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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 -
All This I Will Give to You by Dolores Redondo
“There’s a type of open grief that’s public, one of tears and mourning; and there’s another, immense and silent, that is a million times more powerful.” Initially, the premise for All This I Will Give to You intrigued me and I was gripped by the story’s tragic momentum. Manuel, a bestselling author, receives a visit…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, All This I Will Give to You, books about writers, class, Contemporary, CRIME, Dolores Redondo, drama, female authors, gay, GRIEF, lgbtq+, m/m, MURDER, murder mystery, MYSTERY, police, published in 2016, queer, read in 2022, rich people, SMALL TOWN, small town crime, spain, spanish author, SUSPENSE, TRANSLATED FICTION, widows -
The Break by Katherena Vermette
The Break is a harrowing yet lucidly written intergenerational family saga that examines the repercussions of a horrific act of violence.The book opens with Stella, a young Métis mother, witnessing a violent attack on some land near her house. Although torn, Stella doesn’t rush to the victim’s rescue and calls the police instead. When they…
3 STARS, addiction, Adult, body dysmorphia, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, canada, canadian author, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), family, FAMILY SAGA, female authors, ghosts/spirits, grandmothers, indigenous, indigenous author, Katherena Vermette, LITERARY FICTION, MAGICAL REALISM, motherhood, mothers & daughters, My reviews, native american & first nation, Native American & First Nation authors, published in 2016, rape, read in 2022, reading, sexual assault/abuse/rape, social issues, The Break, trauma, violence, violence against women -
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo
While I appreciated the subject matter (no matter how infuriating & depressing), I could not get into the robotic style. This book opens with Kim Jiyoune, a housewife and stay-at-home mother, acting in an increasingly concerning manner. Depressive episodes give way to ‘bizarre’ instances in which she emulates the behaviour of other women. Her concerned…
1980s, 1990s, 2.5 STARS, 2000s, 2010s, Adult, ALIENATION, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Cho Nam-Joo, cold tone, Contemporary, DEPRESSION, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), female authors, feminism, Korea, Korean, korean author, MARRIAGE, mental health, millennial, motherhood, My reviews, pregnancy, published in 2016, read in 2021, reading, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues, subject over characters/story, TRANSLATED FICTION, trauma, work culture -
The Clothing of Books by Jhumpa Lahiri
In this short and meditative piece, Jhumpa Lahiri examines the role that book jackets play in a person’s reading experience and the responsibility they have in not only conveying the book within but in catching someone’s attention. Lahiri looks back to her youth and recalls how the books she borrowed from at the library were…
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Shoko’s Smile: Stories by Eun-young Choi
When it comes to collections of short stories, more often than not, I find myself rather unaffected by them. While most collections do have one or two good stories in them, the remainder tends to be either forgettable or plain bad. The stories in Shoko’s Smile are by no means terrible but they did strike…
3 STARS, Adult, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, collection of short stories, Contemporary, Eun-young Choi, family, female authors, friendships, GRIEF, intergenerational, japan, Korea, Korean, korean author, My reviews, published in 2016, read in 2021, reading, restrained prose, short stories, TRANSLATED FICTION -
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 -
Three Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafak
“She and Mona and I. The three of us: the Sinner, the Believer, the Confused.” Since I fell in love with Shafak’s The Forty Rules of Love back in 2016, I have made my way through her oeuvre, even her more ‘obscure’ titles such as the overlooked gem that is The Saint of Incipient Insanities.…
1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 3 STARS, 3rd pov, bi side characters, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, campus, CHILDHOOD, class, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, drama, ELIF SHAFAK, england, family, favourite authors, female authors, friendships, growing up, GUILT, introspective, Islam, jealousy, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, MAGICAL REALISM, My reviews, oxford, politics, published in 2016, read in 2021, Religion, teachers, Turkey, turkish author, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, unrequited love -
The Mothers by Brit Bennett
“Grief was not a line, carrying you infinitely further from loss. You never knew when you would be sling-shot backward into its grip.” The first time I picked up The Mothers was back in 2017. After reading a few chapters I set aside thinking that it was not for me. And then came the advent…
2010s, 3 STARS, 3rd pov, abortion/miscarriage/bodily autonomy, affairs, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, beautiful prose, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Brit Bennett, California, cheating, Christianity, Contemporary, f/f side, family, favourite authors, female authors, female friendships, friendships, greek chorus, GRIEF, GUILT, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, love triangle, motherhood, mothers & daughters, My reviews, problematic, published in 2016, read in 2021, reading, Religion, SMALL TOWN, suicide, The Mothers -
Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue
Written in a direct yet luminous prose, Behold the Dreamers chronicles the trials, and occasional joys, of a Cameroonian couple in New York. The Jongas move to America to improve their circumstances. In pursuit of the elusive American Dream Jende secures a position as chauffeur to a Wall Street senior executive while his wife Neni…
2000s, 3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, America, American, American dream, Black & Black heritage authors, Cameroon, Cameroonian American author, class, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, drama, family, female authors, gay side characters, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, MARRIAGE, migration/immigration, NEW YORK, Poverty, published in 2016, RACE, read in 2021, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, work culture
luce [is reading] 