaneously， that she doesn't matter。 Usually this is the kind of book that speaks to the darker things inside of me， or times when I was younger。 Jane spoke to nothing and no one but herself。While the writing maintains a flat， dead-pan style throughout， it did not add to the story for me。 What I did enjoy （or who） was Kitty， Jane's shitty friend who was somehow less shitty than Jane。 While they were toxic together， Jane was worse on her own。 I appreciate what the author was going for and I liked the idea of the plot， but this one missed the mark for me。 。。。more
Mulgrave
，
I'm not altogether surprised to see this book receive some fairly harsh reviews--despite being marketed as a party girl feminist romp， this novel feels alienated and introverted to a degree that will probably never be entirely fashionable。 Like Jean Rhys' early novels， OMWF follows a young woman （Jane） who is highly sensitive and intelligent， but seems almost incapable of communicating her emotional reality to those around her。 This social misalignment proves a persistent source of anxiety， and I'm not altogether surprised to see this book receive some fairly harsh reviews--despite being marketed as a party girl feminist romp， this novel feels alienated and introverted to a degree that will probably never be entirely fashionable。 Like Jean Rhys' early novels， OMWF follows a young woman （Jane） who is highly sensitive and intelligent， but seems almost incapable of communicating her emotional reality to those around her。 This social misalignment proves a persistent source of anxiety， and she does her best to form connections across the gap by drinking， snorting， and fucking her way toward common ground （or at least permission to share a bed for the night）。 Because Jane can't share what she's truly feeling with others， the emotion behind the narration's flat affect is so intense as to be blinding， like being forced to squint on an overcast day。As in Rhys （or Lispector， or Duras）， that juxtaposition between the work's almost manic emotional register and the banality of day to day life is what makes OMWF a powerful read， if occasionally an off-putting one。 Where McCreesh differs is the very contemporary， media-poisoned humour she often brings to the proceedings。 The way she manages to get across why Jane hitches her wagon to a coterie of fashionable cretins while also subtly roasting them is deft and delightful， and her comic timing is excellent。 （This I suspect is where the publisher's hopeful comparison to Moshfegh lies。） My laughter-to-wince ratio was 1-to-3， which made the emotional trauma quite manageable。With luck， OMWF will be remembered as a minor classic of its tragicomic kind， and as one of the better addiction narratives of the young decade。- Mul 。。。more
Janell Penner
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Don't get me wrong， this was not a "good" book。 I saw a lot of myself in Jane， mostly parts of my own shadow that I've yet to face。 I wanted to throw this book away， but I made it to the end to find that I cannot part with it。 Don't get me wrong， this was not a "good" book。 I saw a lot of myself in Jane， mostly parts of my own shadow that I've yet to face。 I wanted to throw this book away， but I made it to the end to find that I cannot part with it。 。。。more
Bettys Book Club
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What a refreshing debut！ I love me some hot mess plotless fiction that’s full of inappropriateness。 This book won’t be for everyone， but if you like Jenny Offill you will dig the dissociatiated smothering in this one。The book follows Jane， a young artist who is more concerned about the affections of her boyfriend's cat than his。 She is aloof on the outside but chronically dependent on the inside。 She seeks out toxic relationships in order to feel a misguided intimacy。 She drinks， does a lot of d What a refreshing debut！ I love me some hot mess plotless fiction that’s full of inappropriateness。 This book won’t be for everyone， but if you like Jenny Offill you will dig the dissociatiated smothering in this one。The book follows Jane， a young artist who is more concerned about the affections of her boyfriend's cat than his。 She is aloof on the outside but chronically dependent on the inside。 She seeks out toxic relationships in order to feel a misguided intimacy。 She drinks， does a lot of drugs and works at the Fish Bar while under the influence of both。 By some stroke of luck， she gets accepted to an arts program in London where she and her equally obtuse friend， Kitty， galavant separately。 The writing is just biting while being low key giggly。 I could just lap up each page of McCreesh’s filthy yet charming prose。 If you like a “cool girl” narrative this one’s for your VIP TBR。 。。。more
Lauren Hannough-Bergmans
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A downright uncomfortable read。 Like a canker sore that I couldn’t help but poke at。 The plot meandered along some path having to do with living in a verbally abusive household， being introduced to alcohol too early， and having poor mental health。 I hate to side with Kitty， who seems equally awful， but Jane is toxic。 I want to wash away the memory of this one。
Nipuni
，
1。25* unimpressive and unfunny， seems to be trying a bit too hard to be edgy without making any sort of point。 did like reading a book based in toronto， and that one discussion between jane and anna in the park， but beyond that i could not really enjoy it。 also， strange to me that the synopsis focuses a lot on the time spent in london， but when you read the book， it's quite brief and unimportant。 1。25* unimpressive and unfunny， seems to be trying a bit too hard to be edgy without making any sort of point。 did like reading a book based in toronto， and that one discussion between jane and anna in the park， but beyond that i could not really enjoy it。 also， strange to me that the synopsis focuses a lot on the time spent in london， but when you read the book， it's quite brief and unimportant。 。。。more
