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Amrita by Banana Yoshimoto
Over the last couple of years, I have made slow but steady progress reading my way through Banana Yoshimoto’s oeuvre. Amrita marks the thirteenth work that I have read by her and, as in many ways, it exhibits many textbook Yoshimoto traits: an atypical family unity, an irreverently optimistic tone (regardless of the subject matter),…
1990s, 1st pov, 3 STARS, abuse, Adult, adulthood, amnesia, Amrita, アムリタ, Banana Yoshimoto, celebrities, Contemporary, existentialism, female authors, GRIEF, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, KIDS WITH POWERS, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, MAGICAL REALISM, MEMORY, mumblecore, navel gazing, no plot just vibes, POWERS, published in 1994, read in 2022, ROMANCE, siblings, SLICE OF LIFE, slow pacing, surreal, TRANSLATED FICTION -
Tell Me I’m an Artist by Chelsea Martin
Restrained yet acutely realistic, Tell Me I’m An Artist presents its readers with the unfinished portrait of an artist as a young woman. Throughout the course of this novel, we read of the trials and tribulations of an art school student Joey, who attempts to reconcile herself with a new existence in San Francisco. She…
1st pov, 3.5 STARS, academia, addiction, Adult, ALIENATION, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, anxiety, ART/CREATIVITY, ARTISTS, atmospheric, California, campus, Chelsea Martin, class, coming of age, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, ennui, female authors, films, friendships, GUILT, identity, introspective, jealousy, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, mumblecore, navel gazing, no plot just vibes, PRIVILEGE, published in 2022, read in 2022, restrained prose, san francisco, SISTERS, Tell Me I'm an Artist, the female malaise, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE -
Either/Or by Elif Batuman
This sequel needs a sequel. “Was this the decisive moment of my life? It felt as if the gap that had dogged me all my days was knitting together before my eyes—so that, from this point on, my life would be as coherent and meaningful as my favorite books. At the same time, I had…
1990s, 1st pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, academia, Adult, adulthood, America, American, arc, ART/CREATIVITY, autumn, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about books, books about writers, cambridge (us), campus, coming of age, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, cultural dissonance, Either/Or, Elif Batuman, existentialism, favourite authors, female authors, first love, friendships, Harvard, identity, introspective, language, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, Massachusetts, mumblecore, My reviews, netgalley, nostalgic reads, philosophical, psychological, published in 2022, re-reads, read in 2022, reading, RUSSIA, sex, SEXUALITY, SLICE OF LIFE, spring, strong sense of place, Summer, the female malaise, The Idiot, toxic relationships, travel, Turkey, turkish american author, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, unrequited love, WINTER, womanhood/femininity -
The Four Humors by Mina Seckin
“THE FOUR HUMORS THAT PUMP THROUGH MY BODY DETERMINE my character, temperament, mood. Blood, phlegm, black bile, and choler. The excess or lack of these bodily fluids designates how a person should be.” The Four Humors is a rather milquetoast addition to the young-alienated-women subgenre that has become all the vogue in the last few…
3 STARS, Adult, ALIENATION, ambiguous protagonist, America, American, anxiety, atmospheric, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, break-ups, chronic pain, cold tone, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, DEATH, DEPRESSION, eating disorders, ennui, family, female authors, GRIEF, illness, introspective, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, medical, mental health, midlife crisis, Mina Seckin, mumblecore, My reviews, navel gazing, obsession, published in 2021, read in 2022, reading, sardonic humor, self-destructive, SISTERS, slow pacing, strong sense of place, Summer, summer reads, The Four Humors, Turkey, turkish american author -
All the Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami
Previously to reading All the Lovers in the Night, I’d read Breasts and Eggs, Heaven, and Ms. Ice Sandwich, by Mieko Kawakami. While I was not ‘fond’ of Breasts and Eggs, I did find her other books to be compelling. As the premise for All the Lovers in the Night did bring to mind Breasts…
