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The Human Zoo by Sabina Murray
Written with compelling self-assurance The Human Zoo focuses on Ting, a Filipino-American journalist in her late forties whose marriage is close to collapse. Ting decides to go to Manila, where she seeks refuge in her Tita Rosa’s house, who still dotes on her like she was a child. Ting’s motivations for this journey are ambiguous,…
1st pov, 4 STARS, Adult, affairs, ambivalent mood, atmospheric, books about writers, class, colonialism, Contemporary, DEATH, divorce/separations, female authors, filipino american author, gay side characters, history, identity, introspective, journalism, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, navel gazing, philippines, place as character, politics, PRIVILEGE, psychological, published in 2022, queer side characters, re-reads, read in 2022, read in 2023, rich people, Sabina Murray, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues, strong sense of place, The Human Zoo, trans side characters -
Stories from the Tenants Downstairs by Sidik Fofana
In this wonderfully polyphonic collection of short stories, Sidik Fofana explores the everyday realities and struggles experienced by the Black residents of a high-rise in Harlem. The unrelenting push of gentrification and the looming threat of eviction sees this cast of characters struggling to keep up with their rents and to stay afloat. As they…
3.5 STARS, Adult, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, class, collection of short stories, Contemporary, conversational style, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), gay side characters, gritty realism, Harlem, interconnected stories, lgbtq+ side, male authors, morality, NEW YORK, no quotations marks, place as character, Poverty, PRIVILEGE, published in 2022, RACE, read in 2023, short stories, Sidik Fofana, social issues, Stories from the Tenants Downstairs, strong sense of place, survival, work culture -
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 -
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
“It seemed to me that in this confluence of cultures, we had acquired one another’s superstitions without necessarily any of their comforts.” A few years back I read and was positutely grossed out by Yangsze Choo’s The Night Tiger as I found its male love interest to be both a perv & bully. Thankfully, Yangsze…
1890s, 19TH CENTURY, 1st pov, Adult, adventure, afterlife, chinese myths, class, colonialism, dead boys, DEMONS, DRAGONS, drama, FANTASY, female authors, FOLKLORE, ghosts/spirits, girls hating girls, HISTORICAL FICTION, love triangle, Malaysia, Malaysian author, myths, PARANORMAL, published in 2013, read in 2022, ROMANCE, spirit realm, SUPERNATURAL, The Ghost Bride, Yangsze Choo -
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 -
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 -
All This I Will Give to You by Dolores Redondo
“There’s a type of open grief that’s public, one of tears and mourning; and there’s another, immense and silent, that is a million times more powerful.” Initially, the premise for All This I Will Give to You intrigued me and I was gripped by the story’s tragic momentum. Manuel, a bestselling author, receives a visit…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, All This I Will Give to You, books about writers, class, Contemporary, CRIME, Dolores Redondo, drama, female authors, gay, GRIEF, lgbtq+, m/m, MURDER, murder mystery, MYSTERY, police, published in 2016, queer, read in 2022, rich people, SMALL TOWN, small town crime, spain, spanish author, SUSPENSE, TRANSLATED FICTION, widows -
Dele Weds Destiny by Tomi Obaro
This is one of those cases where the blurb for novel spoils said novel. Rather than giving us a broad-stroke summary of the story, the blurb reveals almost every plotline in the story, so while I was actually reading the novel myself, and I kept expecting something ‘new’ to happen, well, I ended up feeling…
1980s, 3 STARS, 3rd pov, abortion/miscarriage/bodily autonomy, Adult, age gap, America, Black & Black heritage authors, class, Contemporary, Dele Weds Destiny, divorce/separations, drama, eating disorders, female authors, female friendships, friendships, MARRIAGE, mothers & daughters, Nigeria, nigerian american author, published in 2022, read in 2022, self-harming, Tomi Obaro, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, wedding drama -
Boy Parts by Eliza Clark
disclaimer: i did not like this book. the opinions and impressions i will express in this review are entirely subjective and i am not in fact stating ‘irrefutable facts’. it has come to my attention that this author has a history of going on twitter to ‘bemoan’ reviewers who have given her book a negative…
1 STAR, ART/CREATIVITY, ARTISTS, beauty, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, books i hate, Boy Parts, British author, class, Contemporary, dark, dark humor, Eliza Clark, england, female authors, feverish, graphic content, grotesque, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+, LONDON, My reviews, navel gazing, Newcastle, offensive, photographers, PHOTOGRAPHY, PRIVILEGE, psychological, psychopaths, published in 2020, queer, rape, read in 2022, reading, satire, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SEXUALITY, she is not feeling good at all, slow pacing, style over character, subject over characters/story, the female malaise, trying and failing @ feminism, unreliable narrators -
You Are Free by Danzy Senna
Danzy Senna has a knack for unsettling her readers. The stories collected in You Are Free are a testament to her ability to create and maintain an atmosphere of disquiet, one that adds to the ambiguous characters populating her stories. The people Senna centres her stories around seem perpetually uneasy and their behaviour—which ranges from…
3 STARS, Adult, ALIENATION, America, belonging, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, class, collection of short stories, Contemporary, Danzy Senna, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), favourite authors, female authors, feverish, graphic content, LITERARY FICTION, motherhood, parenting, passing, published in 2011, RACE, read in 2022, reading, short stories, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues, surreal, You Are Free
luce [is reading] 