How this book managed to slip under everyone’s radar despite being the best fantasy of the year is a mystery to me.
Part epic folk tale, part meta-narrHow this book managed to slip under everyone’s radar despite being the best fantasy of the year is a mystery to me.
Part epic folk tale, part meta-narrative exploration of family and identity, The Spear Cuts Through Water is a work of fiction so perfectly conceived and executed that I will be personally offended if it doesn’t swoop up all the awards next season. Jimenez creates a puzzle of intersecting storylines that fit together like Russian dolls, cleverly employing different perspectives, tenses, and settings to obfuscate his intentions before finally revealing his cards to the reader at the most climactic moment.
Nothing is left to chance; from beginning to end, the narrator presents you with the exact amount of information you need to follow the story, without ever revealing too much or too little. The author trusts you to trust him and let yourself be carried away into an ancestral world where the narrative is out of your control. I can’t remember the last time I felt such a sense of wonder while reading a book: the atmospheric writing is reminiscent of Erin Morgenstern and Neil Gaiman, but Jimenez keeps a tight grip on the plot, never allowing the story to meander or the descriptions to veer into self-indulgence.
This book is an ode to storytelling. It’s a tale told by a grandmother to her favorite grandson, in a kitchen filled with smoke and the smells of a country lost to memory. It’s a foundational myth on the value of love and compassion, a family history, and a play re-enacted by ghosts in a dream theater. Above all, it is a love story stronger than gods and time....more
I knew I was going to love this book right from the dedication: "For all the butches and femmes, past, present, and future."
Last Night at the TelegraphI knew I was going to love this book right from the dedication: "For all the butches and femmes, past, present, and future."
Last Night at the Telegraph Club began pulling at my heartstrings before it even started, and didn't stop until the last page. I don't know what it is about young adult books that makes me so sentimental lately, but it seems like the older I get, the deeper I feel for the troubled kids at the center of these stories. Somehow, I just can't ignore the fact that I'm reading about vulnerable teens experiencing the kind of trauma and danger children should never go through.
In this case, in particular, I couldn't help but be torn between excitement and fear as Lily, our main character, discovered her sexuality and fell in love for the first time. Malinda Lo did an excellent job portraying how difficult it was to be a woman, especially a queer woman, in 1950s Chinatown. Throughout the book, a sense of danger hovered over Lily and her loved ones: I was constantly expecting something awful to happen, which made the many lighthearted moments all the more bittersweet.
I love historical fiction focusing on diaspora communities, and this delivered everything I wanted from it: the setting was vibrant and immersive, incredibly well researched as well as historically accurate; the characters felt three-dimensional and true to life; and the plot incorporated its main themes into the story in a seamless, effortless way. It was easy for me to empathize with Lily's struggles, which will probably resonate with queer and minority ethnic readers. I also appreciated how her family history was explored through frequent flashbacks, helping us better understand where they came from.
I will say, the one thing that made me slightly uncomfortable was how Lo dealt with Lily's coming out. I personally don't like it when authors try to imply that gay characters "must" come out to their family for the sake of honesty, even if it means putting themselves in harm's way. It's not dishonest to lie about your sexuality in order to avoid being marginalized or cast out, especially when you're young and subject to your homophobic parents' authority.
Minor gripes aside, I found this to be a masterfully written novel that will appeal to both teen and adult audiences looking for an atmospheric, emotional story to lose themselves in....more
"We were children, playing with the reflections of stars in a pool of water, thinking it was space."
I'm fine. This is fine. I am okay with the events "We were children, playing with the reflections of stars in a pool of water, thinking it was space."
I'm fine. This is fine. I am okay with the events that occurred in this book. These fictional people do not influence my psycho-emotional balance. I did not sob on an airplane while reading this. The epilogue did not completely floor me. I will now resume my normal life and not at all freak out about what I just read.
But also: fucking friendship bracelets? With her? Really??...more
Homegirl really wrote a smutty romance and fooled us all into thinking she had produced the next literary masterpiece. Truly iconic.
All jokes aside, IHomegirl really wrote a smutty romance and fooled us all into thinking she had produced the next literary masterpiece. Truly iconic.
