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Stories from the Tenants Downstairs by Sidik Fofana
In this wonderfully polyphonic collection of short stories, Sidik Fofana explores the everyday realities and struggles experienced by the Black residents of a high-rise in Harlem. The unrelenting push of gentrification and the looming threat of eviction sees this cast of characters struggling to keep up with their rents and to stay afloat. As they…
3.5 STARS, Adult, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, class, collection of short stories, Contemporary, conversational style, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), gay side characters, gritty realism, Harlem, interconnected stories, lgbtq+ side, male authors, morality, NEW YORK, no quotations marks, place as character, Poverty, PRIVILEGE, published in 2022, RACE, read in 2023, short stories, Sidik Fofana, social issues, Stories from the Tenants Downstairs, strong sense of place, survival, work culture -
Soledad by Angie Cruz
“Could it be that that’s just the way things go between people? Irreconcilable differences, which can’t really be explained or solved.” What could have been a polyphonic tragicomedy exploring trauma, abusive and dysfunctional relationships, generational and cultural divides, sex, love, and desire, is let down by a cast of cartoonish characters, repetitive dialogues and interactions,…
1990s, 2000s, 20th century, abuse, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, adolescence, Adult, America, Angie Cruz, Contemporary, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), Dominican American author, dominican republic, drama, Dreams, family, female authors, girlhood, grandmothers, illness, intergenerational, jealousy, latin america, latin american, latin american diaspora, latinx author, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+ side, MAGICAL REALISM, MELODRAMA, men who are sleazy, migration/immigration, motherhood, mothers & daughters, navel gazing, NEW YORK, no quotations marks, published in 2001, read in 2023, sex, sex scenes that are yikes, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SEXUALITY, Soledad, style over character, trauma, trying and failing @ feminism, unrequited love, womanhood/femininity -
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 -
LaRose by Louise Erdrich
“They spoke in both languages. We love you, don’t cry. Sorrow eats time. Be patient. Time eats sorrow.” Unsparing yet profoundly touching LaRose chronicles the aftermath of a tragic accident: it’s 1999, when, on a reservation in North Dakota, Landreaux Iron, hunting for a deer near his property, accidentally shoots and kills Dusty, the 5-year-old…
1830s, 1990s, 19TH CENTURY, 2000s, 20th century, 3rd pov, 4.5 STARS, abuse, addiction, Adult, America, bullying, CHILDHOOD, Christianity, coming of age, Contemporary, DEATH, DEPRESSION, family, FAMILY SAGA, female authors, forgiveness, friendships, generational trauma, ghosts/spirits, great storytelling, GRIEF, gritty realism, growing up, GUILT, indigenous, indigenous author, intergenerational, LaRose, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Louise Erdrich, MAGICAL REALISM, MARRIAGE, mental health, native american & first nation, Native American & First Nation authors, nature, no quotations marks, north dakota, Ojibwe/Chippewa, Ojibwe/Chippewa author, polyphonic, published in 2016, read in 2022, Religion, reservations, revenge, school setting, sexual assault/abuse/rape, siblings, social issues, strong sense of place, suicide, toxic relationships, tragedy, trauma, unrequited love -
If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga
…a big fat nope from me. DISCLAIMER: Like with any other negative review that I write I feel the need to remind ppl that my opinions/thoughts/impressions of a book are entirely subjective (mind-blowing i know) and that if you are interested/curious about said book you should definitely check out more positive reviews. If an Egyptian…
2 STARS, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, addiction, Adult, America, autofiction, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, books about writers, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), egypt, Egyptian American author, female authors, identity, If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English, language, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, My reviews, no quotations marks, Noor Naga, published in 2022, read in 2022, reading, ROMANCE, style over character, stylised prose, subject over characters/story, trauma, unnamed characters, unnamed narrator -
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 -
My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson
“I remember looking out at all those people, most of whom I’d seen or known over months or years—several of whom I loved. Everybody was yelling or cowering or sneering, angry or afraid.” My Monticello is a suspenseful novella that presents us with a scarily imaginable scenario (given all the alt-right & neo-nazi rallies that…
1st pov, 3 STARS, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, arc, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, cheating, Contemporary, female authors, history, love triangle, My reviews, netgalley, no quotations marks, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, published in 2021, RACE, read in 2021, reading, social issues, subject over characters/story, SUSPENSE, virginia -
Sunset by Jessie Cave
“When I next love someone, they will die suddenly, unfairly, quickly, oddly, suspiciously, horrifyingly, traumatically; they’ll die in the worst way that someone could, and I will have to stand by and watch, take a photo.” Funny, raw, heartbreaking, Sunset is an exceptional debut novel. Jessie Cave’s unsparing portrayal of grief in all of its…
1st pov, 4.5 STARS, Adult, ALIENATION, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, dark humor, DEATH, DEPRESSION, england, female authors, GRIEF, introspective, Italy, Jessie Cave, LITERARY FICTION, LONDON, loneliness, MEMORY, millennial, My reviews, netgalley, no quotations marks, published in 2021, read in 2021, SISTERS, Summer, summer reads, Sunset, trauma, travel, work culture -
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 -
Intimacies by Katie Kitamura
On paper, Intimacies is my kind of read. In actuality, well, turns out it is anything but. While it ticks all the ‘in’ boxes (an unnamed narrator, ambiguous storyline, no quotation marks), the ‘story’ and characters were dusty, dull, done-to-death. Our narrator is an interpreter who lives and works in The Hague and works for…
1st pov, 2 STARS, Adult, ambiguous protagonist, American, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, cheating, cold tone, ennui, female authors, Intimacies, japanese american author, Katie Kitamura, language, LITERARY FICTION, love triangle, My reviews, navel gazing, Netherlands, no quotations marks, published in 2021, read in 2021, reading, slow pacing, style over character, unnamed narrator
luce [is reading] 