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Soledad by Angie Cruz
“Could it be that that’s just the way things go between people? Irreconcilable differences, which can’t really be explained or solved.” What could have been a polyphonic tragicomedy exploring trauma, abusive and dysfunctional relationships, generational and cultural divides, sex, love, and desire, is let down by a cast of cartoonish characters, repetitive dialogues and interactions,…
1990s, 2000s, 20th century, abuse, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, adolescence, Adult, America, Angie Cruz, Contemporary, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), Dominican American author, dominican republic, drama, Dreams, family, female authors, girlhood, grandmothers, illness, intergenerational, jealousy, latin america, latin american, latin american diaspora, latinx author, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+ side, MAGICAL REALISM, MELODRAMA, men who are sleazy, migration/immigration, motherhood, mothers & daughters, navel gazing, NEW YORK, no quotations marks, published in 2001, read in 2023, sex, sex scenes that are yikes, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SEXUALITY, Soledad, style over character, trauma, trying and failing @ feminism, unrequited love, womanhood/femininity -
A Carnivore’s Inquiry by Sabina Murray
“This is what exploration had opened up the door to. Not only widespread slaughter, but the necessary accompaniment of gorging.” Unapologetically solipsistic and deeply manipulative, Katherine, the central character of A Carnivore’s Inquiry, makes for an awful human being and a deeply entertaining narrator. A predecessor to Ottessa Moshfegh and Mona Awad’s protagonists, and many…
1st pov, 2000s, 4 STARS, A Carnivore's Inquiry, A Carnivore's Inquiry by Sabina Murray, Adult, affairs, age gap, ALIENATION, ambiguous protagonist, ambivalent mood, America, ART/CREATIVITY, books about writers, cannibalism, cheating, class, cold tone, colonialism, Contemporary, dark, dark humor, desire, ennui, female authors, feverish, filipino american author, GOTHIC, history, HORROR, introspective, Italy, LITERARY FICTION, literary references, madness, maine, Mexico, modern gothic, MURDER, MYSTERY, navel gazing, NEW YORK, no plot just vibes, otherness, PRIVILEGE, psychological, Psychological thriller, psychopaths, published in 2004, read in 2023, rich people, road trip, Sabina Murray, satire, self-destructive, serial killers, she is dangerous, she is not feeling good at all, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, SUSPENSE, terrific prose, the female malaise, travel, unreliable narrators, violence, womanhood/femininity -
LaRose by Louise Erdrich
“They spoke in both languages. We love you, don’t cry. Sorrow eats time. Be patient. Time eats sorrow.” Unsparing yet profoundly touching LaRose chronicles the aftermath of a tragic accident: it’s 1999, when, on a reservation in North Dakota, Landreaux Iron, hunting for a deer near his property, accidentally shoots and kills Dusty, the 5-year-old…
1830s, 1990s, 19TH CENTURY, 2000s, 20th century, 3rd pov, 4.5 STARS, abuse, addiction, Adult, America, bullying, CHILDHOOD, Christianity, coming of age, Contemporary, DEATH, DEPRESSION, family, FAMILY SAGA, female authors, forgiveness, friendships, generational trauma, ghosts/spirits, great storytelling, GRIEF, gritty realism, growing up, GUILT, indigenous, indigenous author, intergenerational, LaRose, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Louise Erdrich, MAGICAL REALISM, MARRIAGE, mental health, native american & first nation, Native American & First Nation authors, nature, no quotations marks, north dakota, Ojibwe/Chippewa, Ojibwe/Chippewa author, polyphonic, published in 2016, read in 2022, Religion, reservations, revenge, school setting, sexual assault/abuse/rape, siblings, social issues, strong sense of place, suicide, toxic relationships, tragedy, trauma, unrequited love -
A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing: A Memoir Across Three Continents by Mary-Alice Daniel
Drawn by its stunning title & cover, I requested an arc for A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing. For some reason or other I ended up neglecting to read it but at long last decided to give it a try, and I’m really glad that I did get round to it. Written with clarity and…
1990s, 2000s, 3.5 STARS, A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing, A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing: A Memoir Across Three Continents, Adult, America, belonging, biography, Black & Black heritage authors, black diaspora, CHILDHOOD, Christianity, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, elementary school, england, family, female authors, generational trauma, girlhood, growing up, HIGH SCHOOL, history, identity, Islam, language, Mary-Alice Daniel, MEMOIR, MEMORY, migration/immigration, Nigeria, nigerian american author, Nonfiction, otherness, published in 2022, RACE, read in 2022, Religion, school setting, snapshots, social issues, story within a story -
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Usually, when I read a book I know how I feel about it—whether I loved it, really liked it, thought it was just okay, or disliked it—and I have an idea of how to articulate my feelings. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is one of those rare books that has me really torn up and…