All jokes aside, I really do admire Rooney for succeeding in what hundreds of writers before her couldn't do: give female-focused erotic romance the literary status its male equivalent has long been granted. Gone are the days when you had to hide your Harlequin novel inside The Brothers Karamazov for fear of being judged by other passengers on public transport: now you can read the latest Sally Rooney in broad daylight and even pass for a sophisticated intellectual.
One small step for an author, one giant leap for publishing....more
The more I think about this book, the more I struggle to believe it’s a debut novel. Donnelly is an exceptionally talented author and does4.5 stars
The more I think about this book, the more I struggle to believe it’s a debut novel. Donnelly is an exceptionally talented author and does her best to make sure every single detail of her book is polished and carefully executed, to the point that I have a hard time understanding why this series isn’t more popular in the book community.
Amberlough is set in an alternate 1930s Germany that is, predictably, about to be taken over by an ultra-nationalist fascist party. The story takes place in the city of Amberlough, a bustling metropolis brimming with music, color, and criminal activity. Everything about it feels realistic to the point that I can almost picture what it would be like to walk its streets. I know how its people dress, what they eat, what they accents sound like. I know where they work by day and party by night. Speaking of which: if you’re a fan of Cabaret, you’re bound to fall in love with this book’s depiction of early 20th century nightlife and cabaret shows. They’re incredibly fun to read, so much so that I wish someone turned this story into a movie just so I could watch them on screen. What impressed me the most, however, was how well developed the political aspect of this world was. Donnelly creates a complex landscape where each country’s social, political, and economic struggles influence the plot on both a large and small scale, impacting the characters’ lives and decisions.
Speaking of characters: they're all garbage people, and I love them for it. Seriously though: if you want to learn how to write realistic character motivation, get your hands on this book. It’s so refreshing to read a fantasy where people act like real, actual human beings, rather than puppets in the hands of an author who moves them around to advance the plot or fulfill readers’ desires. (Reader, this book will not fulfill your desires. It will hurt you. Consider this a warning.) The three protagonists are chain-smoking, binge-drinking, sexually promiscuous nightlife lovers whose moral compass is more than a little skewed. Don’t worry, though — the villains are so horribly and realistically evil that you will inevitably find yourself cheering for the “good guys”. Also, one of them is a drag queen with a black belt in sarcasm. Need I say more?
In terms of plot, this book is incredibly intricate and at times hard to follow. It is, after all, a spy thriller whose main characters are constantly meddling with international politics and double-crossing each other. No matter how closely you try to follow the story, you will end up feeling confused at some point—and that’s okay. Even if you don’t grasp every single detail, things will still make sense in the end.
Donnelly’s prose is rich, lush, and alluring; her descriptions are immersive, her dialogue is witty, and her clever turns of phrase made me smirk several times while reading. Even when the pacing was lagging or I couldn’t figure out what exactly was going on, I still had fun following the characters’ interactions and losing myself in this world. It’s hard to believe a 25-year-old wrote this, and I can’t wait to see how her craft is going to improve in the sequels....more
“Why did you ascend to be a Lyctor?” “Ultimate power. And posters of my face.”
Most writers try to chase trends. They rely on formulaic plots, popular t“Why did you ascend to be a Lyctor?” “Ultimate power. And posters of my face.”
Most writers try to chase trends. They rely on formulaic plots, popular tropes, and safe narrative choices, hoping to give the public exactly what they want.
Tamsyn Muir is not one of those writers.
