Love Me Back

By: Merritt Tierce

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld

Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

From "5 Under 35" honoree and Rona Jaffe Award-winner Merritt Tierce comes an urgent, intensely visceral debut novel about a young waitress whose downward spiral is narrated in electric prose.

Marie, a young single mother, lands a job at an upscale Dallas steakhouse. She is preternaturally attuned to the appetites of her patrons, but quickly learns to hide her private struggle behind an easy smile and a crisp white apron. In a world of long hours and late nights, where everything runs on a currency of favors, cash, and cachet, Marie gives in to brutally self-destructive impulses. She loses herself in a tangle of bodies and the kind of coke that "napalms your emotional synapses". But obliteration - not pleasure - is her goal. Pulsing with fierce, almost feral energy, Love Me Back is an unapologetic portrait of a woman cutting a precarious path through early adulthood. In the words of Ben Fountain, author of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, "Tierce roams like an avenging angel across the landscape of 21st century American decadence, and the truths she writes achieve a state of near-sacred subversion."

©2014 Merritt Tierce (P)2014 Recorded Books

Honest and real

I loved the truth of this woman. This character is so hard working but pretty unloving towards herself. She’s a raw and unvarnished struggling human. It’s mostly a story that follows her inner dialog and about how a life can go sideways because of an unplanned pregnancy and a religious cage. It doesn’t make such a clear connection but it’s clear enough. You can’t help but wonder when and why she got so derailed and what she could have been if her pregnancy had not happened. She works like a super successful person but her life was crippled so she’s stuck. I’m looking forward to the authors next novel!

Powerful.

If you could sum up Love Me Back in three words, what would they be?

Powerful, great writing, great narrator, disturbing.

What other book might you compare Love Me Back to and why?

I can't think of one.

Which character – as performed by Saskia Maarleveld – was your favorite?

Marie

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. Too powerful. I had to take it in smaller doses.

Any additional comments?

I can't praise the narrator enough.

Read this book, don't listen to it.

The writing is incredible but the 'performance' of the reading doesn't do it justice even though it's the author narrating. In most cases narration doesn't live up to how we imagine. In some cases narration is performed in a way that adds incredible nuance and drama. Worst case scenario the narration gets in the way of the words on the page. The stories in this book are funny, gritty, truthful and deliciously painful. Let your imagination do the heavy lifting on this one and eschew the narration.

moves like a bobsled

this book moves like a bobsled down a narrative that will leave you thinking about the little decisions we make every day.

Riveting Book!

I wasn’t sure what I thought of this novel at first. Some of the explicit passages made me a little uncomfortable. I will admit I cringed a bit and almost abandoned it. But, reviews were so great and I was really impressed by the author in her recent NYT essay, so I decided to stay with it. I am so glad I did. The story gains momentum from start to finish and I found myself carving out time to listen as much as possible. The main character was a very real and complex person. The narration was perfect. I also gained some insight into the world of employees in restaurants. I will definitely work to tighten up my ordering style in the future. I may be there to relax over a meal, but my server is there to earn a living. I understand our compact better after reading this book. Truly a wonderful novel and I recommend it to everyone - especially if it makes you uncomfortable from time to time.

Dark & Painful To Read

The way the story loops and the inconsistent use of the character referring to her child in the first person and then in the second person with a story that never seems to go anywhere becomes exhausting. Tierce’s writing lingers long in the memory with the question of "what is the point, when is this going to lead to something meaningful?" At times Tierce's writing is beautiful and you are hopeful it will continue, but the character's love for her innocent child and the joy of breastfeeding wrapped into the meaningless, graphic sex encounters and drug use centered around Texas restaurants may leave you queasy.

Don't love this book

I really am rather confused as to what any aspect of this book was about other than promiscuity, serving and incessant drug use. There was really no plot and any feelings you feel for the main character you quickly lose because there's just really no coming back for her nor is there a reason for the things she does. This crappy review might be more descriptive than the book itself.