Jess

Frustrating and sad, but in a very real way. I enjoyed the jumpiness in the structure/timeline. I think Rooney captures the liminal space between misunderstanding remarkably well, and her characters are complex and unpolished much like real life.

classic Shirley Jackson, a somber exploration of class and sisterhood, repression and alienation.

I am a reader who often grows attached to certain authors. Italo Calvino is definitely one of those authors who I know, without any other knowledge of the book, I will enjoy whatever work of his I pick up. Invisible Cities is a fine example.

Calvino's prose is always a fascinating leap into another world; a world of poetry, absurdity, and bewilderment. Invisible Cities contains bite-sized probes into the worlds of impossible places that Marco Polo describes to Kublai Khan as they wander about a palace garden pontificating on the nature of life, communication, and existence. Enjoyable, delightful, sometimes funny, sometimes disturbing. A great read.

Clarice Lispector is a newly found favorite of mine. The hour of the star is a novella that plays with form, like much of Lispector's works. Her ability to stretch, poke, and prod at the fourth wall in a way that does not feel contrite is one of the most enjoyable parts of her writing.

The narrator is simultaneously divorced from the reality of the protagonist's world and intimately privy to its details. He is a character in and of himself, anxious and unsure of himself. He pities, and is often disgusted by, the pitiful protagonist Macabea. The two are foils- she has every reason to be unhappy and yet she is ultimately not. He has many reasons to be content, and yet he is deeply disturbed by life and his role in it.

My favorite Dostoevsky. Utterly tragic and deeply hilarious. I found myself immediately pulled into this world. Each of our main characters depicts a well of hubris so real, so human, and so wholly that one cannot possibly expect a happy ending for any of them, yet cannot help but to hope for one in vain.