It’s difficult to explain what makes Harrow the Ninth so extraordinary. If I had to sum it up in one sentence, I’d say that this book made me reconsider how stories work. It challenged me to a point where I seriously questioned my own sanity. If Gideon the Ninth was, as I often hear it described, a crazy book, its sequel dials the craziness up to a hundred; and what is most infuriating about it is that, somehow, it works. It shouldn’t! It should fail spectacularly, going down like a shuttle falling into deep space (ahem). And yet, reading this book was akin to looking at a cubist painting for the first time: utterly confusing, in equal parts puzzling and fascinating. The most notable difference being that while a portrait by Picasso may certainly impress you, but will hardly make you laugh, Harrow the Ninth is also genuinely funny and moving. Muir’s writing is simultaneously full of heart and incredibly self-aware, as if the author was poking fun at her own characters and terrible puns. This book has all the wrong ships done right, and all the right tropes done wrong; it’s raw, unflinching, and insanely creative. It takes everything you thought you knew after reading Gideon and turns it upside down, leaving you scratching you head and scrambling for clues. It’s a Christopher Nolan movie – possibly Memento, or maybe Inception - tossed into a pool of lame Millennial humor and sprinkled with rainbow confetti; a love letter to fanfiction, 2000s pop culture, and romance novels, written with the lyricism of a biblical psalm.
It's also a book that is very frank about mental health, and the many ways trauma affects the way we perceive the world. I applaud how Muir portrayed Harrow's mental illness (which is based on the author's own condition), making it an integral part of the plot and delving deep into the consequences of grief and child abuse.
Harrow the Ninth is a science fantasy masterpiece, and my favorite book of 2020. Now all I have to do is lay down in the Locked Tomb and hibernate until Alecto is released....more
This is my third fourth re-read of This is How You Lose the Time War and each time has been better than the last.
For some reason this has been marketeThis is my third fourth re-read of This is How You Lose the Time War and each time has been better than the last.
For some reason this has been marketed as a sci-fi epic, even though it is, in fact, a romance. The misleading labeling has led some people to feel confused and disappointed by the vague plot and nebulous world building; the thing is, both these aspects are just backdrops for the characters’ relationship. I think this will be perfect for readers looking for a slow burn, enemies-to-lovers story filled with yearning desire and romantic longing. The suggestive and lyrical prose, which could come off as excessively convoluted if employed in a different book, really serves to highlight the intense emotions expressed by the characters. I also found the world building original and fascinating, albeit left purposefully hazy by the narrative.
I’m glad this novella has gained so much success and critical praise in a genre that often looks down on romance; hopefully, this will encourage more speculative fiction authors to write non-conventional, innovative love stories like this one....more
I fully believe Sally Rooney hid a microchip in my brain ten years ago and has observed everything that's been going on in there ever since, just so sI fully believe Sally Rooney hid a microchip in my brain ten years ago and has observed everything that's been going on in there ever since, just so she could put all my darkest and most upsetting thoughts into her novels.
In other words, I'm unable to objectively review any of her books because all her books talk about me. Even worse, they talk about the most toxic, most unspeakable aspects of my past and present personality. While Frances from Conversations with Friends embodied every single bad coping strategy I adopted in my early twenties, Marianne — a more self-aware and down-to-earth character — reminded me so much of my younger self that I had to take breaks from reading in order to avoid getting too emotionally involved in her painfully relatable struggles.
I guess what I could say to help prospective readers decide whether they should pick up this book is: don't expect the main characters to be emotionally competent, or headed towards a classic happy ending. This is a story about life, and life has no happy ending. It's also a story about love, and the protagonists certainly love each other, but I wouldn't call their relationship a classic romance: rather, the narrative focuses on the characters' psychological and emotional growth, something I felt was sorely lacking in the author's debut novel and took a prominent role here.
Rooney's strength as a writer lies entirely in her psychological realism, in her ability to infuse seemingly irrelevant gestures with deep meaning to the point where they reveal intimate truths about the people who make them. The vital importance of subtext is emphasized by the fact that Rooney's protagonists use emotional distance and aloofness as a coping mechanism and would therefore quite literally rather die than express their feelings, especially negative ones, out loud to the people they believe might hurt them.
To those who aren't familiar with this kind of convoluted reasoning, their behaviour may seem nonsensical and irritating; in fact, I believe most readers who disliked this book were mainly put off by this one aspect of the characters' personalities. Those of us who have experienced Marianne and Connell's internal struggles, on the other hand, will likely understand the undercurrent of crushing passion and pain that runs throughout their story. We might even end up being carried away by it....more
Baba Yaga Reads
>
Books:
amazing-romance
(37)
Loading...
