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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 -
The Symmetry of Fish by Su Cho
I will admit that my motivations to read The Symmetry of Fish were rather superficial: I thought the cover design was stunning and the title itself intrigued me. In the last few months, I have been making an effort to read more contemporary poetry and so far I can safely say that I love Ada…
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The Furrows by Namwali Serpell
At first, The Furrows presents its readers with a labyrinthine yet hypotonic narrative about trauma, grief, and guilt. Cassandra, our central character, now an adult, recalls the death of her seven-year-old brother, Wayne when she was twelve. Then, this accident is presented to us again, except this time the circumstances are different. Cassandra tells different…
Adult, ambiguous protagonist, ambivalent mood, America, bad love, Black & Black heritage authors, black diaspora, CHILDHOOD, cold tone, Contemporary, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), female authors, GRIEF, GUILT, incest-y, LITERARY FICTION, MEMORY, MYSTERY, Namwali Serpell, psychological, published in 2022, read in 2022, rich people, sea, siblings, snapshots, style over character, surreal, The Furrows, toxic relationships, trauma, Zambian author -
The Dragon’s Promise by Elizabeth Lim
why are all my most anticipated 2022 releases so disappointing 😭 Please, let there be no love triangle If you’ve read my review for Six Crimson Cranes you know just how much I loved that book. While I was concerned that the sequel would include a wholly unnecessary love triangle angle, I wasn’t at all…
1st pov, 3 STARS, adventure, AMERICAN AUTHOR, bad guy is bad, BOOK REVIEWS, curses, DRAGONS, drama, Elizabeth Lim, FAIRY TALES, female authors, high fantasy, japanese inspired setting, love triangle, MAGIC, My reviews, myths, Not Like Other Girls, palace, published in 2022, read in 2022, reading, ROMANCE, royals, sea, Six Crimson Cranes, The Dragon's Promise, YOUNG ADULT -
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh
The YA genre seems saturated by heroines who are (allegedly) neither beautiful nor intelligent but they are spunky and clumsy and bursting with goodness. Well, I have had my fill of these girls. Wholesome, vanilla, inoffensive, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a relatively enjoyable YA read that tone-wise will definitely appeal to…
1st pov, 3 STARS, adventure, Axie Oh, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, curses, FANTASY, female authors, ghosts/spirits, gods, HISTORICAL FICTION, korean american author, korean inspired setting, MAGIC, My reviews, myths, Not Like Other Girls, published in 2022, read in 2022, reading, RETELLINGS, ROMANCE, sea, spirit realm, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, weak worldbuilding, YOUNG ADULT -
How to Escape from a Leper Colony: A Novella and Stories by Tiphanie Yanique
“Who wants to be the one in the Bible always getting cured? We want to be the heroes, too. We want to be like Jesus. Or like Shiva. Or like whomever you pray to.” How to Escape from a Leper Colony presents readers with a collection of interconnected tales that are a blend between the…
2000s, 20th century, Adult, America, atmospheric, belonging, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Caribbean, caribbean author, Christianity, collection of short stories, Contemporary, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), family, female authors, gay side characters, HISTORICAL FICTION, How to Escape from a Leper Colony, illness, intergenerational, ISLAND, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, Longing, MAGICAL REALISM, My reviews, published in 2010, read in 2022, reading, Religion, Saint Thomas, Saint Thomas authors, sea, short stories, summer reads, Tiphanie Yanique, U.S. Virgin Islands authors -
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
“The deep sea is a haunted house: a place in which things that ought not to exist move about in the darkness.” The cover, title, premise, and early hype around this novel made me think that I was going to love it. Alas, as it often seems to be the case, Our Wives Under The…
1st pov, Adult, ambiguous protagonist, arc, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, British author, cold tone, Contemporary, england, f/f, female authors, GRIEF, illness, introspective, Julia Armfield, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, MARRIAGE, MEMORY, mental health, My reviews, netgalley, Our Wives Under The Sea, psychological, purply prose, queer, reading, sapphic, science, scientists & co, sea, style over character, stylised prose, subject over characters/story, surreal -
海のふた [Umi no futa] by Banana Yoshimoto
海のふた (The Sea’s Lid?) is very much a typical Banana Yoshimoto novel. We have the quintessentially Yoshimoto-esque narrator (usually a quiet young woman who is grieving someone or longing for something), a slice-of-life storyline and a small-town setting. This novel takes place during the summer months and Mari has just moved back to her hometown…
1st pov, 2000s, 3.5 STARS, Adult, Banana Yoshimoto, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, coming of age, Contemporary, favourite authors, female authors, female friendships, friendships, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, loneliness, melancholy, My reviews, navel gazing, published in 2004, re-reads, READ IN 2019, reading, sea, SLICE OF LIFE, SMALL TOWN, The Sea’s Lid, TRANSLATED FICTION, Umi No Futa, 海のふた -
How to Find a Princess by Alyssa Cole
“A princess and her lady knight—the kind of fairy tale she’d always wanted, if she had to be a princess.” Perhaps I hyped myself so much so that disappointment was inevitable. How to Find a Princess was one of my most anticipated 2021 releases and I can’t say that I loved it. It had its…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, Alyssa Cole, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Contemporary, drama, f/f, female authors, How To Find A Princess, HUMOR, ISLAND, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, light reads, My reviews, Neurodiversity, published in 2021, queer, read in 2021, reading, RETELLINGS, road trip, rom-coms, ROMANCE, royals, sea, ship -
Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson
“Names have power. This is the fundamental principle of magic everywhere. Call out the name of a supernatural being, and you will have its instant and undivided attention in the same way that your lost toddler will have yours the second it calls your name.” First published in 2000 Monkey Beach is a deeply evocative…
1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 1st pov, 4 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, addiction, affairs, bildungsroman, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, british columbia, canada, canadian author, CHILDHOOD, coming of age, DEATH, Eden Robinson, family, female authors, ghosts/spirits, girlhood, GRIEF, growing up, haisla, haisla author, identity, indigenous, indigenous author, introspective, MAGICAL REALISM, MEMORY, monkey beach, My reviews, native american & first nation, Native American & First Nation authors, place as character, published in 2000, rape, re-reads, read in 2021, read in 2022, reading, rural setting, sea, sexual assault/abuse/rape, siblings, social issues, YOUNG ADULT
luce [is reading] 