Martin Kline
，
Debut novel by Sophie McCreesh describing an anxious young woman's downward spiral into substance abuse and alienation。 Felt pretty vapid with no real plot or interesting ideas discussed。 The conversations are all disjointed and new topics appear as non sequiturs in an attempt to mirror the chaos that come from drug abuse， but this makes for frustrating meaningless reading。 "Once More， With Feeling" is reminiscent of Bukowski， but nowhere near as well written。 As a character study it is somewhat Debut novel by Sophie McCreesh describing an anxious young woman's downward spiral into substance abuse and alienation。 Felt pretty vapid with no real plot or interesting ideas discussed。 The conversations are all disjointed and new topics appear as non sequiturs in an attempt to mirror the chaos that come from drug abuse， but this makes for frustrating meaningless reading。 "Once More， With Feeling" is reminiscent of Bukowski， but nowhere near as well written。 As a character study it is somewhat entertaining light reading。 The actions and depraved activities described are clearly meant to be shocking。 The result is more just really depressing。 The lengths that would have to be taken to find real merit in this would be long， which is clearly what happened in some MFA program。 。。。more
Ly
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This book is so cool and good I love it so much。 When I read it I feel like I'm right there with Jane and feel how she's feeling too and relate so hard with her wow。 A v raw read。 Love the way it explores the way friendships and other relationships are formed too。 Love it thank u This book is so cool and good I love it so much。 When I read it I feel like I'm right there with Jane and feel how she's feeling too and relate so hard with her wow。 A v raw read。 Love the way it explores the way friendships and other relationships are formed too。 Love it thank u 。。。more
Alanna Why
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HEAVY！ Wish there was a little bit more character/narrative development， but I think the point is that it's very much all in the subtext。 The Spice Girls concert scene knocked me out。 Super readable， despite the brutal subject matter。 3。5 stars， rounded down。 HEAVY！ Wish there was a little bit more character/narrative development， but I think the point is that it's very much all in the subtext。 The Spice Girls concert scene knocked me out。 Super readable， despite the brutal subject matter。 3。5 stars， rounded down。 。。。more
EA Douglas
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A plotless narrative novel that I actually enjoyed？！？！？！？ Must be something to do with how much I RELATE to being drunk while wanting to be an artist and living in Toronto。 #yikes #thankgodImsober BIG CONTENT WARNING: folks struggling with sobriety should read this with care！！ <3
Salty Swift
，
Deadpan writing， coke and booze and a ton of sex had by a twenty-some old Toronto woman heading for self-destruction aren’t necessarily a recipe for a good book。 What a complete waste of time。 If I could， I’d give this amateur hour zero stars。
Katherine Eliza
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Awful。 Skip this one。
Ally K
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Seems they will publish the work of anyone with an MFA these days。 Finished this book in one wasted day。 The lack of plot I can deal with， and I usually love and relate to a modern bildungsroman about young， messed up women。 （A bildungsroman it is not， with no satisfying character growth or emotional progress made。） However this just felt… off， and not grounded in reality。 Jane’s antics are clearly meant to shock， but unfortunately they mainly bore。 Coke， sex， booze， blah blah， we get it。 None o Seems they will publish the work of anyone with an MFA these days。 Finished this book in one wasted day。 The lack of plot I can deal with， and I usually love and relate to a modern bildungsroman about young， messed up women。 （A bildungsroman it is not， with no satisfying character growth or emotional progress made。） However this just felt… off， and not grounded in reality。 Jane’s antics are clearly meant to shock， but unfortunately they mainly bore。 Coke， sex， booze， blah blah， we get it。 None of this is shocking or interesting。 These scenes get incredibly repetitive and then not much else happens。 I always take issue when an author gives their characters preposterous names， that you rarely have ever heard in the wild。 A millennial （or gen z？） named Jane？ I can almost stomach that。 But KITTY？ Try “Kate” and “Lindsay” or something。 。。。more
˗ˏˋ saoudia！ ˎˊ˗
，
this novel won't be for everyone。 the same way my year of rest and relaxation and normal people>/i> aren't for everyone。 i personally enjoyed it。 i thought it was an entertaining character study。 there was no plot， just bad decisions after bad decisions， and a lot of cringe。 one thing that bothered me was the fact that the character， jane， is said to be 23 but it feels like she's 27 to 33 sometimes。 mostly because of the references （sears catalogue， spice girls）。 that's more millennial than g this novel won't be for everyone。 the same way my year of rest and relaxation and normal people>/i> aren't for everyone。 i personally enjoyed it。 i thought it was an entertaining character study。 there was no plot， just bad decisions after bad decisions， and a lot of cringe。 one thing that bothered me was the fact that the character， jane， is said to be 23 but it feels like she's 27 to 33 sometimes。 mostly because of the references （sears catalogue， spice girls）。 that's more millennial than gen z。 unless this book was set in like the early 2010s？ idk。 overall it was fun and it isnt that long to read。 。。。more
