Terri

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

TW: suicide mention, death & illness

Longing and Other Stories is a collection of three masterfully crafted narratives focusing on themes of family (specifically the role of the son), guilt, and personal ethics. Despite their different narrative styles, all three stories have a dreamlike quality to them.

In ‘Longing', the narrator sets the scene through descriptions of a moonlit walk. He's a child, lost on a country road, unsure how to find his way home. The other people he meets along his way are difficult to recognize, there is a sense of trepidation and almost danger in every interaction. I enjoyed this story, though there were two moments that were bizarrely sexual - especially for a story narrated by a child - that felt offputting (one instance where he describes playing with his nurses' nipples as a child, and another where he mentions wanting to lick a woman's feet).

The second story, ‘Sorrows of a Heretic', focuses on the experiences and internal struggle of Shōzaburō, a young college student burdened by the looming death of his consumptive sister and the oppression of poverty. His unethical, often mean-spirited actions are contrasted by his more logical, remorseful internal monologue. There is a strong sense of guilt woven throughout this story.

However, no story features guilt more strongly than ‘The Story of an Unhappy Mother'. It's difficult to describe this story without spoiling it, so I'll leave it at that.

My only previous experience with Tanizaki's work is In Praise of Shadows, an aesthetic essay. This collection has piqued my interest in the rest of his work and I'd wholeheartedly recommend it to any reader.

This was my second time reading this, but the first time reading the anniversary edition with the additional content which was amazing. It has a little bit of everything - mythology, folklore, horror, fantasy, science fiction. One of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors, would definitely recommend.

Second time reading this, gets better every time.

This is a beautiful, original fantasy story. I somehow hadn't read it growing up, but I'm glad I got around to it now. Would recommend.

This is a beautifully written book; I was continually amazed at the way the individual stories intertwined. It's an emotionally charged story, not an easy read, but definitely worth it. Would recommend.

I enjoyed this more than I expected to. I think it would make a cute rom-com film.

Not sure what I expected, but it wasn't this. Felt like there was no real plot, and the ending was abrupt and pointless.

On the recommendation of a friend I decided to give this a read, having no previous background knowledge of Richard Feynman. I thoroughly enjoyed it and completed it within a single evening. The narrative is friendly, casual, and lighthearted. I felt as though I were listening to a family member's recollections and as such the entire reading experience was immersive.

I would definitely recommend this read to a friend, no matter their background or interests if only for the sheer quality of the storytelling.

An excellent thriller, but a difficult read. This book is genuinely disturbing, and because of that I wouldn't recommend it to everyone.

A rare romcom book where the female protagonist isn't completely cringey or unpleasant. There wasn't a “I'm not like other girls” vibe in this, which was refreshing. Both characters were realistic enough, the dialogue wasn't cringey, and I was drawn into the story. I would recommend this, and I'd love to see it as a movie.

A treatise on cultivating intelligence and the proper habits of life and study in order to facilitate it. Sertillanges advocates for living a life of moderation and focus in order to hone in on the most important elements of study and apply them to one's daily life.

For once, I would really like to read a thriller where the protagonist does everything right, doesn't make the world's stupidest mistakes, and has some semblance of common sense.

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review

This is a strong collection of essays. It took me a while to make my way through them, but there were only a handful that I skipped (mainly because the subject matter just didn't interest me).

The essays are arranged chronologically and touch upon various topics, including politics, sociology, food, art, pop culture, and literature.

Essays included:

