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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 -
Fiona and Jane by Jean Chen Ho
Fiona and Jane is yet another one of my most anticipated 2022 releases that left me wanting. While the author is certainly a decent writer, I found myself dissatisfied by the friendship that was meant to be the core of her book. Their relationship did not feel complex or nuanced, in fact, it did not…
2.5 STARS, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, Adult, America, American, asian american, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, California, cheating, collection of short stories, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, conversational style, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), f/f side, female authors, female friendships, fiona and jane, friendships, girlhood, growing up, GUILT, horrible friends, interconnected stories, Jean Chen Ho, lgbtq+, los angeles, My reviews, NEW YORK, published in 2022, queer, read in 2022, reading, ROMANCE, short stories, style over character, taiwan, Taiwanese American Author, toxic relationships -
Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park
Brimming with humor and life, Love in the Big City makes for an entertaining read. I found its protagonist’s lighthearted narration to be deeply compulsive and I was hooked to his story from the very first pages. Similarly to Frying Plantain and The Nakano Thrift Shop Love in the Big City is divided into self-contained…
1st pov, 3.25 stars, Adult, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about writers, Contemporary, conversational style, friendships, gay, heartbreak/breakups, HUMOR, interconnected stories, Korea, Korean, korean author, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, Love in the Big City, m/m, male authors, mental health, mothers & sons, My reviews, published in 2019, queer, read in 2021, reading, Seoul, sex, SEXUALITY, SLICE OF LIFE, TRANSLATED FICTION -
Dog Flowers: A Memoir by Danielle Geller
Dog Flowers is a relentlessly unsparing and depressing account of a dysfunctional family grappling with addiction, trauma, mental illness, and abuse. This memoir opens with Danielle Geller’s mothers’ death. Geller’s mother was homeless when she died of withdrawal from alcohol, and Geller is forced to return to Florida to sift through her mother’s possessions. Using…
1990s, 1st pov, 2000s, 3.5 STARS, abuse, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, addiction, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, bad love, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, child abuse, CHILDHOOD, Contemporary, conversational style, Danielle Geller, DEPRESSION, distressing reads, Dog Flowers, family, fathers & daughters, female authors, FLORIDA, forgiveness, GRIEF, growing up, identity, indigenous, indigenous author, MEMOIR, MEMORY, mental health, MENTAL ILLNESS, mothers & daughters, My reviews, native american & first nation, Native American & First Nation authors, navajo, navajo nation, Nonfiction, published in 2021, read in 2021, reading, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SISTERS, toxic relationships, tragedy, trauma -
The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen
“My American adolescence was filled with tales of woe like this, all of them proof of what my mother said, that we did not belong here. In a country where possessions counted for everything, we had no belongings except our stories.” The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen is a collection of short stories centring on…
1970s, 3 STARS, Adult, America, American, American dream, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, collection of short stories, Contemporary, conversational style, cultural dissonance, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), family, gay side characters, HISTORICAL FICTION, identity, intergenerational, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, m/m side, male authors, migration/immigration, My reviews, PUBLISHED IN 2017, read in 2021, reading, short stories, social issues, The Refugees, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Vietnam, vietnam war, Vietnamese American Author -
The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You: Stories by Maurice Carlos Ruffin
The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You: Stories is a humorous yet unsparing ode to New Orleans. In this polyphonic collection Maurice Carlos Ruffin presents his readers with an unforgettable portrayal of New Orleans, from its unique culture that separates it from other American cities to its people. These stories tap into contemporary issues…
3 STARS, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, collection of short stories, Contemporary, conversational style, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), f/f side, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, male authors, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, morality, My reviews, New Orleans, pandemic, published in 2021, RACE, read in 2021, reading, short stories, social issues, strong sense of place, The Ones Who Don't Say They Love You: Stories, trans side characters -
Last Night I Sang to the Monster by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
“I’m thinking I could spend the rest of my life becoming an expert at forgetting.” Heartbreaking, moving, and ultimately uplifting Last Night I Sang to the Monster is my favourite novel by Sáenz. While this novel explores themes and issues that are recurrent in Sáenz’s oeuvre, Last Night I Sang to the Monster is much…
1st pov, 2000s, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, abuse, addiction, ALIENATION, America, American, Benjamin Alire Sáenz, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, child abuse, coming of age, Contemporary, conversational style, dark, DEPRESSION, dialogue heavy, distressing reads, family, favourite authors, friendships, GRIEF, Last Night I Sang to the Monster, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, loneliness, male authors, MEXICAN AMERICAN AUTHOR, My reviews, New Mexico, PSYCHIATRISTS & THERAPISTS, reading, rehab, sexual assault/abuse/rape, trauma, YOUNG ADULT -
Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So
Candid and humorously absurd Afterparties is a collection of short stories that focuses on the experiences of Cambodian-Americans in California. In spite of the occasional Shameless-like scenario, these stories remain grounded in realism, almost to the point of reading like a slice of life. Vo’s stories can also be read as frank vignettes capturing the…
3 STARS, Adult, America, American, autofiction, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, California, cambodia, cambodian american author, cheating, collection of short stories, Contemporary, conversational style, cultural dissonance, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), family, gay, HUMOR, intergenerational, lgbtq+, m/m, migration/immigration, millennial, My reviews, published in 2021, RACE, read in 2021, reading, sex, SEXUALITY, short stories, SLICE OF LIFE, social issues, temples -
Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
Gut-wrenching and haunting Indian Horse depicts the horrific realities of residential schools, as well as racism and discrimination in 1960s Ontario. This is the third novel that I’ve read by Richard Wagamese and, while Medicine Walk and Ragged Company were no walks in the parks, Indian Horse’s unsparing bleakness and distressing content make those two…
1960s, 1st pov, 20th century, 4 STARS, abuse, addiction, Adult, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, canada, canadian author, conversational style, DEPRESSION, distressing reads, favourite authors, GRIEF, HISTORICAL FICTION, hockey, indigenous, indigenous author, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, male authors, My reviews, native american & first nation, Native American & First Nation authors, nuns, Ojibwe/Chippewa, Ojibwe/Chippewa author, Pedophelia, published in 2012, RACE, read in 2021, reading, rural setting, social issues, sports, trauma
luce [is reading] 