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The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy
“I think a lot of people would elect to be dead if they didnt have to die.” By turns, blunt and meandering The Passenger presents its readers with an unsparing tale permeated by existential angst. Cormac McCarthy’s prose is uncompromising: much of the narrative consists of dialogues: rambling conversations, mystifying backwards and forwards, sharp repartees, […]
1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 3rd pov, 4 STARS, addiction, ageing, ALIENATION, ambiguous protagonist, ambivalent mood, America, atmospheric, bad love, bars & restaurants, Cormac McCarthy, dead girls, DEATH, desire, dialogue heavy, endless monologues, existentialism, experimental, feverish, FLORIDA, GRIEF, grit lit, GUILT, hallucinations, hauntings, history, i don’t think happiness is for me, Ibiza, Idaho, incest, introspective, ISLAND, Kafkaesque, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, literary references, Longing, Louisiana, madness, MEMORY, mental health, Mississippi, morality, MYSTERY, nature, New Orleans, no plot just vibes, no quotations marks, obsession, paranoia, philosophical, PSYCHIATRISTS & THERAPISTS, psychological, psychology, published in 2022, read in 2022, road trip, schizophrenia, science, scientists & co, sea, siblings, Southern America, spain, suicide, survival, terrific prose, The Passenger, tragedy, trans side characters, war, western -
Are You Happy Now by Hanna Jameson
“That this was the trade-off. The price of happiness. In order to feel happy he had to feel everything.” A quietly crushing yet devastatingly tender work scintillating with insight and emotional intelligence. With acuity and empathy Hanna Jameson presents her readers with a captivating narrative chronicling four people’s attempts at happiness despite a looming health […]
3rd pov, 4.5 STARS, Adult, adulthood, age gap, ALIENATION, ambivalent mood, America, anxiety, Are You Happy Now, atmospheric, bad love, beautiful prose, belonging, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, British author, contemporary malaise, dancers, DEATH, DEPRESSION, desire, divorce/separations, ennui, female authors, first love, gay, Hanna Jameson, heartbreak/breakups, i don’t think happiness is for me, identity, illness, introspective, it’s about the *yearning*, jealousy, journalism, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, m/m, male friendships, melancholy, mental health, musicians, near future/alternate reality, NEW YORK, pandemic, psychological, published in 2023, queer, read in 2022, restrained prose, right person wrong time, ROMANCE, self-destructive, SEXUALITY, SPECULATIVE FICTION, strong sense of place, suicide, trauma, unrequited love, wedding drama, work culture -
The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett
Quietly meditative yet incredibly evocative. I find it difficult to pick favorites when it comes to Patchett’s work but The Magician’s Assistant has my heart. Published in 1997 Ann Patchett’s third novel, The Magician’s Assistant is her most underrated work to date. Like with any other novel that I hold dear to my heart, I […]
1990s, 3rd pov, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, abuse, Adult, aids/hiv, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, ANN PATCHETT, atmospheric, beautiful prose, California, Contemporary, DEATH, dreamlike quality, Dreams, f/f, favourite authors, female authors, friendships, gay side characters, GRIEF, illness, introspective, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, Longing, los angeles, m/m side, MAGIC, MAGICAL REALISM, magicians, melancholy, MEMORY, Nebraska, published in 1997, queer, re-reads, read in 2016, read in 2017, read in 2022, restrained prose, sapphic, SLICE OF LIFE, SMALL TOWN, strong sense of place, The Magician's Assistant, travel, unrequited love, WINTER -
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
“It felt scary, as if she were stepping across some invisible boundary, as if she might not know herself afterward. As if she were becoming the self she’d always thought lurked just underneath her skin. Her coolest possible self.” The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is very much old-school Holly Black: edgy aesthetics, gritty/snarky dialogues, and […]
3.25 stars, 3rd pov, Adult, adventure, age gap, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, balls, bi side characters, DEATH, drama, dystopia, FANTASY, favourite authors, female authors, gritty aesthetics, HOLLY BLACK, HORROR, it’s about the *aesthetics*, lgbtq+ side, monsters, no plot just vibes, PARANORMAL, published in 2013, queer side characters, re-reads, read in 2013, read in 2022, revenge, road trip, ROMANCE, SPECULATIVE FICTION, survival, The Coldest Girl, trans side characters, URBAN FANTASY, VAMPIRES, violence, YOUNG ADULT -
Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón
Lighting does indeed strike twice and so does Ava Limón’s poetry. This past summer I was very much taken by Limón’s latest collection, The Hurting Kind, so much so that I was keen to make my way through her backlist. In Bright Dead Things Limón showcases not only her skill for language, but her ability […]
1st pov, Ada Limón, Adult, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, beauty, belonging, Bright Dead Things, Contemporary, DEATH, environmental, female authors, female poet, GRIEF, Kentucky, language, latin american diaspora, latinx author, lgbtq+, Longing, lyrical prose, melancholy, MEMORY, nature, NEW YORK, Nonfiction, nostalgic reads, POETRY, published in 2015 -
Tell Me I’m an Artist by Chelsea Martin
Restrained yet acutely realistic, Tell Me I’m An Artist presents its readers with the unfinished portrait of an artist as a young woman. Throughout the course of this novel, we read of the trials and tribulations of an art school student Joey, who attempts to reconcile herself with a new existence in San Francisco. She […]
1st pov, 3.5 STARS, academia, addiction, Adult, ALIENATION, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, anxiety, ART/CREATIVITY, ARTISTS, atmospheric, California, campus, Chelsea Martin, class, coming of age, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, ennui, female authors, films, friendships, GUILT, identity, introspective, jealousy, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, mumblecore, navel gazing, no plot just vibes, PRIVILEGE, published in 2022, read in 2022, restrained prose, san francisco, SISTERS, Tell Me I'm an Artist, the female malaise, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE -
Ghost Music by An Yu
“Solitude is tolerable, even enjoyable at times. But when you realise that you’ve given your life to someone, yet you know nothing but his name? That kind of solitude is loneliness. That’s what kills you.” Not having had the best experience with An Yu’s Braised Pork I was intrigued but wary of this second novel […]
3.25 stars, Adult, ambiguous protagonist, ambivalent mood, An Yu, atmospheric, Beijing, China, chinese author, cold tone, Contemporary, divorce/separations, dreamlike quality, Dreams, female authors, feverish, Ghost Music, ghosts/spirits, hauntings, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, MAGICAL REALISM, MARRIAGE, melancholy, MEMORY, music, musicians, navel gazing, no plot just vibes, psychological, published in 2023, read in 2022, restrained prose, surreal, weird -
The Hurting Kind: Poems by Ada Limón
“How funny that I called it love and the whole time it was pain.” The Hurting Kind is a dazzling collection. Ada Limón’s poems are luminous, and I was struck more than once by her ability to espouse a graceful language with such vivid imagery. Limón has proved that I am not only able to […]
4 STARS, Ada Limón, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, beauty, belonging, environmental, female authors, female poet, GRIEF, language, latin american diaspora, latinx author, Longing, lyrical prose, melancholy, MEMORY, nature, Nonfiction, nostalgic reads, POETRY, published in 2022, read in 2022, summer reads, The Hurting Kind, uplifting reads -
Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez
“You have something of mine, I passed on something of me to you, and hopefully it isn’t cursed, I don’t know if I can leave you something that isn’t dirty, that isn’t dark, our share of night” Although I have previously quoted Lady Gaga’s iconic “talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, […]
1980s, 1990s, 4 STARS, abuse, Adult, ALIENATION, all of the trigger warnings, argentina, argentinian author, atmospheric, big books, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, boyhood, child abuse, CHILDHOOD, coming of age, creepy setting, cults, dark, DEATH, england, FANTASY, fathers & sons, female authors, friendships, gay side characters, graphic content, GRIEF, grotesque, growing up, GUILT, haunted house, HISTORICAL FICTION, HORROR, illness, latin america, lgbtq+, loneliness, Mariana Enríquez, missing girls, missing persons, morality, occult, orphans, otherness, Our Share of Night, parallel universes, PARANORMAL, POWERS, published in 2019, queer, read in 2022, road trip, sexual assault/abuse/rape, strong sense of place, summer reads, SUPERNATURAL, toxic relationships, tragedy, TRANSLATED FICTION, trauma, unrequited love, violence -
Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe
“Our friendships started with “What’s your name?” The answer carried with it looks that I can still see clearly: Stacia’s begged me not to talk to her, and Tonya’s asked, “Is she talking to me?!” We got past those facial expressions and gave our names. Names that sound like heartbeats: Fe Fe, Precious, Stacia, Tonya.” […]
1990s, 20th century, 4 STARS, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, Black & Black heritage authors, Chicago, CHILDHOOD, Christianity, coming of age, family, female authors, female friendships, friendships, girlhood, growing up, Illinois, Last Summer on State Street, lyrical prose, missing girls, missing persons, RACE, read in 2022, Religion, siblings, social issues, strong sense of place, summer reads, Toya Wolfe, violence against women, YOUNG ADULT, youth
luce [is reading] 