I have a very strong stomach but I am triggered by three things. 1. Vomiting, 2. Childbirth, 3. Pandemics (this last one evoking existential dread morI have a very strong stomach but I am triggered by three things. 1. Vomiting, 2. Childbirth, 3. Pandemics (this last one evoking existential dread more than nausea but do I find reading about them almost as painful as living through one). This book has all three, so, it’s a testament to how much I like Emma Donoghue’s writing that I: a. Made it through this book, and b. Actually enjoyed it.
Set in a maternity ward in 1918 Dublin over the course of three days, The Pull of the Stars follows Julia Power, a nurse attending to expectant mothers who are sick with the flu. It's a fast-paced, frantic novel that contrasts the hectic episodes on the ward with the tender, budding friendship between Julia and her new volunteer helper, an uneducated girl named Bridie Sweeney.
This book is thoroughly engrossing--it immerses you in a borderline excessive amount of detail, but Donoghue manages it in a way so that it pulls the reader in rather than alienating them. Full disclosure, I had to skip entire paragraphs of this book that were too gruesome for me, but it was entirely with regret that I did so--there's something so transfixing about Donoghue's storytelling, and I've felt this about all three of her books that I've read. She also nails the evocation of this Irish hospital in a city under siege by a deadly virus. With obvious parallels to 2020 in a lot of ways, this still felt firmly fixed in its historical setting, which was a positive for me.
I did find The Pull of the Stars rather heavy-handed at times (notably in its treatment of Irish political history; it felt very transparent that Donoghue was framing Julia as an outsider to the rebellion in order to spoon feed the reader about how maybe the British empire aren't the good guys after all!--though I will concede I probably read more of these narratives than most), but that was my only real complaint. On the whole I thought this was a compelling, moving read, though I must caution that you need either a strong stomach or a strong conviction to make it through.
I won this copy in a Goodreads giveaway; all thoughts are my own....more
A bit of a repetitive and underdeveloped read. I wanted to see more of a reckoning for the protagonist whose obsession with her aloof best friend singA bit of a repetitive and underdeveloped read. I wanted to see more of a reckoning for the protagonist whose obsession with her aloof best friend singularly dominated this novel, but the narrative never really turned a corner. I find it frustrating when a book takes itself too seriously to be a breezy beach read yet not seriously enough to live up to its literary potential. The result was kind of just Temu Elena Ferrante. ...more
Of the three memoirs I read this month, Mother Winter was far and away the one that hit me the hardest, which may surprise you as I've talked before aOf the three memoirs I read this month, Mother Winter was far and away the one that hit me the hardest, which may surprise you as I've talked before about my disinterest in 'motherhood books' (only as a matter of personal taste). But I suppose Mother Winter is less of a mother book than it is a daughter book, centered on the irreconcilable grief that Sophia Shalmiyev incurred by growing up motherless. This is a sharp, focused, achingly tender and highly literary memoir that reads like a constant gut-punch.
Growing up in Leningrad in the 1980s, Shalmiyev had very little contact with her alcoholic mother, who she was forced to leave behind altogether when her father decided to emigrate in 1989. Shalmiyev spends the rest of her childhood and then adolescence and then adulthood unable to contact her mother, without any means of finding out if she's even alive or dead. Her experimental memoir (which will undoubtedly appeal to fans of Maggie Nelson) fuses her unique experience of loss with themes of exile, grief, sexuality, displacement, and feminism; she often looks to iconic feminist women as stand-in maternal figures, as she relentlessly interrogates the lacuna that comes to define her.
Shalmiyev's prose is vivid and searing. In this passage she's talking about a dream she has where her mother is a statue at the bottom of the sea, and the imagery and emotional honesty on display here is rather emblematic of the rest of the book:
When you're fished out, you will go to your proper place in a museum to be admired by me only. I will polish your bronze name plaque, and I will be writing the small paragraph, printed on heavy card stock in a tastefully solemn font, about you as a priceless relic, a found shard, degraded, a puzzling piece of history. A head lost, bust found somewhere, a battered woman with blank eyes, erected by those who had infinite worship in their hearts.
