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A Separation by Katie Kitamura
Given its abysmal overall rating, it should not come as a surprise that A Separation is not the type of novel that will/to have a large appeal. While it bears many of the same elements and stylistic qualities as Intimacies, Katie Kitamura’s latest novel which I happen not to like, here, well, they kind of…
1st pov, 3.5 STARS, Adult, affairs, ambiguous protagonist, atmospheric, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, cold tone, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, divorce/separations, female authors, Greece, GRIEF, introspective, japanese american author, language, LITERARY FICTION, Longing, MARRIAGE, Mediterranean, missing men, missing persons, MYSTERY, navel gazing, no quotations marks, psychological, PUBLISHED IN 2017, read in 2021, restrained prose, slow pacing, SUSPENSE, travel, unnamed narrator -
Edge Case by YZ Chin
“[I]f I could make Americans laugh, then I would be accepted. I would be embraced and admired.” Realistic, subtly off-beat, and keenly observed, Edge Case couples an indictment of the rampant misogyny that permeates the tech industry with an unsparing depiction of the everyday inequities and hurdles immigrants face in their pursuit of green cards…
1st pov, 3.5 STARS, Adult, ALIENATION, America, American, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, cultural dissonance, eating disorders, Edge Case, female authors, introspective, language, LITERARY FICTION, Malaysia, Malaysian author, MARRIAGE, mental health, migration/immigration, missing men, missing persons, mothers & daughters, My reviews, NEW YORK, office, PSYCHIATRISTS & THERAPISTS, psychological, published in 2021, read in 2021, reading, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues, trauma, work culture, YZ Chin -
The Missing Years : Book Review
The Missing Years by Lexie Elliott ★★★✰✰ 3 stars The story had some potential, which is why I was very frustrated by the way the storyline developed. To begin with, I was absorbed by the setting of the novel: a creepy manor in Scotlandwhere the main character, Ailsa, lived as child. After her father’s mysterious…
1st pov, 3 STARS, BOOK REVIEW, creepy setting, domestic thriller, drama, family, female authors, GOTHIC, Lexie Elliott, manor/big house, missing fathers, missing men, missing persons, modern gothic, MYSTERY, psychological, published in 2019, READ IN 2019, REVIEW, scotland, scottish author, SISTERS, summer reads, SUSPENSE, The Missing Years, THRILLER, village -
Wylding Hall : Book Review
Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand ★★★✰✰ 3.5 stars I’ve read two other books by Elizabeth Hand, one of which I consider an all time favourite. Wylding Hall begins strongly enough. The narration uses a limiting form of structure and consists in a series of interviews with the former members of a British an acid-folk band. In the…
1970s, 20th century, 3.5 STARS, Adult, AMERICAN AUTHOR, creepy setting, documentary style, Elizabeth Hand, england, female authors, ghosts/spirits, GOTHIC, manor/big house, missing men, missing persons, modern gothic, music, music band, MYSTERY, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, published in 2015, READ IN 2019, REVIEW, SUPERNATURAL, SUSPENSE, Wylding Hall