Enid Wray
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Straight off， I totally get that I am not the intended reader for this title。 I couldn’t make any sense of the cover before I started - still can’t even after 100+ pages in - so I actually read the blurb on the dust jacket （I usually try to read a title with no expectations）。I am bailing。 I just so don’t care。 Jane， our protagonist， is so self-absorbed - ‘caught up in her own ego’ - but at ⅓ of the way through there is still no art happening - nary even a mention - and certainly nothing about En Straight off， I totally get that I am not the intended reader for this title。 I couldn’t make any sense of the cover before I started - still can’t even after 100+ pages in - so I actually read the blurb on the dust jacket （I usually try to read a title with no expectations）。I am bailing。 I just so don’t care。 Jane， our protagonist， is so self-absorbed - ‘caught up in her own ego’ - but at ⅓ of the way through there is still no art happening - nary even a mention - and certainly nothing about England。 By 100 pages in pretty much nothing has happened （and it’s only just over 200 pages in length） besides me being tired of hearing about her neuroses or anxiety/paranoia or such on every bloody page， way too much time spent ingesting drugs and/or alcohol， and way way too much time talking about - or engaged in - ‘fucking’ （in bed， on a chair， in random bathrooms anywhere you might find yourself about the city）。I get the irony of the title - that Jane is devoid of ‘feeling’ about life， about anything - but that is not enough to keep me reading。 I like plot。 I like things to happen in a novel。 I like to like my characters - even when they are ‘unlikeable’。。。 and while I get that Jane has some very real struggles that she is dealing with - and the deeper connections the author is trying to make between life in the big city and Jane’s ‘disconnectedness’。。。 I have far too much on my TBR pile to keep at this one。No doubt an interesting debut， and I will watch for what she has to offer us next。 Something less ‘angsty’ perhaps that I’ll be able to sink my teeth into…。？DNF 。。。more
Winyen
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Deadpan writing， cocaine mentioned on every other page。 I don't know， maybe if you're into reading books about hot messes in the name of "honest portrayals of young self destructive women"？ Deadpan writing， cocaine mentioned on every other page。 I don't know， maybe if you're into reading books about hot messes in the name of "honest portrayals of young self destructive women"？ 。。。more
Girl Well Read
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Jane， our protagonist， is incredibly complex and extremely detached。 She is struggling to find her place in the world and seems to think that this is achieved through masochism and we are witness to her dizzying descent。 The overall conversational tone serves the novel well and the writing is solid。 But the plot is slow-moving and nothing actually happens。 McCreesh is witty and there are some clever bits， although her humour does take some getting used to。 With its arresting cover， Once More， Wi Jane， our protagonist， is incredibly complex and extremely detached。 She is struggling to find her place in the world and seems to think that this is achieved through masochism and we are witness to her dizzying descent。 The overall conversational tone serves the novel well and the writing is solid。 But the plot is slow-moving and nothing actually happens。 McCreesh is witty and there are some clever bits， although her humour does take some getting used to。 With its arresting cover， Once More， With Feeling is morose， moody， and poignant。 This book will find its niche audience and resonate with it。 。。。more
Sean Loughran
，
This book took a bit of getting into， but once I was a few chapters in， I was totally hooked。 I love deadpan and dry-wit humour， and Once More， With Feeling delivered that。 Despite not much actually happening throughout the book， I felt a compulsion to read on， and I just couldn't put it down once I got into it。 The prose is vividly descriptive， conversational， and down to earth。 The bluntness of the writing reminded me a little of Ottessa Moshfegh and Naoise Dolan。 I loved Moshfegh’s My Year of This book took a bit of getting into， but once I was a few chapters in， I was totally hooked。 I love deadpan and dry-wit humour， and Once More， With Feeling delivered that。 Despite not much actually happening throughout the book， I felt a compulsion to read on， and I just couldn't put it down once I got into it。 The prose is vividly descriptive， conversational， and down to earth。 The bluntness of the writing reminded me a little of Ottessa Moshfegh and Naoise Dolan。 I loved Moshfegh’s My Year of Rest and Relaxation and Dolan's Exciting Times， and this book has some similarities to those。The protagonist Jane was relatable in many ways， and I really enjoyed getting to know her， taking her everywhere with me as I read the book。 I felt deeply sorry for her as she seemed to struggle to find her place in the world， with a verbally abusive boyfriend and not too many friends。 Jane’s loneliness is relatable for anyone living in a big city like Toronto。 Her anxiety， depression， crippling paranoia， and constant need for validation made her more of a complex character， which overall made this a more interesting and engaging read。 It was a fantastic debut from Canadian author Sophie McCreesh。 And that cover image？ Designed by Jennifer Griffiths。 I freaking love it！ Avocado Diaries 。。。more
Hannah Duerr
，
*4。5
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Once More, with Feeling
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Once More, with Feeling&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft