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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 -
The Night Eaters, Vol. 1: She Eats the Night by Marjorie M. Liu and Sana Takeda
Intrigued by the title and cover of this latest graphic novel by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda, I decided to give it a shot despite not being a fan of ‘Monstress’. Sadly, it seems that this creative duo is just not for me. In She Eats the Night we follow twins and restaurant co-owners, Milly…
2 STARS, Adult, America, asian american, asian diaspora, bars & restaurants, Contemporary, FANTASY, Graphic Novels, haunted house, hawaii, hong kong, HORROR, ISLAND, JAPANESE AUTHOR, monsters, PARANORMAL, published in 2022, read in 2022, Sana Takeda, Sequential Art, She Eats the Night, siblings, Taiwanese American Author, The Night Eaters, twins, URBAN FANTASY -
White Horse by Erika T. Wurth
The story and themes in White Horse were promising enough, their execution however ultimately is somewhat of a letdown. That is not to say that White Horse is not worth reading as I do think that it does have value in terms of entertainment and in its discussions of trauma, self-destructiveness, and survival. Our narrator…
1st pov, Adult, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Apache Chickasaw Cherokee author, bars & restaurants, colorado, Contemporary, dead girls, Denver, disabilities, Erika T. Wurth, female authors, female friendships, friendships, ghosts/spirits, GRIEF, gritty aesthetics, hauntings, HORROR, indigenous, indigenous author, literary references, mothers & daughters, MURDER, MYSTERY, native american & first nation, Native American & First Nation authors, PARANORMAL, published in 2022, read in 2022, self-destructive, survival, SUSPENSE, THRILLER, trauma, White Horse -
Nuclear Family by Joseph Han
Nuclear Family is a family drama characterized by a gritty realism & tragicomedy tone, that will definitely appeal to fans of dysfunctional families such as the ones you can find in books such as Kirstin Valdez Quade’s The Five Wounds or, series like Shameless, or films such as Everything Everywhere All at Once . While…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, America, asian american, asian diaspora, bars & restaurants, belonging, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, drama, family, gay, ghosts/spirits, GUILT, hawaii, illness, intergenerational, ISLAND, Joseph Han, Korea, korean american author, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, MAGICAL REALISM, male authors, migration/immigration, north korea, Nuclear Family, published in 2022, read in 2022, siblings -
Writers & Lovers by Lily King
“I don’t write because I think I have something to say. I write because if I don’t, everything feels even worse.” In Writers & Lovers, Lily King portrays an intimate and profoundly heartfelt slice of life that brims with wry humor and precise observations on grief, loneliness, identity, and creativity. This is truly a gem…
1990s, 1st pov, 20th century, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, Adult, age gap, America, American, anxiety, bars & restaurants, beautiful prose, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about books, books about writers, BOOKS ON WRITING, BOSTON, DEATH, ennui, female authors, gay side characters, GRIEF, introspective, it’s about the *yearning*, lgbtq+ side, Lily King, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, love triangle, Massachusetts, mental health, My reviews, psychological, published in 2020, re-reads, read in 2021, read in 2022, reading, ROMANCE, she is not feeling good at all, SLICE OF LIFE, Summer, summer reads, teachers, the female malaise, uplifting reads, work culture, Writers & Lovers