1st pov, 2010s, 3.25 stars, addiction, Adult, All the Lovers in the Night, anxiety, atmospheric, Booklr, books about books, bullying, Contemporary, DEPRESSION, endless monologues, female authors, female friendships, friendships, identity, introspective, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, loneliness, Longing, melancholy, Mieko Kawakami, mumblecore, navel gazing, philosophical, psychological, published in 2022, re-reads, read in 2021, read in 2022, SLICE OF LIFE, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues, surreal, tokyo, TRANSLATED FICTION, work culture -
Chemistry by Weike Wang
“Chemistry, while powerful, is sometimes unpredictable.” Chemistry makes for a quick yet compelling read. While the narrative tries a bit too hard to be quirky, I did find certain scenes and or sections to be fairly amusing. Chemistry implements those ‘in’ literary devices such as an unnamed narrator and a lack of speech marks that…
1st pov, 3.25 stars, academia, Adult, ALIENATION, America, American, asian american, break-ups, Chemistry, chinese american author, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, cultural dissonance, dark humor, ennui, family, female authors, identity, intergenerational, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, mental health, mumblecore, PUBLISHED IN 2017, read in 2021, science, scientists & co, unnamed characters, unnamed narrator, weike wang -
Days of Distraction by Alexandra Chang
“Who knows. I could change my mind. It is changing all the time.” Days of Distraction should have been right up my street. Alas, it turned out not to be the ‘wry’, ‘tender’, and ‘offbeat coming-of-adulthood tale’ its blurb promised it’d be. Our quasi-unnamed narrator is a Chinese American woman in her early twenties who…
1st pov, 3 STARS, Adult, ALIENATION, America, American, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, California, China, chinese american author, coming of age, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, cultural dissonance, ennui, female authors, ithaca, loneliness, millennial, mumblecore, My reviews, navel gazing, new york state, published in 2020, RACE, read in 2021, reading, san francisco, slow pacing, subject over characters/story, unnamed narrator, work culture -
Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados
“It takes practice to have restraint, and we are not yet at an age to try it out.” As the title and cover themselves suggest, Happy Hour is the book equivalent of an aperitif. I’m thinking of an Aperol spritz and some black olives. Nice enough while you’re having them but once they are gone…
1st pov, 3 STARS, Adult, ALIENATION, America, American, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, canada, canadian author, class, cold tone, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, ennui, female authors, female friendships, friendships, gay side characters, Happy Hour, horrible friends, latinx author, lgbtq+ side, loneliness, Marlowe Granados, millennial, mumblecore, My reviews, navel gazing, NEW YORK, PRIVILEGE, read in 2021, reading, rich people, satire, SLICE OF LIFE, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, toxic relationships -
Friends & Dark Shapes by Kavita Bedford
That is the truth of someone’s character: how a person makes you feel after you walk away from spending time with them.” Kavita Bedford’s Friends & Dark Shapes is an exceedingly millennial novel. We have a directionless and nameless narrator, a modern flâneur who is afflicted by a vague sense of ennui. There are no…
1st pov, 3.25 stars, Adult, AUSTRALIA, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, ennui, female authors, Friends & Dark Shapes, Indian Australian author, millennial, mumblecore, My reviews, navel gazing, no quotations marks, published in 2021, read in 2021, reading, SLICE OF LIFE, strong sense of place, style over character, stylised prose, unnamed narrator -
Lizard by Banana Yoshimoto
I have noticed that when I review a novel or novella Yoshimoto I always describe them as being ‘quintessentially’ Yoshimoto. The reason why is that every time I read something by her, I know, without a doubt, that what I am reading is indeed a work of Yoshimoto. Her breezy style and her slice of…
1990s, 3 STARS, affairs, Banana Yoshimoto, bi side characters, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, collection of short stories, Contemporary, favourite authors, female authors, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, lgbtq+ side, Lizard, MAGICAL REALISM, mumblecore, My reviews, published in 1993, read in 2021, reading, restrained prose, short stories, SLICE OF LIFE, surreal, TRANSLATED FICTION, weird
luce [is reading] 