My one criticism is the overly abrupt ending, which leaves the reader with question after unanswered question. I obviously have to ask myself if that was indeed the point, which is certainly a possibility, but this is one of those books that seems so mired in the past that there isn't much consideration for the future, and I'm left wondering what Shalmiyev intends to do after the final pages of this book. But, perhaps she does not owe us that explanation, or perhaps we will have to wait until she writes another book. Which I certainly hope she will.
Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy provided in exchange for an honest review. I will check the quote against a finished copy upon publication....more
Engrossing, complex, and emotionally honest, Normal People is an understated powerhouse of a novel. As this book ends up being so much more than the sEngrossing, complex, and emotionally honest, Normal People is an understated powerhouse of a novel. As this book ends up being so much more than the sum of its parts it's particularly difficult to summarize, but basically, it's a sort-of-love-story about Connell and Marianne, two young people growing up in small town Ireland together, who both move to Dublin for university in 2011.
There isn't much going on in this book aside from Connell and Marianne's 'will they/won't they' relationship, but I wouldn't describe this as a romance novel as much as a novel about being human. Sally Rooney highlights with razor-sharp precision the oddities and intricacies that complicate interpersonal interactions, even between two people who love one another. This book is about miscommunication, but not miscommunication as a plot device; miscommunication as an intrinsic part of the human experience, naturally calling into question the possibility of truly knowing another person. Connell and Marianne's inability to open up to one another is so much bigger than these two individual characters; it's about gender roles and socioeconomic differences and power dynamics and social status and preconceived notions and projections and misinterpretations, and Rooney examines it all minutely through the lens of this one ill-fated sort-of-couple. She also has the uncanny ability to cut to the emotional core of a scene without sensationalizing, and I think that's what strikes me as the most accomplished element of this novel.
I think this book is inevitably going to be underestimated by some because of its premise, and because of all the hyperbolic claims that Rooney is the definitive voice of her generation. But it's a deceptively clever book; it's perceptive where it could easily be vapid, it's clear-eyed where it could be melodramatic, and it has more intellectual and emotional depth than anything else I've read recently. A bit of an unconventional choice for the Booker longlist, but it fully earned its spot in my opinion, and I'd love to see it shortlisted....more
Magpie Murders was a fun, unexpected, and delightfully meta love letter to classic whodunnits and of course to the queen of mystery, Agatha Christie. Magpie Murders was a fun, unexpected, and delightfully meta love letter to classic whodunnits and of course to the queen of mystery, Agatha Christie. You get two novels for the price of one with this one, and each is twisty, clever, and engaging - not equally so, I actually thought the novel within the novel offered more intrigue and less predictability. Though watching literary-agent-turned-amateur-detective Susan investigate the mysterious death of her top selling author was fantastically entertaining. A must-read for all mystery fans!...more
This is a very strong contender for the worst book I have ever read. I'm not saying that lightly.
Gone Without a Trace is about Hannah, a thirty-somethThis is a very strong contender for the worst book I have ever read. I'm not saying that lightly.
Gone Without a Trace is about Hannah, a thirty-something young woman living the dream - she's got a house, a boyfriend, a steady job, and an imminent promotion. Until she comes home one day and finds that her boyfriend Matt has left her, in the most cold and calculated way possible - he's moved out all of his stuff, erased his number from her phone, deleted the pictures of him off her computer, and deactivated all of his social media accounts. She literally has no way to contact him, and she has no idea why he left.
I love the premise. It sounds like a nightmare, for someone to forcibly remove him or herself from your life in such an extreme way. This book had all the potential in the world... but Mary Torjussen dropped the ball. Getting through this book was agonizing. The prose was some of the most juvenile I've ever seen - exclamation points everywhere and probably about 80% of the sentences starting with "I" ("I wondered why Matt would do this to me! I loved him! I needed to find him!" - those sentences are my own, but I think they condense the contents of this book rather nicely). I try not to judge thrillers on their literary merit, but come on. This was painful to read.
And on top of that, it was just insanely boring. Hannah literally spends months - about 60% of the novel - trying to track down Matt, even though all signs point to him having left voluntarily. Each of her fruitless efforts is recorded in excruciating detail - why do I care that she's calling Matt's barber? And now his mechanic? And now every hotel in the greater Liverpool area? (Why doesn't she hire a private investigator? She has the money. She starts to go to such extreme lengths to find him, impersonating people, trying to trick them into divulging details; why wouldn't she just hire a professional at this point? Nothing in this book makes sense.)
