![luce [is reading]](https://wishfullyreading.files.wordpress.com/2023/01/9429655-1.jpeg){kind=small}
-
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 -
Daughters of the New Year by E.M. Tran
Xuan and her children never talked about this dance. They did it over and over again, playing their parts faithfully and acting as though the other had not transgressed. While I appreciate the conceit of Daughters of the New Year, its execution did not win me over. The summary may be somewhat at fault, as…
1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2.5 STARS, 20th century, Adult, asian american, asian diaspora, astrology, beauty contest, belonging, bullying, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, Daughters of the New Year, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), drama, E.M. Tran, f/f side, family, female authors, generational trauma, HISTORICAL FICTION, history, intergenerational, interwoven narratives, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+ side, MEMORY, migration/immigration, Mississippi, motherhood, mothers & daughters, New Orleans, OCD, polyphonic, published in 2022, queer side characters, read in 2022, reality shows, SISTERS, snapshots, Southern America, trauma, Vietnam, Vietnamese American Author, womanhood/femininity -
The Trees by Percival Everett
“Money, Mississippi, looks exactly like it sounds. Named in that persistent Southern tradition of irony and with the attendant tradition of nescience, the name becomes slightly sad, a marker of self-conscious ignorance that might as well be embraced because, let’s face it, it isn’t going away.” Percival Everett is an author that has been on…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Contemporary, CRIME, graphic content, history, male authors, Mississippi, MURDER, My reviews, MYSTERY, Percival Everett, published in 2021, RACE, read in 2022, reading, revenge, satire, SMALL TOWN, small town crime, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues, Southern America, SUSPENSE, The Trees, violence -
Men We Reaped: A Memoir by Jesmyn Ward
“How could I know then that this would be my life: yearning to leave the South and doing so again and again, but perpetually called back to home by a love so thick it choked me?” Devastating, heart-wrenching, and full of love and sorrow, Men We Reaped is an unforgettable memoir. Jesmyn Ward recounts her…
1st pov, 4 STARS, addiction, Adult, America, American, beautiful prose, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, CHILDHOOD, class, Contemporary, DEATH, distressing reads, family, female authors, GRIEF, growing up, introspective, Jesmyn Ward, Longing, MEMOIR, MEMORY, Men We Reaped, Men We Reaped: A Memoir, Mississippi, My reviews, Nonfiction, Poverty, published in 2013, RACE, read in 2021, reading, siblings, SMALL TOWN, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues, Southern America, strong sense of place, suicide, tragedy, trauma -
Revival Season by Monica West
“Papa had carefully cultivated our belief in him. He never said it outright—Believe in me as you believe in God—that would have been obvious blasphemy and idolatry. But he was the all-consuming presence that had filled my entire life, taking up all the space in the house and in revival tents. In its absence was…
1st pov, 3.25 stars, abuse, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, arizona, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Christianity, Contemporary, Faith, family, fathers & daughters, female authors, Louisiana, Mississippi, Monica West, mothers & daughters, My reviews, netgalley, Oklahoma, published in 2021, read in 2021, reading, Religion, Revival Season, road trip, siblings, Southern America, Summer, texas -
The Gone Dead by Chanelle Benz
When I started reading The Gone Dead I was expecting a thriller, something in the realms of When No One is Watching or with the setting and tone of Sharp Objects. What The Gone Dead is not so much of crime/thriller story but a narrative that focuses on depicting a certain community, exploring its…
1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 3 STARS, 3rd pov, addiction, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, Chanelle Benz, creepy setting, family, female authors, HISTORICAL FICTION, Mississippi, MYSTERY, Poverty, published in 2019, RACE, read in 2021, rural setting, SMALL TOWN, small town crime, social issues, Southern America, SUSPENSE, The Gone Dead, THRILLER -
Blackwood by Michael Farris Smith — book review
Blackwood is a gritty read. Set in Red Bluff, Mississippi, a rather dismal small-town, the story follows a small cast of miserable characters. There is a family that is new to town, that are referred to as ‘the man’, ‘the woman’, and ‘the boy’, who stir some trouble with the locals, the sheriff, Myer, and…
2 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Blackwood, creepy setting, dark, DEATH, GOTHIC, HORROR, male authors, Michael Farris Smith, Mississippi, modern gothic, MYSTERY, read in 2020, rural setting, SMALL TOWN, Southern America, southern gothic, SUPERNATURAL, unnamed characters, violence
luce [is reading] 