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Soledad by Angie Cruz
“Could it be that that’s just the way things go between people? Irreconcilable differences, which can’t really be explained or solved.” What could have been a polyphonic tragicomedy exploring trauma, abusive and dysfunctional relationships, generational and cultural divides, sex, love, and desire, is let down by a cast of cartoonish characters, repetitive dialogues and interactions,…
1990s, 2000s, 20th century, abuse, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, adolescence, Adult, America, Angie Cruz, Contemporary, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), Dominican American author, dominican republic, drama, Dreams, family, female authors, girlhood, grandmothers, illness, intergenerational, jealousy, latin america, latin american, latin american diaspora, latinx author, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+ side, MAGICAL REALISM, MELODRAMA, men who are sleazy, migration/immigration, motherhood, mothers & daughters, navel gazing, NEW YORK, no quotations marks, published in 2001, read in 2023, sex, sex scenes that are yikes, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SEXUALITY, Soledad, style over character, trauma, trying and failing @ feminism, unrequited love, womanhood/femininity -
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 -
A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing: A Memoir Across Three Continents by Mary-Alice Daniel
Drawn by its stunning title & cover, I requested an arc for A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing. For some reason or other I ended up neglecting to read it but at long last decided to give it a try, and I’m really glad that I did get round to it. Written with clarity and…
1990s, 2000s, 3.5 STARS, A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing, A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing: A Memoir Across Three Continents, Adult, America, belonging, biography, Black & Black heritage authors, black diaspora, CHILDHOOD, Christianity, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, elementary school, england, family, female authors, generational trauma, girlhood, growing up, HIGH SCHOOL, history, identity, Islam, language, Mary-Alice Daniel, MEMOIR, MEMORY, migration/immigration, Nigeria, nigerian american author, Nonfiction, otherness, published in 2022, RACE, read in 2022, Religion, school setting, snapshots, social issues, story within a story -
American Fever by Dur e Aziz Amna
“[W]e talked incessantly about the gap between here and there. With each articulated difference, we flattened ourselves and let American define us. We were only ever what it was not.” My initial reaction upon finishing American Fever was something in the realm of ‘underwhelmed’. Yet, as weeks passed by my opinion changed. Maybe it’s because…
1st pov, 2010s, 3.5 STARS, Adult, ALIENATION, ambivalent mood, America, American Fever, belonging, cold tone, coming of age, cultural dissonance, Dur e Aziz Amna, ennui, female authors, friendships, girlhood, HIGH SCHOOL, identity, illness, Islam, loneliness, Longing, Muslim rep, NEW YORK, Oregon, otherness, Pakistan, Pakistani author, published in 2022, read in 2022, Religion, SLICE OF LIFE, SMALL TOWN, the female malaise, YOUNG ADULT -
Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe
“Our friendships started with “What’s your name?” The answer carried with it looks that I can still see clearly: Stacia’s begged me not to talk to her, and Tonya’s asked, “Is she talking to me?!” We got past those facial expressions and gave our names. Names that sound like heartbeats: Fe Fe, Precious, Stacia, Tonya.”…
1990s, 20th century, 4 STARS, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, Black & Black heritage authors, Chicago, CHILDHOOD, Christianity, coming of age, family, female authors, female friendships, friendships, girlhood, growing up, Illinois, Last Summer on State Street, lyrical prose, missing girls, missing persons, RACE, read in 2022, Religion, siblings, social issues, strong sense of place, summer reads, Toya Wolfe, violence against women, YOUNG ADULT, youth -
Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu
Like most other collections of short stories, Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century is a bit of a mixed bag. Out of the 12 stories, only 2 really stood out to me while the rest blended together somewhat. The author uses fantastical elements to explore familiar themes and dynamics. I liked her use of…
3 STARS, Adult, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, canada, canadian author, collection of short stories, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), female authors, girlhood, hauntings, Kim Fu, Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century, MAGICAL REALISM, My reviews, published in 2022, read in 2022, reading, short stories, SPECULATIVE FICTION, surreal -
Caucasia by Danzy Senna
“It’s funny. When you leave your home and wander really far, you always think, ‘I want to go home.’ But then you come home, and of course it’s not the same. You can’t live with it, you can’t live away from it. And it seems like from then on there’s always this yearning for some…
1970s, 1980s, 1st pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, activism, Adult, ALIENATION, ambivalent mood, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, beautiful prose, belonging, bildungsroman, Black & Black heritage authors, Booklr, BOSTON, bullying, California, CHILDHOOD, class, coming of age, Danzy Senna, desire, divorce/separations, elementary school, family, favourite authors, female authors, gay side characters, girlhood, growing up, HISTORICAL FICTION, i don’t think happiness is for me, identity, introspective, it’s about the *yearning*, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, Massachusetts, middle school, mothers & daughters, new hampshire, otherness, paranoia, passing, PRIVILEGE, psychological, published in 1998, queer side characters, queer subtext, queer undercurrents, RACE, re-reads, read in 2021, read in 2022, read in 2023, road trip, school setting, SEXUALITY, SISTERS, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues, strong sense of place, the body, the female malaise, toxic relationships, YOUNG ADULT -
Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans
“A woman stretched her body for me, and I have no words to describe her in wholeness, but without shame, I want you to know her. My mother.” I have said (or ‘written’) it before but I don’t feel particularly qualified to review poetry collections. This is why I am planning on reading more poetry…
3.5 STARS, Adult, America, American, belonging, Black & Black heritage authors, Black Girl Call Home, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Christianity, Contemporary, female authors, female poet, girlhood, GRIEF, identity, Jasmine Mans, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, lyrical prose, MEMOIR, mothers & daughters, My reviews, Nonfiction, POETRY, published in 2021, queer, RACE, read in 2022, reading, Religion, SEXUALITY, social issues, social media -
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 -
Sweet Days of Discipline by Fleur Jaeggy
Sweet Days of Discipline is a slim dagger of a novel. Written in a prose so sharp it will cut you, Sweet Days of Discipline is a work of startling and enigmatic beauty, a study in contradictions: order and chaos, sublimity and abjection, clarity and obfuscation, illusion and reality. Fleur Jaeggy is in absolute command…
1950s, 1st pov, 20th century, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, academia, Adult, all girls school, ambiguous protagonist, atmospheric, beauty, bildungsroman, boarding/private school, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, CLASSICS, cold tone, dark academia, Dreams, existentialism, favourite authors, female authors, first love, Fleur Jaeggy, girlhood, HISTORICAL FICTION, Italian classics, Italy, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, melancholy, modern classics, My reviews, nostalgic reads, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, obsession, psychological, published in 1989, queer, re-reads, read in 2018, read in 2021, reading, sapphic, SEXUALITY, Sweet Days of Discipline, swiss italian author, Switzerland, terrific prose, unnamed narrator, unreliable narrators, unrequited love
luce [is reading] 