Alison
A bit of a slow burn to start but then around page 80 I was hooked. Beautifully written and legitimately creepy - I had to stop reading it before bed. There are ghosts and paranormal spooks galore but the real villain is colonialism. The characters are well drawn and though the ending might not leave you completely satisfied, the journey to get there is fun.
Up until the big reveal that carries you through the final 1/4 of the book, I was absolutely riveted. Couldn't put it down. Super invested in every single character and the mystery at the center of the novel. But once THE SECRET is revealed, I must admit I felt a little let down. The writing remains beautiful and the plot remains well constructed; I just felt like it came out of left field and I found myself feeling like I was suddenly reading a different book. This falls just short of 4 stars for me because for the majority of the book it was so wonderful and as mentioned, the language is absolutely gorgeous.
I picked this book up when I found out there would be a TV adaptation and once I got to the end and discovered that it was based on a true story, I found myself wishing the author had just written a nonfiction account of her family's experience. Though I was certainly invested in the wellbeing of each character, the writing isn't particularly gripping and the book is longer than it needs to be.
This is a semi-worthwhile read if you like other Holocaust survivor books but my guess is that the TV series will be the exception to the rule and improve upon the source material.
This was a bit of a slow burn to start but once I got about 1/4 in, I was pretty hooked. Some of the other reviewers have mentioned that they felt the narrative was interrupted too often by the digressions into storytelling and folklore but I think that is what made this book so special. The stories the characters grew up with are more similar than not, though they are used to justify a wide range of behaviors. I loved the substitution of the Yehuli for the Jewish community - I saw myself in them. They were not defined by their trauma but rather by their joy.
I understand the comparisons to Spinning Silver and agree that the narratives are similar. The writing is a little bit different but I think if you liked Spinning Silver this is a great next book for you!
I loved this book so much and was simply devastated when it was over. It's incredibly refreshing to read about Jews, especially in a semi-historical-though-in-this-case-also-fantastical setting, who are not ashamed of their identities. None of the Jews in this book were trying to assimilate, or become something else simply because they were marginalized by the society around them.
The riffs on fairy tales combined with the themes of self, family, love, and empathy were so moving. I could not put this book down.
I so enjoyed Life After Life and found Transcription to be a bit of a let down. The characters never revealed enough of themselves for me to invest in them and I found the structure to be a bit unwieldy. There were sections that I flew through but overall I found the novel to be a bit more work than I wanted it to be.
Read. This. Book. I couldn't put it down and flew through it in two days. Even if you are familiar with Greek myths you will continually be surprised and moved by Circe. Much like the play The Penelopeiad, hearing this story directly “from the source,” as it were is a fantastic treat. As I closed this book it occurred to be that maybe there aren't as many differences between Gods and mortals after all.
I had high hopes for this book at the start, sort of a grown up version of Summer of My German Soldier which I'd read as a kid. But alas, the writing didn't really inspire anything other than a vague interest in getting to the end. Though I occasionally got excited about the characters having an actual debate about the cost of war they never really delved very deep. If you want a book on a similar subject but with better writing, I would suggest The Nightingale or The Women in the Castle.
I couldn't put this book down. A shocking story which never ceased to surprise me even when I guessed where it was going. When a friend passed this book along she said that it is rare to read a book about writers writing and she was spot on - this will leave you heartbroken in the best possible way.
I liked this book a lot but not quite as much as I expected to after having been told by many friends how amazing it is. The descriptions are vivid and I absolutely felt like I had a strong grasp of the protagonist but I wasn't wowed. If you like books about writers and artists and the processes inherent to both you'll enjoy this book a lot.
It was an odd experience reading this book in the days leading up to the 2018 Midterms. My biggest takeaway is that the more things change, the more things stay the same. Katy Tur does an excellent job weaving the personal and the political and painting a vivid picture of a moment in time that will live on in our collective history. Definitely worth the read.
As with all of her books, A Spark of Light gently and carefully details the thoughts of people on opposing sides of an issue; maintaining their humanity and highlighting the infinite ways in which we are more alike than different. Pro-choice women will most likely resonate more with this story than those who are not, but either way, it's a beautiful meditation on the nature of love and family.
More of a love story than I expected, but I was still never quite sure where it was all headed. Though beautifully written and heartbreaking, I didn't feel like I ever got to know enough about the characters to really root for any of them. It's worth the read, but if you're hoping for an examination of race, class, or the justice system, you might be disappointed.
I've read a lot of memoirs this year that touch on the nature of memory and how the act of remembering shapes us as we grow older. Small Fry is about a woman growing up in the shadow of an industry giant and everything that comes with that. It's about adults failing to see how their actions affect the development of the child in their care and the lasting consequences that can have - well into that child's adulthood.
Brennan-Jobs does an excellent job of describing the Bay Area in the 80s and 90s as well as describing the coping mechanisms we develop when surrounded by untrustworthy adults. A difficult but worthwhile read.
I really, really wanted to like this book more. There were passages in which I found myself cringing in recognition but inevitably they would be followed by chapters in which I found the name dropping and sensationalism shallow and vapid. I've grown tired of memoirs written by “party girls” who find their Prince Charmings after living a zany life in a big city. Without the self-reflection, this was a rather pointless journey.
