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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 -
Greenland: A Novel by David Santos Donaldson
Greenland is characterized by a mordant, erudite satire that I have come to associate with authors such as Zadie Smith, Deborah Levy, and Edward St. Aubyn. David Santos Donaldson’s insight into academia & creative burnout brought to mind the work of Weike Wang, Elaine Hsieh Chou, David Hoon Kim, and Jo Hamya. Similarly to these…
1910s, 1st pov, 20th century, academia, Adult, ALIENATION, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, belonging, Black & Black heritage authors, bombastic style, books about books, books about writers, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, David Santos Donaldson, egypt, existentialism, experimental, feverish, gay, greenland, Greenland: A Novel, hallucinations, history, identity, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, loneliness, male authors, masculinity, men who do not seem to know how to write women, navel gazing, NEW YORK, obsession, paranoia, philosophical, psychological, published in 2022, queer, RACE, read in 2022, satire, sex, SEXUALITY, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, story within a story, stylised prose, travel, unreliable narrators, weird -
Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R.F. Kuang
“Languages aren’t just made of words. They’re modes of looking at the world. They’re the keys to civilization. And that’s knowledge worth killing for.” Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution is an fierce indictment against colonialism. Within this superbly written slow-burner of a bildungsroman, R.F. Kuang presents her…
1820s, 1830s, 19TH CENTURY, 3 STARS, 3rd pov, 4 STARS, abuse, academia, Adult, ALIENATION, alternate history, anxiety-inducing reads, atmospheric, babel, Babel or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution, belonging, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, brothers, child abuse, CHILDHOOD, China, chinese american author, class, cliques, colonialism, coming of age, cultural dissonance, dark academia, DEATH, england, FANTASY, fathers & sons, female authors, friendships, great storytelling, growing up, GUILT, HISTORICAL FICTION, history, identity, India, language, lgbtq+, LONDON, loneliness, Longing, MAGIC, morality, MURDER, muslim side characters, My reviews, MYSTERY, orphans, oxford, philosophical, politics, PRIVILEGE, psychological, published in 2022, queer undercurrents, R.F. Kuang, RACE, read in 2022, reading, revenge, secret societies, secretiveness, ship, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues, strong sense of place, SUSPENSE, teachers, terrific prose, tragedy, travel, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, URBAN FANTASY, war -
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Cloud-Atlas-esque novels seem to be all the rage in 2022… “This place is precarious, that’s the only word for it. It’s the lightest sketch of civilizations, caught between the forest and the sea. He doesn’t belong here” This is my third novel by Mandel and once again I have rather conflicting thoughts and feelings about…
1910s, 20th century, 3 STARS, Adult, America, ART/CREATIVITY, ARTISTS, beautiful prose, belonging, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about books, books about writers, canada, canadian author, Contemporary, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), dystopia, Emily St. John Mandel, f/f side, female authors, HISTORICAL FICTION, interconnected stories, interesting structure, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, moon, morality, musicians, My reviews, pandemic, philosophical, published in 2022, queer side characters, read in 2022, reading, restrained prose, SCI-FI, Sea Of Tranquility, siblings, SPECULATIVE FICTION, time travel -
Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami
It would be safe to say that I do have a bit of an uneasy relationship with Murakami’s work. I read and was not blown away by it. Over the last couple of months, I have picked up several of his short story collections but never felt compelled to finish them. The main reason why…
1990s, 1st pov, Adult, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Dreams, existentialism, f/f, feverish, first love, Greece, hallucinations, Haruki Murakami, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, male authors, men who do not seem to know how to write women, missing persons, missing women, My reviews, obsession, philosophical, published in 1999, read in 2022, reading, ROMANCE, sapphic, sex, SEXUALITY, Sputnik Sweetheart, story within a story, surreal, teachers, TRANSLATED FICTION, travel, unrequited love -
The World Cannot Give by Tara Isabella Burton
this is my fault. i should know by now that titles claiming to have dark academia or sapphic vibes should be approached with extreme caution. DISCLAIMER: I did not like this book and my review reflects of that. I will be brutally honest about my thoughts on this novel so if you want to read…
1 STAR, 3rd pov, academia, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, ANGST, boarding/private school, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about writers, cheesy, Christianity, cliques, Contemporary, dark academia, drama, eating disorders, f/f side, female authors, horrible friends, lesbian side characters, Longing, maine, MELODRAMA, music, My reviews, MYSTERY, obsession, philosophical, published in 2022, queer, read in 2022, reading, Religion, sex, SEXUALITY, SUSPENSE, Tara Isabella Burton, teen angst, The World Cannot Give, toxic relationships, unrequited love, weak prose, weak worldbuilding -
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 -
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 -
The Cat Who Saved Books by Sōsuke Natsukawa
The Cat and The Travelling Cat Chronicles makes for a quick and wholesome read that will definitely appeal to bibliophiles. Like other fantasy coming-of-age tales, this novel features a talking animal who enlists our human protagonists in an adventure and acts as a guide of sorts into the magical world. Rintaro Natsuki, our protagonist, is…
3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, adventure, Booklr, books about books, cats, Contemporary, GRIEF, HIGH SCHOOL, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, MAGIC, MAGICAL REALISM, male authors, orphans, philosophical, PUBLISHED IN 2017, quests, read in 2021, Sōsuke Natsukawa, talking animals, The Cat and The Travelling Cat Chronicles, TRANSLATED FICTION -
Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge
Strange Beasts of China certainly delivers on the ‘strange’ suggested by its very title and premise. This novel consists of 9 interconnected chapters, each one presenting us with a self-contained story about a certain type of ‘beast’. Strange Beasts of China reads like a contemporary and unique bestiary in which, through the eyes of our…
1st pov, 3 STARS, Adult, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about writers, China, chinese author, DEATH, FANTASY, female authors, interconnected stories, LITERARY FICTION, MAGICAL REALISM, monsters, My reviews, philosophical, published in 2006, read in 2021, reading, science, SPECULATIVE FICTION, Strange Beasts of China, suicide, TRANSLATED FICTION, unnamed narrator, Yan Ge
luce [is reading] 