My other major annoyance throughout this book that I just want to mention briefly was Hannah's relationship with her "best friend," Katie. These two had one of the pettiest relationships I've ever seen - when will we stop depicting all female friendships as catty and competitive? That's not real life. If you're 32 years old and you're still secretly trying to one-up everything your best friend does as if you're still in middle school, maybe you should reevaluate this supposedly rock solid friendship. The characters in this book just don't act like real people - they're shoddy and offensive caricatures.
And then we get to the twist. No spoilers, but I just... I literally do not have the words to describe how dumb this ending was. It's like the author was spinning a giant wheel of possible explanations including the likes of "aliens made them do it" and "it was all a dream" but instead landed on... whatever the hell we got instead. The 'explanation' we get to justify these characters' behavior doesn't make any sense. It doesn't fit with the information we'd had until that point, and not in the kind of way where if you went back to reread the beginning, you'd be able to read between the lines and see the truth lurking beneath. No, the explanation we get just doesn't add up. The entire ending of this book is one big incongruous, plot hole-ridden mess. I'd have preferred the aliens, to be perfectly honest.
To impress upon you just how terrible this book was, I have to tell you that I literally started doing a dramatic reading for my roommate toward the end, because we were getting into straight up comical territory. I'm sorry, but how did this book get published? It wasn't fast paced, it wasn't a page turner, it wasn't fun, it wasn't creepy, it was just... bad. I would compare this book to a soap opera, but soap operas didn't do anything to deserve that.
I received a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Thanks to the Goodreads First Reads program as well as the author and publisher for the opportunity. Sorry I didn't click with this more!...more
This was a perfectly competent thriller and I'm not sure I have much else to say about it. I will admit I had been expecting something a bit more... uThis was a perfectly competent thriller and I'm not sure I have much else to say about it. I will admit I had been expecting something a bit more... unique? shocking? twisted? original? - because it seems to be so universally adored. But it's clearly so adored because it's a perfectly solid book that's pretty hard to find fault with.
The setting is just perfect, the arid Australian farmland brought to life vividly. It's funny how the setting of a thriller never seems to be the most important element, but it's always a bit striking when you find one set somewhere other than small town England or wintry Scandinavia or New York City. Characters and environment play off each other well, and Harper captures that small-town claustrophobia perfectly.
I do have one huge criticism, and that's the use of italicized flashbacks to show backstory. Frankly I found it lazy - can you really not work that information into the description and dialogue? - but it also pulled me out of the story constantly. You'd be in the middle of a meeting between a detective and a suspect, and all of a sudden you get two paragraphs in italics about the detective's childhood, and it really did not work for me.
But, ultimately I was satisfied. I read it in two days, it was a compelling read, the big reveal was perfect, and there were enough subplots and character intrigue that it's gripping from start to finish. I'm definitely interested in checking out the sequel, with hopes that the italicized flashbacks do not continue. 3.5, I am having the hardest time settling on a star rating and whichever one I end up clicking in two seconds is going to be a rather arbitrary choice....more
i received a copy of this book from goodreads in exchange for an honest review.
in a word: yikes! where do i even begin? inexcusably misogynistic (the i received a copy of this book from goodreads in exchange for an honest review.
in a word: yikes! where do i even begin? inexcusably misogynistic (the amount of women who are raped to further the political agenda of male characters - for a book published as recently as 2014, no less!!! - is a little disturbing), melodramatic, poorly written in a repetitive staccato rhythm that drones on for 400 pages, transparently derivative (it's basically the hunger games on mars), and narrated by a conspicuously self-inserted protagonist who’s inexplicably gifted at everything, despite being the Relatable Everyman.
the most noteworthy thing i can say about this book is that it gets the distinction of being the worst thing i have read in a very long time. here's where i was coming from when i picked up this book: i don't read much of this genre, but i can still appreciate a good fantasy book every now and then, and since this is one of those books like the hunger games which seems to be crossing over into the mainstream, i entered this giveaway to see what all the hype was about. i still don't see it. honestly my current working hypothesis is that its popularity is down to the author being a conventionally attractive white guy.
