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Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas
“I used to believe the house was haunted. Really, it was the other way around; the house haunted me.” 3 re-read: I once again loved this. The novel’s gothic ambience is truly hypnotic and Thomas really manages to suffuse Ines’ experiences at Catherine House with a dreamlike quality. There is a vagueness, a haze, one…
1990s, 1st pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, academia, Adult, ALIENATION, ambiguous protagonist, ambivalent mood, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, campus, Catherine House, cliques, cold tone, Contemporary, creepy setting, dark, dark academia, dreamlike quality, Elisabeth Thomas, existentialism, FANTASY, female authors, feverish, gay side characters, GOTHIC, GRIEF, GUILT, haunted house, hauntings, HORROR, it’s about the *aesthetics*, it’s about the *yearning*, lgbtq+, loneliness, Longing, modern gothic, morality, My reviews, MYSTERY, NEW ADULT, no plot just vibes, obsession, otherness, Pennsylvania, published in 2020, re-reads, read in 2021, read in 2022, reading, secretiveness, strong sense of place, surreal, terrific prose, the female malaise, trauma -
The Days of Afrekete by Asali Solomon
“There was so much lying all the time, particularly when you got together with people who were not Black. Bland observations about about schools, neighborhoods, and the words “kids” and “safe” and “family” tried to cover up a landscape of volcanos oozing with blood, pus, and shit.” What drew my attention to The Days of…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, academia, Adult, Asali Solomon, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, class, Contemporary, drama, f/f, female authors, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, MARRIAGE, mental health, My reviews, netgalley, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PRIVILEGE, published in 2021, RACE, read in 2021, reading, satire, The Days of Afrekete, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE -
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Such a Fun Age is a engaging, if ultimately frustrating, read. The premise brought to mind two favorites of mine (Lucy and Luster, both focus on young black women living with white middle-class couples and taking ‘care’ of their child). Given the buzz around Such a Fun Age I had rather high expectations and when…
3rd pov, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, bad love, Black & Black heritage authors, class, Contemporary, drama, female authors, female friendships, friendships, HUMOR, influencers, Kiley Reid, millennial, motherhood, parenting, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, published in 2019, RACE, read in 2021, rich people, rom-coms, satire, sitter/au pair/governess, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues, social media, Such a Fun Age, Summer, summer reads, work culture -
What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons
Though mostly comprising of short chapters, some shorter than a page, What We Lose is a poignant novel that succeeds on many different levels: it captures the narrator’s inner feelings, it gives a crystal-clear understanding of her circumstances, and it provides us with insights into questions of love, race, illness, grief, and motherhood.…
Adult, America, American, apartheid, Black & Black heritage authors, class, Contemporary, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), divorce/separations, family, female authors, female friendships, friendships, GRIEF, identity, illness, introspective, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, MARRIAGE, motherhood, mothers & daughters, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, politics, PUBLISHED IN 2017, RACE, read in 2021, social issues, south africa, South African American author, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, What We Lose, Zinzi Clemmons -
A Crooked Tree by Una Mannion
“That summer when I so desperately tried to reel us all in, I didn’t understand the forces spinning us apart.” The opening of A Crooked Tree is certainly chilling. Libby, our fifteen-year old narrator, is in the car with her siblings. When their squabbling gets too much their mother dumps twelve-year old Ellen on the…
1980s, 1st pov, 20th century, 3.25 stars, A Crooked Tree, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, CHILDHOOD, class, coming of age, creepy setting, family, female authors, friendships, girlhood, growing up, GUILT, kidnapping, MYSTERY, netgalley, nostalgic reads, Pennsylvania, place as character, Poverty, psychological, published in 2021, read in 2021, rural setting, siblings, SISTERS, Summer, SUSPENSE, Una Mannion, YOUNG ADULT -
The Low, Low Woods by Carmen Maria Machado
Having only read Carmen Maria Machado’s memoir, I wasn’t sure what to except from The Low, Low Woods. The summary promised a creepy tale: we have the classic small town setting (here called Shudder-to-Think), strange creatures (deer-women, skinless men), and an old mystery.The first issue begins with our two protagonists, El and Octavia, waking up…
2.5 STARS, abuse, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Carmen Maria Machado, Contemporary, f/f, FANTASY, female authors, friendships, Graphic Novels, HORROR, latinx author, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, MAGIC, PARANORMAL, Pennsylvania, published in 2020, queer, read in 2020, sapphic, SMALL TOWN, The Low Low Woods, violence against women -
These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever
Heavenly Creatures by way of Patricia Highsmith, plus a sprinkle of Like Minds, and with the kind of teenage morbidity one could find in Hangsaman or Stoker. Adroit and gripping, These Violent Delights is a superlative debut novel. Being the self-proclaimed connoisseur of academia fiction that I am, I was drawn by the comparisons to…
1970s, 3rd pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, academia, Adult, ALIENATION, ambiguous protagonist, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, ANGST, anxiety, anxiety-inducing reads, bad love, class, dark, dark academia, drama, family, first love, gay, HISTORICAL FICTION, identity, Jewish, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, m/m, mental health, Micah Nemerever, morality, MYSTERY, obsession, Pennsylvania, philosophical, psychological, Psychological thriller, published in 2020, queer, re-reads, read in 2020, read in 2022, rich people, SUSPENSE, terrific prose, These Violent Delights, THRILLER, toxic relationships, tragedy, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, whydunnit -
Ways to Disappear by Idra Novey — book review
Ways to Disappear tries hard to evoke the absurd and surreal atmosphere that is often associated with Latin American magical realism, the end result makes for a rather dismal homage. The lack of quotations marks and the inclusion of word definitions hardly make Ways to Disappear innovative. A nondescript American translator flies to Brazil after…
2 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, affairs, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, BOOK REVIEWS, books about books, books about writers, brazil, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, female authors, Idra Novey, language, MAGICAL REALISM, missing persons, missing women, MYSTERY, no quotations marks, Pennsylvania, purply prose, read in 2020, surreal, Ways to Disappear -
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett — book review
“I was still at a point in my life when the house was the hero of every story, our lost and beloved country.” Not Quite a Review, More of an Ode to Ann Patchett: Usually I tend to post my reviews a couple of days after I’ve finished reading a book. With The Dutch House…
1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1st pov, 20th century, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, ANN PATCHETT, ART/CREATIVITY, beautiful prose, bildungsroman, CHILDHOOD, class, coming of age, divorce/separations, evil stepmother, family, fatherhood, fathers & sons, favourite authors, female authors, forgiveness, GRIEF, growing up, HISTORICAL FICTION, House As Character, identity, illness, introspective, LITERARY FICTION, manor/big house, MARRIAGE, mothers & sons, NEW YORK, nostalgic reads, orphans, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, place as character, published in 2019, re-reads, READ IN 2019, read in 2021, restrained prose, siblings, strong sense of place, The Dutch House
luce [is reading] 