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Hardboiled & Hard Luck by Banana Yoshimoto
“I felt as if this place I had come to was nowhere. As if I no longer had a home to return to. That road I had been on didn’t lead anywhere, this trip would never end—it seemed to me as if next morning would never arrive.” Banana Yoshimoto is at her whimsical best in […]
1990s, 1st pov, 3.5 STARS, Adult, ハードボイルド／ハードラック, Banana Yoshimoto, collection of short stories, Contemporary, DEATH, dreamlike quality, Dreams, existentialism, f/f, favourite authors, female authors, forgiveness, ghosts/spirits, GRIEF, heartbreak/breakups, hotel, illness, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, MAGICAL REALISM, melancholy, MEMORY, navel gazing, no plot just vibes, published in 1999, queer, read in 2023, right person wrong time, sapphic, short stories, SISTERS, SLICE OF LIFE, suicide, surreal, TRANSLATED FICTION, unnamed narrator, uplifting reads -
The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On by Franny Choi
“By the time the apocalypse began, the world had already ended. It ended every day for a century or two. It ended, and another ending world spun in its place.” War, historical conflicts, present crises, and apocalyptic visions, are the motifs of Franny Choi’s The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes. Some poems are […]
3 STARS, Adult, America, apocalyptic, asian american, asian diaspora, colonialism, DEATH, environmental, female authors, Franny Choi, generational trauma, history, Korea, korean american author, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, POETRY, published in 2022, queer, read in 2022, social issues, stylised prose, The World Keeps Ending and the World Goes On -
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 -
LaRose by Louise Erdrich
“They spoke in both languages. We love you, don’t cry. Sorrow eats time. Be patient. Time eats sorrow.” Unsparing yet profoundly touching LaRose chronicles the aftermath of a tragic accident: it’s 1999, when, on a reservation in North Dakota, Landreaux Iron, hunting for a deer near his property, accidentally shoots and kills Dusty, the 5-year-old […]
1830s, 1990s, 19TH CENTURY, 2000s, 20th century, 3rd pov, 4.5 STARS, abuse, addiction, Adult, America, bullying, CHILDHOOD, Christianity, coming of age, Contemporary, DEATH, DEPRESSION, family, FAMILY SAGA, female authors, forgiveness, friendships, generational trauma, ghosts/spirits, great storytelling, GRIEF, gritty realism, growing up, GUILT, indigenous, indigenous author, intergenerational, LaRose, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Louise Erdrich, MAGICAL REALISM, MARRIAGE, mental health, native american & first nation, Native American & First Nation authors, nature, no quotations marks, north dakota, Ojibwe/Chippewa, Ojibwe/Chippewa author, polyphonic, published in 2016, read in 2022, Religion, reservations, revenge, school setting, sexual assault/abuse/rape, siblings, social issues, strong sense of place, suicide, toxic relationships, tragedy, trauma, unrequited love -
Self-Portrait with Ghost: Short Stories by Meng Jin
Sly and surreal Self-Portrait with Ghost makes for a playfully weird and refreshingly inventive collection of short stories. Like most collections, not all of its stories are created equal, as there are a couple, especially the shorter ones last, that are rather forgettable. The most effective stories were the ones that, although characterized by a […]
3.25 stars, Adult, ambivalent mood, ART/CREATIVITY, ARTISTS, asian american, asian diaspora, belonging, CHILDHOOD, chinese american author, collection of short stories, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, dark humor, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), dreamlike quality, female authors, feverish, first love, ghosts/spirits, girlhood, HIGH SCHOOL, jealousy, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, MAGICAL REALISM, MARRIAGE, Meng Jin, migration/immigration, mothers & daughters, navel gazing, opera/choruses/classical music, playful style, published in 2022, queer, read in 2022, SEXUALITY, short stories, surreal, toxic relationships, unrequited love, weird, womanhood/femininity -
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 -
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 -
Daughters of the New Year by E.M. Tran
Xuan and her children never talked about this dance. They did it over and over again, playing their parts faithfully and acting as though the other had not transgressed. While I appreciate the conceit of Daughters of the New Year, its execution did not win me over. The summary may be somewhat at fault, as […]
1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2.5 STARS, 20th century, Adult, asian american, asian diaspora, astrology, beauty contest, belonging, bullying, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, Daughters of the New Year, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), drama, E.M. Tran, f/f side, family, female authors, generational trauma, HISTORICAL FICTION, history, intergenerational, interwoven narratives, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+ side, MEMORY, migration/immigration, Mississippi, motherhood, mothers & daughters, New Orleans, OCD, polyphonic, published in 2022, queer side characters, read in 2022, reality shows, SISTERS, snapshots, Southern America, trauma, Vietnam, Vietnamese American Author, womanhood/femininity -
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
luce [is reading] 