pierce brown is trying too hard. there are several elements here that could lend themselves to an interesting story, but the sum falls woefully short of its parts. the book's political agenda is so heavy-handed that it doesn't even begin to challenge the reader, the progression of darrow’s characterization from simple laborer to one of the despised elite is boring and predictable (he has to become the person he hates in order to win, we get it), and the inclusion of roman mythology (an element i ordinarily love!) is incredibly contrived and arbitrary and poorly researched. the plot itself loses its footing when it reaches what should be the most exciting part of the story - the arena. it could cut out 100 pages, at least, and still get the point across. the characters are either unremarkable or downright deplorable. there’s no one worth rooting for. it doesn’t feel like there’s anything at stake; the very parameters of the game feel contrived and poorly designed, and every time darrow appears to be in real trouble, he’s magically saved by a deus ex machina twist, over and over and over again. it reads as very juvenile - not in a way that's meant to appeal to young readers, but in a way where it's clear that the author doesn't have the tools required to actualize his lofty ambitions for this story.
but maybe I could forgive all that, and i echo back to my first point here, the one thing that overwhelmingly alarms me about this book, if it weren't for this book's disgusting treatment of women. maybe if there were less rape, if female characters had any sort of personalities and individual agency and narrative function aside from potential-love-interest, if it didn't perpetuate the toxic idea that women exist only to further the vastly superior stories told by men, i would be open to reading the sequel. as it stands, i have no interest in continuing with this series, and i’m disturbed that this is being marketed toward teenage boys - a demographic which could seriously benefit from seeing more three-dimensional female characters in its literature.
i'm very surprised that this has such a high rating on goodreads. what on earth am i missing here?!...more
i received a copy of this book from goodreads and berkley pub in exchange for an honest review.
2 stars seems harsh, but ultimately my overall feeling i received a copy of this book from goodreads and berkley pub in exchange for an honest review.
2 stars seems harsh, but ultimately my overall feeling about this book is ‘it was okay.’ really nothing special. i wanted to like it, since i thought david bell’s prose was mostly very solid and it kept my attention well enough for me to have finished this in two days, but there were several elements that just didn’t work for me; the crime being investigated by the random civilian who constantly sticks her nose into the case and is inexplicably kept informed of every new development by the detective, the narrator’s heavy reliance on alcohol not being addressed particularly well, the (what i felt was) unrealistic dynamic between jenna and ian (i have a hard time believing a high school crush would really hold up for what was it, 27 years?), and the lack of any real depth to celia’s character, causing the reader to not really care about the story’s core mystery.
a quick and decently entertaining read, but it was just lacking in emotional resonance. there was nothing glaringly terrible about it, but it was hard to get invested enough in these characters past the point of mild interest, and it was ultimately a rather forgettable story. i’d maybe give it 2.5 stars if i had that option. ...more
i received a copy of this book from goodreads in exchange for an honest review.
unfortunately i thought don’t you cry was mostly boring and repetitive;i received a copy of this book from goodreads in exchange for an honest review.
unfortunately i thought don’t you cry was mostly boring and repetitive; the sort of dull thriller that doesn't offer up much new information until the very end, leaving two hundred pages of monotony until everything clicks into place - by which time you’re mostly just glad you’ve managed to make it that far. for such a short book, i should have been able to read this in a couple of hours, but every time i put it down i couldn’t find much motivation to pick it back up.
two stars thanks to the convincing red herrings and the thoroughly shocking ending, and because i really liked quinn as a narrator. ultimately: an interesting idea for a story that could have been better executed....more
i received a free copy of this book from goodreads & st. martin's press in exchange for an honest review.
this book was gentle and thought-provoking ai received a free copy of this book from goodreads & st. martin's press in exchange for an honest review.
this book was gentle and thought-provoking and unexpectedly moving. it's more of a character study than anything, but the short chapters make for a quick and engaging read.
for a novel about the fragility of human connections and the irreversibility of our choices, it's never too heavy or too irreverent -- the tone it strikes is somewhere in between, and it befits the story. the end was resolved too quickly and neatly for my liking, but otherwise i thought this was an incredibly strong and nuanced and well-paced novel, especially for a debut. i'll be interested in reading whatever lynda cohen loigman comes up with next. ...more
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