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Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
“That was the thing that was at the heart of my reluctance and my resentment. Some people make it out of their stories unscathed, thriving. Some people don’t.” In an eloquent and precise prose Yaa Gyasi interrogates a young woman’s relationship to her family, her faith, her past, and her self. Her brother’s addiction and…
1st pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, Adult, alabama, America, American, beautiful prose, Black & Black heritage authors, CHILDHOOD, Christianity, Contemporary, DEPRESSION, female authors, Ghana, Ghanian American author, growing up, identity, illness, introspective, labs, LITERARY FICTION, Longing, MEMORY, mental health, mothers & daughters, published in 2020, RACE, re-reads, read in 2020, read in 2022, Religion, science, scientists & co, siblings, social issues, Transcendent Kingdom, trauma, Yaa Gyasi -
Version Control by Dexter Palmer
Version Control is going to be tough to review as I have never felt so conflicted about a book. There were some scenes in Part I that were pure genius. But once I delved into Part II I was forced to reevaluate my first impressions of this book.Imagine walking into some art gallery and coming…
2 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, affairs, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, big books, Black & Black heritage authors, Dexter Palmer, existentialism, family, labs, male authors, MARRIAGE, men who do not seem to know how to write women, mothers & sons, near future/alternate reality, new jersey, parallel universes, philosophical, published in 2016, RACE, read in 2020, SCI-FI, science, scientists & co, social issues, SPECULATIVE FICTION, time travel, Version Control, what ifs -
The Dragon Keeper: A novel by Mindy Mejia — book review
The Dragon Keeper tells a very specific type of story. This the third novel I’ve read by Mindy Mejia and it certainly has a unique premise. Mejia’s books differ in style and subject-manner, yet genre distinctions aside, each one of her story is underlined by a tense atmosphere. Most of The Dragon Keeper takes place…
3.25 stars, 3rd pov, abortion/miscarriage/bodily autonomy, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, animals, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, break-ups, cheating, environmental, female authors, labs, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Mindy Mejia, minnesota, motherhood, nature, parenting, published in 2012, read in 2020, science, The Dragon Keeper, work culture, zoos -
Real Life by Brandon Taylor — book review
“Is it into this culture that he is to emerge? Into the narrow, dark water of real life?” It had been awhile since I finished a book in one day or since I read a book that made me cry…but once I started Real Life I simply couldn’t stop, even if what I was reading…
3rd pov, 4.25 stars, academia, Adult, ALIENATION, America, American, anxiety, bad love, Black & Black heritage authors, body dysmorphia, Brandon Taylor, campus, class, cliques, cold tone, Contemporary, favourite authors, gay, GRIEF, horrible friends, labs, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, m/m, mental health, midwest, published in 2020, queer, RACE, read in 2020, Real Life, science, sex, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SEXUALITY, toxic relationships, trauma, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE -
The History of Living Forever by Jake Wolff — book review
The History of Living Forever is an ambitious novel. The narrative includes multiple timelines and often switches between 1st and 3rd perspective, weaving together a compelling yet intricate story. Two of the central figures in these various ‘timelines’ are Conrad Aybinder and Sammy Tampari who in spite of their student-teacher relationship, and of Conrad being…
3.75 stars, adventure, age gap, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, chile, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), Easter Island, gay, GRIEF, HIGH SCHOOL, immortality, Jake Wolff, labs, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, m/m, male authors, mental health, morality, philosophical, published in 2019, queer, READ IN 2019, Romania, science, SPECULATIVE FICTION, The History of Living Forever, travel -
If, Then : Book Review
If, Then by Kate Hope Day ★★✰✰✰ 2 stars If, Then is yet another example of ‘great concept, poor execution‘. Maybe I wouldn’t have minded as much if the story had been told in a less uninvolved narrative. The story features on a group of neighbours who begin seeing “what ifs“. One sees herself romantically…
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The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
There are so many new releases that are focused on a particular family’s history, and there is a trend for storylines that follow members of a family through the decades (e.g. The Good Children, Commonwealth). The Immortalists might revolve around four siblings, but there was little – if any –interaction between them. This novel focused…
1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 3rd pov, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Chloe Benjamin, Contemporary, existentialism, family, FAMILY SAGA, female authors, gay, growing up, HISTORICAL FICTION, identity, Jewish, labs, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, MAGICAL REALISM, MARRIAGE, san francisco, science, siblings, The Immortalists, why the hype
luce [is reading] 