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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 -
Here Again Now by Okechukwu Nzelu
The first few pages of Here Again Now brought to mind the opening scene from my much beloved A Little Life so, naturally, I cranked up my expectations. As I kept on reading however my initial excitement over the story incrementally decreased to the point that I no longer looked forward to picking it up.…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, actors, addiction, Adult, ANGST, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Contemporary, england, fatherhood, fathers & sons, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, friendships, gay, GRIEF, Here Again Now, introspective, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, LONDON, lyrical prose, male authors, male friendships, My reviews, Nigeria, nigerian british author, Okechukwu Nzelu, published in 2022, purply prose, queer, read in 2021, reading, ROMANCE, style over character, tragedy, weak prose, will they won't they -
The Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi
That Helen Oyeyemi wrote her debut novel aged 18 while studying for her A-Levels is certainly an impressive feat. And, as debuts go, The Icarus Child is by no means a weak one. As this happens to be the third book I’ve read of hers I can see just how much her writing has grown…
2000s, 3 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, atmospheric, Black & Black heritage authors, bullying, CHILDHOOD, elementary school, england, family, female authors, female friendships, FOLKLORE, friendships, ghosts/spirits, growing up, HORROR, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, MAGICAL REALISM, Nigeria, nigerian british author, published in 2005, read in 2021, The Icarus Child, toxic relationships -
Manifesto: On Never Giving Up by Bernardine Evaristo
“I am first and foremost a writer, the written word is how I process everything—myself, life, society, history, politics. It’s not just a job or a passion, but it is at the very heart of how I exist in the world, and I am addicted to the adventure of storytelling as my most powerful means…
1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 1st pov, 2000s, 4 STARS, Adult, arc, ART/CREATIVITY, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, Bernardine Evaristo, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, booker-prize winners, Booklr, books about books, books about writers, CHILDHOOD, england, family, female authors, feminism, growing up, identity, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, LONDON, Manifesto, Manifesto: On Never Giving Up, MEMOIR, My reviews, Nigeria, nigerian british author, Nonfiction, published in 2021, queer, RACE, read in 2021, reading, social issues, theatre, writing about writing -
Wahala by Nikki May
The cover and premise for Wahala made me think that this novel would be a beach thriller, something in the realms of Liane Moriarty. While the unfolding drama between a trio of ‘friends’ was fairly amusing to read of, Wahala wasn’t quite the suspenseful domestic thriller I’d hoped it to be. Still, this was, for…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, affairs, arc, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, cheating, Contemporary, domestic thriller, drama, england, female authors, friendships, gay side characters, horrible friends, jealousy, lgbtq+ side, LONDON, MARRIAGE, millennial, motherhood, MURDER, My reviews, netgalley, nigerian british author, obsession, psychopaths, published in 2021, read in 2021, reading, SUSPENSE, THRILLER, work culture -
Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi
In the last few weeks I’ve read two works by Oyeyemi (Peaces and What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours) and what I liked most about them was how funny, inventive, and unapologetically queer they were. So, naturally, I was somewhat surprised and saddened to discover that Boy, Snow, Bird lacks any of those qualities.…
1950s, 1960s, 1st pov, 2 STARS, 20th century, abuse, Adult, America, American, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, doubles, evil stepmother, FAIRY TALES, FANTASY, female authors, female doubles, Helen Oyeyemi, HISTORICAL FICTION, jealousy, lgbtq+ side, Massachusetts, mothers & daughters, My reviews, NEW YORK, nigerian british author, problematic, published in 2013, RACE, read in 2021, reading, RETELLINGS, SISTERS, surreal, trans side characters -
What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi
“A library at night is full of sounds: The unread books can’t stand it any longer and announce their contents, some boasting, some shy, some devious.” Confusion galore! What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours is a relentlessly inventive and delightfully playful collection of interlocked short stories. These intentionally bewildering fabulist stories are inhabited by…
3 STARS, Adult, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, collection of short stories, confusing for the sake of being confusing, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), england, f/f side, FANTASY, female authors, Helen Oyeyemi, interconnected stories, Kafkaesque, lgbtq+, libraries/bookshops, m/m side, MAGIC, MAGICAL REALISM, My reviews, nigerian british author, published in 2016, queer, read in 2021, reading, short stories, story within a story, surreal, weird -
Peaces by Helen Oyeyemi
“Talking to strangers can be riskier than it is rewarding; even people who know each other well talk at cross purposes and derange each other’s perceptions.” Peaces is the type of freewheeling novel that fully embraces its own weirdness, taking its readers along a madcap sort of adventure, one that is guaranteed to be equal…
3.5 STARS, Adult, adventure, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, break-ups, Contemporary, england, f/f side, female authors, Helen Oyeyemi, HUMOR, identity, lgbtq+, m/m, MAGICAL REALISM, MEMORY, My reviews, nigerian british author, paranoia, Peaces, published in 2021, queer, re-reads, read in 2021, surreal, trains, weird
luce [is reading] 