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A Carnivore’s Inquiry by Sabina Murray
“This is what exploration had opened up the door to. Not only widespread slaughter, but the necessary accompaniment of gorging.” Unapologetically solipsistic and deeply manipulative, Katherine, the central character of A Carnivore’s Inquiry, makes for an awful human being and a deeply entertaining narrator. A predecessor to Ottessa Moshfegh and Mona Awad’s protagonists, and many…
1st pov, 2000s, 4 STARS, A Carnivore's Inquiry, A Carnivore's Inquiry by Sabina Murray, Adult, affairs, age gap, ALIENATION, ambiguous protagonist, ambivalent mood, America, ART/CREATIVITY, books about writers, cannibalism, cheating, class, cold tone, colonialism, Contemporary, dark, dark humor, desire, ennui, female authors, feverish, filipino american author, GOTHIC, history, HORROR, introspective, Italy, LITERARY FICTION, literary references, madness, maine, Mexico, modern gothic, MURDER, MYSTERY, navel gazing, NEW YORK, no plot just vibes, otherness, PRIVILEGE, psychological, Psychological thriller, psychopaths, published in 2004, read in 2023, rich people, road trip, Sabina Murray, satire, self-destructive, serial killers, she is dangerous, she is not feeling good at all, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, SUSPENSE, terrific prose, the female malaise, travel, unreliable narrators, violence, womanhood/femininity -
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 -
White Horse by Erika T. Wurth
The story and themes in White Horse were promising enough, their execution however ultimately is somewhat of a letdown. That is not to say that White Horse is not worth reading as I do think that it does have value in terms of entertainment and in its discussions of trauma, self-destructiveness, and survival. Our narrator…
1st pov, Adult, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Apache Chickasaw Cherokee author, bars & restaurants, colorado, Contemporary, dead girls, Denver, disabilities, Erika T. Wurth, female authors, female friendships, friendships, ghosts/spirits, GRIEF, gritty aesthetics, hauntings, HORROR, indigenous, indigenous author, literary references, mothers & daughters, MURDER, MYSTERY, native american & first nation, Native American & First Nation authors, PARANORMAL, published in 2022, read in 2022, self-destructive, survival, SUSPENSE, THRILLER, trauma, White Horse -
Travellers by Helon Habila
“Are you traveling in Europe?” he asked. I caught the odd phrasing. Of course I was traveling in Europe, but I understood he meant something else; he wanted to know the nature of my relationship to Europe, if I was passing through or if I had a more permanent and legal claim to Europe. A…
4 STARS, Adult, beautiful prose, Berlin, Black & Black heritage authors, bulgaria, Contemporary, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), england, family, Germany, GRIEF, Helon Habila, homelessness, interconnected stories, Italy, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, literary references, male authors, MARRIAGE, migration/immigration, Nigeria, Nigerian author, philosophical, Poverty, published in 2019, read in 2020, refugees, social issues, tragedy, trans side characters, trauma, Travellers, unnamed narrator, zambia -
The Chimney Sweeper’s Boy by Barbara Vine
“I want to be in love. I want to be possessed and obsessed by it, I want the sky to change colour and the sun to shine all the time. I want to long for the phone to ring and pace the room when it doesn’t. I want to be breathless at the sound of…
1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 20th century, 3rd pov, 5 STARS, Adult, Barbara Vine, books about books, books about writers, British author, domestic thriller, england, family, GENDER, GRIEF, LITERARY FICTION, literary references, MARRIAGE, MYSTERY, psychological, published in 1998, read in 2018, Ruth Rendell, SISTERS, SUSPENSE, The Chimney Sweeper’s Boy -
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
How can I have ‘enjoyed’ or ‘liked’ this novel?Well…I did find myself flinching away from it a few times… Well, what can be said about Lolita that hasn’t been said? Who hasn’t heard of it? The influence this work has had on modern culture is astounding: just think that the meaning of the name Lolita…
1950s, 1st pov, 20th century, Adult, ALIENATION, America, American, bad love, CLASSICS, dark, existentialism, HUMBERT HUMBERT, illness, LITERARY FICTION, literary references, LOLITA, modern classics, NABOKOV, Pedophelia, philosophical, psychological, published in 1955, read in 2018, road trip, Russian American author, toxic relationships, travel, VLADIMIR NABOKOV -
Stoner by John Williams
Initially I found the seemingly unassuming prose of Stoner to be full of insight. The very first page coldly announces the eponymous protagonist’s death, and I was drawn in by the unromantic story.The novel focuses on William Stoner’s life: his rather miserable marriage to Edith as well as his studies and his academic career. Urged…
1910s, 1920s, 1940s, 1950s, 20th century, 3 STARS, 3rd pov, academia, affairs, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, books about books, campus, CLASSICS, existentialism, identity, JOHN WILLIAMS, LITERARY FICTION, literary references, male authors, MARRIAGE, midlife crisis, missouri, modern classics, philosophical, published in 1965, read in 2018, STONER, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, WILLIAM STONER -
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
“Actors are by nature volatile–alchemic creatures composed of incendiary elements, emotion and ego and envy. Heat them up stir them together, and sometimes you get gold. Sometimes disaster.” An enjoyable debut novel that delivers plenty of Shakespearean ‘nuggets’.To label this story a mystery is a mistake. It isn’t. It is quite obvious what has happened,…
1990s, 20th century, 3.75 stars, academia, actors, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, books about books, campus, cliques, Contemporary, CRIME, dark, dark academia, drama, female authors, friendships, IF WE WERE VILLAINS, Illinois, it’s about the *yearning*, jealousy, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, literary references, Longing, M. L. RIO, m/m, MURDER, murder mystery, MYSTERY, obsession, psychological, queer, read in 2017, ROMANCE, shakespeare, SUSPENSE, theatre, toxic relationships, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, unreliable narrators, whydunnit
luce [is reading] 