1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 20th century, 3 STARS, abortion/miscarriage/bodily autonomy, academia, Adult, age gap, America, anxiety, asian american, big books, books that make me mad, California, cambridge (us), class, coming of age, Contemporary, DEATH, DEPRESSION, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), disabilities, drama, female authors, friendships, Gabrielle Zevin, gay side characters, GRIEF, growing up, GUILT, Harvard, HISTORICAL FICTION, horrible friends, Jewish, korean american author, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, los angeles, m/m side, Massachusetts, mental health, nostalgic reads, Not Like Other Girls, orphans, published in 2022, queer side characters, ROMANCE, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, toxic relationships, trauma, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, unrequited love, videogames, work culture -
If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery
“I’d be able to move out of my car and rent my own apartment; I could live like a fully formed twenty-first-century North American human. I needed this.” Being a big fan of collections of short stories following the same character/s, I was keen to read If I Survive You. Each chapter in this debut…
1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 20th century, 3 STARS, Adult, adulthood, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, belonging, Black & Black heritage authors, black diaspora, brothers, Caribbean, CHILDHOOD, collection of short stories, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), drama, family, fathers & sons, FLORIDA, gritty realism, growing up, HIGH SCHOOL, homelessness, HUMOR, interconnected stories, intergenerational, jamaica, Jonathan Escoffery, LITERARY FICTION, male authors, masculinity, Miami, migration/immigration, music band, natural disasters, PRIVILEGE, published in 2022, RACE, read in 2022, satire, short stories, snapshots, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, work culture -
Calling for a Blanket Dance by Oscar Hokeah
Calling for a Blanket Dance employs one of my (recent) favorite literary ‘techniques’, which consists in using the short-story format to tell an overarching story. A few weeks before reading this I read Morgan Talty’s Night of the Living Rez, which also used the short-story format to tell a young man’s coming-of-age. Unlike that title,…
1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 20th century, 3.5 STARS, addiction, Adult, America, belonging, Calling for a Blanket Dance, Cherokee Kiowa Mexican author, CHILDHOOD, collection of short stories, Contemporary, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), disabilities, family, fatherhood, gritty realism, growing up, indigenous, indigenous author, interconnected stories, intergenerational, LITERARY FICTION, male authors, MEMORY, native american & first nation, Native American & First Nation authors, Oklahoma, Oscar Hokeah, parenting, polyphonic, Poverty, published in 2022, RACE, read in 2022, reservations, short stories, siblings, snapshots, social issues, trauma -
Dead-End Memories: Stories by Banana Yoshimoto
“And yet, when I traveled to other cities, I always found that a view without a river was of no interest to me at all. Perhaps that was because the inherent stillness of my nature made me crave the sight of things that moved.” Whenever I am in a reading slump or going through a…
1st pov, 2000s, 3 STARS, Adult, Banana Yoshimoto, collection of short stories, Contemporary, Dead-End Memories, Dead-End Memories: Stories, dreamlike quality, Dreams, female authors, ghosts/spirits, GRIEF, heartbreak/breakups, incest-y, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, loneliness, Longing, melancholy, MEMORY, nature, navel gazing, nostalgic reads, published in 2003, read in 2022, short stories, SLICE OF LIFE, surreal -
The Other Mother by Rachel M. Harper
“Yes, of course. It is always him they want to know about—the father, not the other mother.” The Other Mother is an affecting and nuanced multigenerational tale unearthing long-buried family histories. The author’s interrogation of motherhood challenges the heteronormative archetype of the nuclear family, as she focuses on the experiences, choices, and parenting of single-women…
1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, addiction, Adult, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, break-ups, campus, Contemporary, drama, f/f, family, FAMILY SAGA, fathers & daughters, female authors, FLORIDA, forgiveness, gay, grandfathers, GRIEF, heartbreak/breakups, identity, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, Longing, Miami, motherhood, mothers & sons, musicians, My reviews, New England, parenting, Providence, published in 2022, queer, Rachel M. Harper, read in 2022, reading, rhode island, siblings, The Other Mother, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, unrequited love -
Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America by Laila Lalami
Drawing from her own experiences as a Moroccan immigrant living in the States, in Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America Laila Lalami presents us with an impassioned and thoughtful social commentary. With piercing clarity, she touches upon Islamophobia, xenophobia, racism, and sexism. She reflects on the many flaws and conditions of citizenship, specifically American citizenship,…
1st pov, 2000s, 2010s, 4 STARS, America, American dream, belonging, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about writers, Conditional Citizens, Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America, cultural dissonance, ESSAYS, female authors, history, identity, Islam, Laila Lalami, MEMOIR, migration/immigration, Moroccan American author, morocco, Nonfiction, politics, published in 2020, RACE, read in 2022, reading, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues
luce [is reading] 