Discover an honest and provocative review of The Pisces by Melissa Broder — a darkly funny, emotionally raw novel exploring obsession, loneliness, and desire through a surreal love story.
The Pisces By Melissa Broder
Book Review: The Pisces By Melissa Broder
Introduction – When love becomes a thirst and loneliness an addiction
Have you ever felt that you are losing yourself in the search for love? That your feelings become so intense that they eat you from the inside? Melissa Broder’s “The Pisces” is one such story – of desire, loneliness and self-struggle.
This book is completely different from traditional love stories. There is neither an ideal lover nor a fairy-tale happy ending. This is a story of broken hearts, scattered thoughts and the gap where love and madness touch each other.
Main Character – Lucy
The heroine of the story is Lucy – a woman writing an incomplete thesis, unstable, emotionally entangled, and trying to recover from her recent breakup.
Her relationship is over, but she can’t get over the broken love. She wants love, the kind that touches her, the kind that kisses her, the kind that wants her all the time. But whatever she does, that thirst only deepens her thirst.
Plot – A sea of emotions, with a water creature
After the breakup, Lucy moves into a beach house in Los Angeles at her sister’s behest. There she takes care of her dog and spends some time with a therapy group – where all the women talk about unrequited desires and unfulfilled relationships.
Along the way, she meets Theo – who is not just a human, but a merman. Yes, literally. He lives underwater, but touches Lucy’s heart deeply.
Lucy’s relationship with Theo is not just physical – she sees in him the hope of escaping loneliness, the yearning for childhood, and the desire to lose herself.
Theme – Not love, but hunger
The real theme of “The Pisces” is not love, but thirst for love. Lucy doesn’t love anyone — she wants someone to love her so much that she drowns in her own emotional depths.
Her emotional hunger, her sexual predilections, self-destructive behaviors, and repeated attempts to devalue herself all lead her to a place where there’s no turning back.
Mental health and the battle with self
Lucy’s character is so raw and honest that it hurts at times. She repeatedly makes bad decisions, loses control of her emotions, and gets involved in relationships that leave her even more empty.
Melissa Broder touches on topics like depression, anxiety, codependency, and emotional self-harm in a sensitive yet fearless way.
Writing Style – Dagger of Poetry
Melissa Broder is a poet herself, and this is reflected in her writing. In The Pisces, her words sometimes become sharp arrows, and sometimes waves of emotions that sweep the reader away.
She talks about sensitive topics like sex, loneliness, addiction, and love without any veils or sweet words. This book may make you uncomfortable — but in the same way the truth does.
Theo – was he real?
The most mysterious character in the book is Theo. He is a merman, but symbolically he is so much more:
He is a reflection of Lucy’s feelings – full of depth, mystery, and imperfection.
He is the illusion of ideal love – beautiful on the surface, but not breathing underwater.
And perhaps it is also a warning – that when we get so attached to someone that we lose ourselves, the end is not love, but drowning.
End – An ocean of love, or the depths of nothingness?
The end of “The Pisces” does not come like a film climax. It does not give you an answer, but leaves many questions within you:
Did Lucy really love Theo, or was she just running away from herself?
Did Theo really exist, or was it just her illusion?
Does love come from finding someone else, or from understanding oneself?
The reader has to find the answers to these questions himself – and perhaps this is the biggest quality of this novel.
Highlights of the book
Honest presentation of mental health and the depths of love.
Bold portrayal of female desires.
Sensitive discussion of contemporary feminism and sexual freedom.
Language full of emotional honesty.
Unique blend of reality and fantasy.
Weaknesses (if any)
Sexual content of the book may be uncomfortable for some readers.
The ending of the story is ambiguous, which may leave many feeling incomplete.
This book is not for everyone — it is for readers who are not afraid of emotional depth and introspection.
Conclusion – The tale of a troubled soul
“The Pisces” is not just a love story. It is the story of a woman’s thirst, her confusion, her loss and her search for herself. This book may disturb you, but if you have the courage to look at the truth, this book will stir something deep inside you.
Last Words
“Sometimes, what stretches us the most — can also sink us the deepest.”
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