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These Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany
“Their laughter split the air and, in a heartbeat, lightness was back. It’s always easier to laugh about things than to cry about them.” These Impossible Things an engrossing novel that would make for a great summer read & book club pick. Salma El-Wardany’s prose, which is by turns lively and poignant, is utterly absorbing.…
2010s, 3 STARS, 3rd pov, abortion/miscarriage/bodily autonomy, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, Adult, adulthood, bad love, belonging, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, drama, egypt, Egyptian Irish Desi author, england, female authors, female friendships, friendships, gay side characters, heartbreak/breakups, lgbtq+ side, LONDON, Muslim rep, published in 2022, read in 2022, Religion, ROMANCE, Salma El-Wardany, sexual assault/abuse/rape, social issues, These Impossible Things, toxic relationships, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, womanhood/femininity -
Greenland: A Novel by David Santos Donaldson
Greenland is characterized by a mordant, erudite satire that I have come to associate with authors such as Zadie Smith, Deborah Levy, and Edward St. Aubyn. David Santos Donaldson’s insight into academia & creative burnout brought to mind the work of Weike Wang, Elaine Hsieh Chou, David Hoon Kim, and Jo Hamya. Similarly to these…
1910s, 1st pov, 20th century, academia, Adult, ALIENATION, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, belonging, Black & Black heritage authors, bombastic style, books about books, books about writers, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, David Santos Donaldson, egypt, existentialism, experimental, feverish, gay, greenland, Greenland: A Novel, hallucinations, history, identity, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, loneliness, male authors, masculinity, men who do not seem to know how to write women, navel gazing, NEW YORK, obsession, paranoia, philosophical, psychological, published in 2022, queer, RACE, read in 2022, satire, sex, SEXUALITY, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, story within a story, stylised prose, travel, unreliable narrators, weird -
If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga
…a big fat nope from me. DISCLAIMER: Like with any other negative review that I write I feel the need to remind ppl that my opinions/thoughts/impressions of a book are entirely subjective (mind-blowing i know) and that if you are interested/curious about said book you should definitely check out more positive reviews. If an Egyptian…
2 STARS, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, addiction, Adult, America, autofiction, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, books about writers, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), egypt, Egyptian American author, female authors, identity, If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English, language, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, My reviews, no quotations marks, Noor Naga, published in 2022, read in 2022, reading, ROMANCE, style over character, stylised prose, subject over characters/story, trauma, unnamed characters, unnamed narrator -
A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí Clark
This is the third novella I’ve read by P. Djèlí Clark and once again I find myself loving his building but not his story or characters. This novella is set in an alternate 1912 Cairo where djinns and angels are the norm. world happens to be the home to djinns Egypt, . In an alternate…
1910s, 20th century, 3rd pov, A Dead Djinn, Adult, adventure, alternate history, AMERICAN AUTHOR, American History, Black & Black heritage authors, Cairo, DETECTIVE, Djinn, egypt, FANTASY, HISTORICAL FICTION, lgbtq+, male authors, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, P. Djèlí Clark, published in 2016, queer, read in 2020, SPECULATIVE FICTION, STEAMPUNK, URBAN FANTASY -
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie — book review
Death on the Nile is one of Agatha Christie’s most ingenious mysteries. While Christie has definitely penned more ‘twisty’ whoddunits, the shifting dynamics between the book’s various players make for a suspenseful story. With the exception of our wonderfully punctilious Poirot, Death on the Nile is almost entirely populated by unlikable characters (who are either…
1930S, 3rd pov, 4 STARS, AGATHA CHRISTIE, BOOK REVIEW, British author, british classics, CLASSICS, CRIME, Death on the Nile, DETECTIVE, egypt, england, favourite authors, female authors, golden age detective fiction, hercule poirot, HISTORICAL FICTION, light reads, MURDER, murder investigation, murder mystery, MYSTERY, published in 1937, QUEEN OF CRIME, re-reads, read in 2020, REVIEW, rich people, whodunnit -
A Pure Heart: A Novel by Rajia Hassib — book review
A Pure Heart’s portrayal of sisterhood is tepid at best. The needlessly expository narration, the clichéd character dynamics, and the meandering storyline didn’t really grab me at all. This novel reminded me a lot of The Other Americans and many other titles that seemed aimed at an American audience…so we have these two sisters who…
2.5 STARS, 3rd pov, A Pure Heart, Adult, America, American, archaeology, Cairo, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, drama, egypt, Egyptian American author, family, female authors, identity, Islam, LITERARY FICTION, museums, published in 2019, Rajia Hassib, READ IN 2019, Religion, SISTERS, social issues, violence
luce [is reading] 