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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 Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You: Stories by Maurice Carlos Ruffin
The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You: Stories is a humorous yet unsparing ode to New Orleans. In this polyphonic collection Maurice Carlos Ruffin presents his readers with an unforgettable portrayal of New Orleans, from its unique culture that separates it from other American cities to its people. These stories tap into contemporary issues…
3 STARS, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, collection of short stories, Contemporary, conversational style, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), f/f side, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, male authors, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, morality, My reviews, New Orleans, pandemic, published in 2021, RACE, read in 2021, reading, short stories, social issues, strong sense of place, The Ones Who Don't Say They Love You: Stories, trans side characters -
Things We Lost to the Water by Eric Nguyen
“How unrecognizable America had made them, she was thinking, all of them.” Subtle yet deeply evocative Things We Lost to the Water is a novel about belonging and displacement. In a similar fashion to Chloe Benjamin’s The Immortalists and Ann Patchett’s Commonwealth, Eric Nguyen’s novel does not adopt the traditional structure that characterises family sagas…
1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 20th century, 3.25 stars, 3rd pov, America, American, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, brothers, cultural dissonance, Eric Nguyen, family, FAMILY SAGA, FRANCE, gay, HIGH SCHOOL, HISTORICAL FICTION, language, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, male authors, middle school, migration/immigration, mothers & sons, My reviews, New Orleans, published in 2021, read in 2021, reading, restrained prose, sea, SEXUALITY, Vietnam -
A Kind of Freedom by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
“That was the thing about people on the outside. They thought it cheered him up to see their faces, but it just reminded him too much of freedom when everybody knew it was better to adjust to the kind of freedom available on the inside.” Heartbreaking yet luminous A Kind of Freedom is a truly…
1940s, 1980s, 2010s, 20th century, 4 STARS, A Kind of Freedom, addiction, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, cheating, Contemporary, family, FAMILY SAGA, fatherhood, female authors, HISTORICAL FICTION, LITERARY FICTION, Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, MARRIAGE, motherhood, New Orleans, prison, PUBLISHED IN 2017, RACE, read in 2020, SISTERS, social issues, war, WWII -
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett — book review
“At first, passing seemed so simple, she couldn’t understand why her parents hadn’t done it. But she was young then. She hadn’t realized how long it takes to become somebody else, or how lonely it can be living in a world not meant for you.” Brit Bennett’s second novel is a tour de force. The…
1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 20th century, 3rd pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, abuse, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, ALIENATION, AMERICAN AUTHOR, beautiful prose, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEWS, Brit Bennett, California, class, colorism, family, FAMILY SAGA, female authors, HISTORICAL FICTION, identity, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, los angeles, Louisiana, MARRIAGE, motherhood, mothers & daughters, New Orleans, NEW YORK, passing, published in 2020, RACE, re-reads, read in 2020, read in 2021, read in 2022, rural setting, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SISTERS, SMALL TOWN, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues, Southern America, The Vanishing Half, trans side characters, trauma, twins, Washington DC
luce [is reading] 