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Life Ceremony: Stories by Sayaka Murata
This collection was both disappointing and unnecessarily disgusting. Not a great start to my reading year… “What could be more normal than making people into clothes or furniture after they die?” A lot of things… As Life Ceremony happened to be one of my most anticipated 2022 releases, I was very happy to learn that…
2 STARS, Adult, ALIENATION, arc, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, cannibalism, Contemporary, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), favourite authors, female authors, feverish, gay side characters, graphic content, grotesque, HORROR, illness, japan, lgbtq+ side, Life Ceremony, Life Ceremony: Stories, My reviews, netgalley, Neurodiversity, published in 2022, read in 2022, reading, Sayaka Murata, sex, SPECULATIVE FICTION, surreal, TRANSLATED FICTION, weird, what ifs -
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Klara and the Sun presents its readers with a quiet yet touching meditation on life. In a similar fashion as Never Let Me Go Kazuo Ishiguro’s foray into the speculative realm is deeply grounded in the mundane. Yet, in spite of its ordinary trappings, Klara and the Sun is a work that is brimming…
1st pov, 4 STARS, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, atmospheric, beautiful prose, British author, environmental, existentialism, favourite authors, friendships, identity, introspective, Kazuo Ishiguro, Klara and the Sun, LITERARY FICTION, male authors, near future/alternate reality, parenting, psychological, published in 2021, re-reads, read in 2021, read in 2022, SCI-FI, SLICE OF LIFE, SPECULATIVE FICTION, technology, unnamed country, what ifs -
The Neil Gaiman Reader: Selected Fiction by Neil Gaiman
The Neil Gaiman Reader showcases Gaiman’s range as an author. Gaiman moves between genres and tones like no other. From funny fairy-talesque stories to more ambiguous narratives with dystopian or horror elements. While I have read most of his novels and a few of his novellas I hadn’t really ‘sunk’ my teeth in his short…
1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, Adult, adventure, America, American Gods, angels, books about writers, British author, curses, DEMONS, DETECTIVE, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), dystopia, england, FAIRY TALES, FAIRYLAND, FANTASY, favourite authors, film industry, FOLKLORE, gods, great storytelling, HISTORICAL FICTION, HORROR, HUMOR, lgbtq+ side, m/m side, male authors, morality, myths, Neil Gaiman, PARANORMAL, published in 2020, RETELLINGS, SCI-FI, short stories, SPECULATIVE FICTION, story within a story, Storytelling, The Neil Gaiman Reader, The Neil Gaiman Reader: Selected Fiction, URBAN FANTASY, what ifs -
Graceful Burdens by Roxane Gay
Graceful Burdens is a competitively written short story that is very much concerned with reproductive justice. This story presents us with a world in which some women do not meet the necessary ‘requirements’ to be mothers and therefore are not allowed to reproduce. Some ‘unfit mothers’ borrow babies from a ‘baby library’, others…
2.5 STARS, 3rd pov, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, dystopia, female authors, Graceful Burdens, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, motherhood, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, published in 2020, queer, read in 2020, reproductive justice, Roxane Gay, short stories, social issues, SPECULATIVE FICTION, what ifs -
Tunneling to the Center of the Earth: Stories by Kevin Wilson
A very Wilsonesque collection of stories: dysfunctional families, spontaneous human combustion, surreal scenarios, and plenty of eccentric characters. Each story in this collection held my attention, and while they share similarities, they also showcase Wilson’s range: from lighthearted tales (such as “Grand Stand-In” and “Tunneling to the Center of the Earth”) to more bittersweet stories…
4.5 STARS, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, bad love, collection of short stories, Contemporary, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), family, favourite authors, friendships, great storytelling, HUMOR, Kafkaesque, Kevin Wilson, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, m/m side, MAGICAL REALISM, male authors, museums, published in 2009, queer side characters, read in 2020, short stories, siblings, SPECULATIVE FICTION, surreal, toxic relationships, Tunneling to the Center of the Earth, weird, what ifs, work culture -
The Bridge by Bill Konigsberg
The Bridge by Bill Konigsberg took me by surprise. While I did enjoy reading two of Konigsberg’s previous novels, Openly Straight and The Music of What Happens, they certainly didn’t affect me as The Bridge. This is the kind of novel I wish had been around when I was sixteen and contemplating suicide.While there are…
3rd pov, 4.5 STARS, ADOPTION, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Bill Konigsberg, coming of age, Contemporary, DEPRESSION, family, fathers & daughters, fathers & sons, friendships, gay, identity, illness, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, male authors, mental health, NEW YORK, published in 2020, queer, read in 2020, social issues, suicide, The Bridge, what ifs -
Version Control by Dexter Palmer
Version Control is going to be tough to review as I have never felt so conflicted about a book. There were some scenes in Part I that were pure genius. But once I delved into Part II I was forced to reevaluate my first impressions of this book.Imagine walking into some art gallery and coming…
2 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, affairs, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, big books, Black & Black heritage authors, Dexter Palmer, existentialism, family, labs, male authors, MARRIAGE, men who do not seem to know how to write women, mothers & sons, near future/alternate reality, new jersey, parallel universes, philosophical, published in 2016, RACE, read in 2020, SCI-FI, science, scientists & co, social issues, SPECULATIVE FICTION, time travel, Version Control, what ifs -
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
“You have as many lives as you have possibilities. There are lives where you make different choices. And those choices lead to different outcomes. If you had done just one thing differently, you would have a different life story. And they all exist in the Midnight Library. They are all as real as this…
3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, afterlife, books about books, British author, Contemporary, DEATH, DEPRESSION, england, family, FANTASY, GRIEF, identity, illness, librarians, libraries/bookshops, MAGICAL REALISM, male authors, Matt Haig, mental health, music, musicians, parallel universes, published in 2020, read in 2020, siblings, social issues, SPECULATIVE FICTION, suicide, The Midnight Library, uplifting reads, what ifs -
Temporary by Hilary Leichter — book review
“The gods created the First Temporary so they could take a break.” Temporary is a wonderfully bizarre novel. Readers who prefer to read stories that are grounded in reality or that are ruled by logic and reason may be better off steering clear from the sheer absurdity that is Temporary. “She noted the fallacy of…
4 STARS, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, female authors, Hilary Leichter, HUMOR, Kafkaesque, LITERARY FICTION, MAGICAL REALISM, office, pirates, published in 2020, read in 2020, ship, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, SPECULATIVE FICTION, surreal, Temporary, temporary workers, unnamed narrator, weird, what ifs, work culture -
If, Then : Book Review
If, Then by Kate Hope Day ★★✰✰✰ 2 stars If, Then is yet another example of ‘great concept, poor execution‘. Maybe I wouldn’t have minded as much if the story had been told in a less uninvolved narrative. The story features on a group of neighbours who begin seeing “what ifs“. One sees herself romantically…
luce [is reading] 