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Liar, Dreamer, Thief by Maria Dong
“Once upon a time, there was a girl with a vivid imagination, one who was not entirely sane. She was afraid of many things that weren’t real, but she didn’t tell anyone. They would’ve sent her far, far away, and she wasn’t ready to go.” Liar, Dreamer, Thief had all of the ingredients to be…
1st pov, 3 STARS, Adult, ALIENATION, amateur detective, America, anxiety, cat and mouse, Contemporary, DEATH, female authors, feverish, gay side characters, hallucinations, korean american author, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, Liar Dreamer Thief, loneliness, Maria Dong, mental health, MYSTERY, NEW YORK, obsession, OCD, psychological, published in 2023, read in 2023, she is not feeling good at all, stalking, suicide, SUSPENSE, the female malaise, unreliable narrators, work culture -
In Limbo: A Graphic Memoir by Deb JJ Lee
“I love you when you’re at your lowest just as much as at your best. Growing up is about being sad and angry sometimes.” What could have been a depressing and angsty coming-of-age is ultimately saved by a rewarding & bittersweet narrative arc. As a Korean-American teen girl in the very white New Jersey suburbs,…
3 STARS, abuse, America, ANGST, anxiety, ARTISTS, asian american, asian diaspora, belonging, bullying, coming of age, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, Deb JJ Lee, DEPRESSION, Graphic Novels, growing up, HIGH SCHOOL, In Limbo, In Limbo: A Graphic Memoir, Korea, korean american author, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, loneliness, MEMOIR, mental health, mothers & daughters, new jersey, published in 2023, queer, RACE, read in 2023, school setting, Sequential Art, suicide -
Greek Lessons by Han Kang
“The lit fuse of the chilly explosive primed in her heart is no more. The interior of her mouth is as empty as the veins through which the blood no longer flows, it is as empty as a lift shaft where the lift has ceased to operate.” In a clinically detached prose Han Kang examines…
3.5 STARS, Adult, ALIENATION, ambiguous protagonist, ambivalent mood, belonging, books about writers, cold tone, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), disabilities, divorce/separations, female authors, Germany, Greek Lessons, GRIEF, Han Kang, introspective, Korea, korean author, language, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, MEMORY, mental health, otherness, psychological, published in 2011, read in 2023, teachers, the body, the female malaise, unnamed characters -
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 -
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 -
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 -
Someday, Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli
“Grief is not neat. Pain is not dignified. Both are ugly, visceral things. They rip holes through you and burst forth when they see fit. They are constant, controlling companions, and if they don’t destroy you or your relationship with others, they certainly go a long way to damaging you […] There is nothing eloquent…
1st pov, 3 STARS, Adult, Black & Black heritage authors, black diaspora, Contemporary, DEATH, DEPRESSION, england, evil stepmother, female authors, forgiveness, GRIEF, GUILT, MARRIAGE, MEMORY, mental health, nigerian british author, Onyi Nwabineli, photographers, pregnancy, published in 2022, read in 2022, Someday Maybe, suicide, widows -
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
If you are boo-booing this book just because of its title…kindly fck off. It is intentionally provocative and I am here for it. To place ‘the mother’ figure on a pedestal is ultimately detrimental to mothers since by idealizing them we cease to see them as real flawed human beings. I’m Glad My Mom Died…
1st pov, 4 STARS, abuse, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, actors, Adult, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, anxiety, biography, body dysmorphia, California, cancer, celebrities, child abuse, CHILDHOOD, coming of age, Contemporary, dark humor, DEATH, DEPRESSION, eating disorders, female authors, film industry, gay side characters, GRIEF, growing up, I'm Glad My Mom Died, illness, Jennette McCurdy, lgbtq+ side, MEMOIR, mental health, mothers & daughters, Nonfiction, OCD, PSYCHIATRISTS & THERAPISTS, published in 2022, read in 2022, Religion, the female malaise, toxic relationships, trauma -
The Arena of the Unwell by Liam Konemann
“At any given moment, I have no idea what’s true about any of us.” The Arena of the Unwell is a gritty and exhilarating exploration of loneliness and longing, obsession and jealousy, queerness and male intimacy. tw: self-harm & suicidal ideation Our narrator is Noah, a 22-year-old gay man who lives in London. He works…
1st pov, 4.25 stars, addiction, Adult, ALIENATION, atmospheric, AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR, bad love, bi side characters, cheating, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, DEPRESSION, england, feverish, gay, gritty realism, grunge vibes, introspective, jealousy, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, Liam Konemann, LONDON, loneliness, Longing, m/m, masculinity, mental health, music, nostalgic reads, obsession, psychological, published in 2022, queer, read in 2022, self-destructive, self-harming, sex, SEXUALITY, strong sense of place, suicide, The Arena of the Unwell, the male malaise, toxic relationships, unreliable narrators
luce [is reading] 