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Quartet by Jean Rhys
“There she was and there she stayed. Gradually passivity replaced her early adventurousness. She learned, after long and painstaking effort, to talk like a chorus girl, to dress like a chorus girl and to think like a chorus girl – up to a point. Beyond that point she remained apart, lonely, frightened of her loneliness,…
1920s, 20th century, 3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, affairs, age gap, ALIENATION, atmospheric, bad love, beautiful prose, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, british dominican author, caribbean author, class, cold tone, ennui, female authors, FRANCE, HISTORICAL FICTION, jealousy, Jean Rhys, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, MARRIAGE, melancholy, My reviews, obsession, Paris, prison, psychological, published in 1928, quartet, read in 2022, reading, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, strong sense of place, the female malaise, toxic relationships -
Monster in the Middle by Tiphanie Yanique
A week or so before reading Monster in the Middle I read Tiphanie Yanique’s debut short story collection, Land of Love and Drowning, which I rather enjoyed. I remember being struck by Yanique ’s atmospheric storytelling, by her subtle use of irony, and by her thoughtful meditations on death, love, and everything in between. So,…
1980s, 1990s, 2 STARS, 2000s, 2010s, Adult, affairs, America, American, belonging, bi side characters, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Caribbean, caribbean author, cheating, Christianity, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), family, FAMILY SAGA, female authors, Ghana, illness, incest-y, interconnected stories, intergenerational, ISLAND, lgbtq+ side, MARRIAGE, mental health, Monster in the Middle, My reviews, NEW YORK, pandemic, published in 2022, read in 2022, reading, Religion, Saint Thomas, Saint Thomas authors, schizophrenia, sex, sexual assault/abuse/rape, social issues, Tiphanie Yanique, travel, U.S. Virgin Islands authors -
How to Escape from a Leper Colony: A Novella and Stories by Tiphanie Yanique
“Who wants to be the one in the Bible always getting cured? We want to be the heroes, too. We want to be like Jesus. Or like Shiva. Or like whomever you pray to.” How to Escape from a Leper Colony presents readers with a collection of interconnected tales that are a blend between the…
2000s, 20th century, Adult, America, atmospheric, belonging, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Caribbean, caribbean author, Christianity, collection of short stories, Contemporary, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), family, female authors, gay side characters, HISTORICAL FICTION, How to Escape from a Leper Colony, illness, intergenerational, ISLAND, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, Longing, MAGICAL REALISM, My reviews, published in 2010, read in 2022, reading, Religion, Saint Thomas, Saint Thomas authors, sea, short stories, summer reads, Tiphanie Yanique, U.S. Virgin Islands authors -
Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon
As per usual I was drawn to a book because I found its cover cute. The novel itself has plenty of cute moments, however, various elements prevented me from truly appreciating it. Before her parents’ separation 17-year-old Evie Thomas was a lover of romance and a believer in happy-ever-afters. When she becomes aware that her…
1st pov, 3 STARS, affairs, America, American, ANGST, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, caribbean author, coming of age, Contemporary, dancing, DEATH, drama, f/f side, female authors, forgiveness, Instructions for Dancing, jamaican american author, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+ side, MAGICAL REALISM, My reviews, Nicola Yoon, published in 2021, queer side characters, read in 2021, reading, summer reads, YOUNG ADULT -
How to Love a Jamaican by Alexia Arthurs
How to Love a Jamaican: Stories is a promising debut collection that focuses on the Jamaican diasporic experience, highlighting cultural and generational differences and providing us with some wonderfully realized vignettes. Alexia Arthurs’ prose is engaging, unsentimental yet lyrical, and she’s fully able to bring the places she’s writing of—be it America or Jamaica—to life.…
3.25 stars, Adult, America, American, bi side characters, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Caribbean, caribbean author, class, collection of short stories, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), family, female authors, intergenerational, jamaica, jamaican, jamaican american author, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, migration/immigration, My reviews, published in 2018, read in 2021, reading, short stories -
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
Felix Ever After is a refreshing, relevant, validating and super-inclusive YA novel. This also happens to be one of the few YA books (the only other one I can think of is Camp by Lev A.C. Rosen) that focuses exclusively on queer teens (there a few straight parents in the background). Kacen Callender’s portrayal of…
1st pov, 3.75 stars, America, American, ANGST, ART/CREATIVITY, ARTISTS, Black & Black heritage authors, caribbean author, coming of age, drama, fathers & sons, Felix Ever After, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, friendships, gender identity, HIGH SCHOOL, Kacen Callender, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, m/m, NEW YORK, published in 2020, queer, read in 2020, ROMANCE, Saint Thomian author, SEXUALITY, Summer, summer reads, TRANSGENDER, YOUNG ADULT -
Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid
“Everything I could see looked unreal to me; everything I could see made me feel I would never be part of it, never penetrate to the inside, never be taken in.” From the very first page, I was enthralled by Lucy’s deceptively simple narration. To begin with, I was struck by the clarity of her…
1980s, 1st pov, 20th century, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, Adult, ALIENATION, ambiguous protagonist, America, Antiguan author, beautiful prose, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Caribbean, caribbean author, class, CLASSICS, cold tone, coming of age, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, female authors, GRIEF, identity, introspective, ISLAND, Jamaica Kincaid, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, Lucy, MEMORY, migration/immigration, modern classics, mothers & daughters, My reviews, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, Postcolonial, psychological, published in 1990, queer undercurrents, RACE, re-reads, read in 2020, read in 2021, read in 2022, reading, SEXUALITY, sitter/au pair/governess, the female malaise, unnamed country, VILLETTE -
Afterlife by Julia Alvarez — book review
Afterlife is a slim novel that covers many topical and important issues, like mental health, in a not always satisfactory way. Alvarez’s style was at times a detriment to her story. While I could have moved past the lack of quotations, I had a harder time buying into the recursive narration. I sort of understood…
3 STARS, Adult, afterlife, America, American, Caribbean, caribbean author, Contemporary, Dominican American author, dominican republic, family, female authors, GRIEF, Julia Alvarez, LITERARY FICTION, MARRIAGE, mental health, migration/immigration, published in 2020, read in 2020, SISTERS, social issues, Vermont, widows -
Everything Inside: Stories by Edwidge Danticat
“The difference between her and them was as stark as the gulf between those who’d escaped a catastrophe unscathed and others who’d been forever mutilated by it.” This was such a wonderful and poignant collection of short stories.In a interview on LitHub Edwige Danticat said that one of the reasons why she loves the short…
4.5 STARS, affairs, ALIENATION, America, Black & Black heritage authors, Caribbean, caribbean author, CHILDHOOD, class, collection of short stories, Contemporary, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), Edwidge Danticat, Everything Inside: Stories, family, female authors, FLORIDA, friendships, GENDER, GRIEF, HAITI, haitian author, identity, illness, ISLAND, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, mental health, migration/immigration, motherhood, mothers & daughters, published in 2019, RACE, re-reads, READ IN 2019, read in 2020, short stories, unnamed country
luce [is reading] 