- James Agee, The Nation: Democratic Vistas (1945)
- Reinhold Niebuhr, Humor and Faith (1946)
- George F. Kennan, The Sources of Soviet Conduct (1947)
- Edmund Wilson, Paul Rosenfeld: Three Phases (1947)
- Walter Lippmann, The Dilemma of Liberal Democracy (1947)
- Robert Warshow, The Gangster as Tragic Hero (1948)
- Harold Rosenberg, The Herd of Independent Minds (1948)
- Robert K. Merton, The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy (1948)
- Leslie Fiedler, Come Back To the Raft Ag'in, Huck Honey! (1948)
- James Baldwin, Stranger in the Village (1953)
- Mary McCarthy, Artists in Uniform (1953)
- Irving Howe, This Age of Conformity (1954)
- E. B. White, Sootfall and Fallout (1956)
- Vladimir Nabokov, On a Book Entitled Lolita (1956)
- Saul Bellow, The University as Villain (1957)
- Lionel Trilling, The Last Lover (1958)
- A. J. Liebling, A Good Appetite (1959)
- Seymour Krim, Making It! (1959)
- Elizabeth Hardwick, Boston (1959)
- Flannery O'Connor, Some Aspects of the Grotesque in Southern Fiction (1960)
- John Updike, Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu (1960)
- Randall Jarrell, A Sad Heart at the Supermarket (1960)
- Clement Greenberg, Modernist Painting, (1961)
- Rachel Carson, The Obligation to Endure (1962)
- Norman Mailer, An Evening With Jackie Kennedy (1962)
- Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963)
- Philip Roth, Writing About Jews (1963)
- Susan Sontag, Notes on “Camp” (1964)
- Richard Hofstadter, The Paranoid Style in American Politics (1964)
- Paul Goodman, The Universal Trap (1964)
- Tom Wolfe, The Girl of the Year (1964)
- Edwin Denby, Dancers, Buildings and People in the Streets (1965)
- N. Scott Momaday, The Way to Rainy Mountain (1969)
- Gore Vidal, The Twenty-Ninth Republican Convention (1969)
- Albert Murray, The Blues Idiom and the Mainstream (1970)
- Loren Eiseley, One Night's Dying (1970)
- Edward Hoagland, Home is Two Places (1970)
- Joan Didion, On The Morning After The Sixties (1970)

This is one of the best books I've read this year. While it did take me a few chapters to give it my full interest, it was worth it. Esme is a likeable and relatable character, and I loved her relationship with her father and Ditte. There were a few moments where I feared the plot would turn into an “enemies to lovers” story with some unlikable characters, but thankfully that wasn't the case. Would definitely recommend this.

I almost didn't finish this but I wanted to know what all the fuss was about regarding the ending. Honestly the ending wasn't so much shocking as it was pulled out of nowhere and it felt as though it was tossed in haphazardly. I sped-read through most of it because there was too much fluff, and too many red-herrings.

I felt that this book could've been a bit shorter. There are a lot of tangents, and at times it felt like I was listening to an older relative tell a story with no clear point.

I read this because I enjoyed [b:Bitter Orange 38589871 Bitter Orange Claire Fuller https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1519083306l/38589871.SY75.jpg 59739980] by the same author, but I can't say I enjoyed it. It was well written, but if I had known what it was about before picking it up I would've passed.

This is an excellent book, but heartbreaking.

As someone who has read this book at least six full times, I'm not sure where to begin with this review. Wilde is by far my favorite author, and while his purple prose seems to put off many readers it's one of my greatest joys. The meticulous detail employed in Dorian Gray is absolutely necessary to the storyline. From the lazy buzzing bees in the first few paragraphs to the entire chapter dedicated to Dorian's obsessions with gems, orchids, perfumes, instruments...(Chapter 11 - it's my favorite chapter). Dorian's (and Wilde's) obsession with beauty is what makes the novel so dangerous and enticing.

I'll have more to say as I reread the novel for the seventh time, and so forth. I'm still new to reviewing books though, so I'm sure I'll improve in expressing myself.

9/23/22: Read for a seventh time, and there's always something new to discover.

I had heard amazing things about this book, which is probably why it fell short for me. I found Noemí to be unlikeable and lacking in basic common sense (which seems to be a pattern in mystery/horror/thriller novels lately), and I found myself skimming through the second half of the book as I had already picked up on the twist early on.

I swear if people in stories would just adopt some basic communication skills, so many problems could be avoided. But I guess that wouldn't make for a juicy story.

This was sweet, the type of book I would've loved as a pre-teen. It touched upon some difficult topics without being unrealistic, and the characters were well developed and had decent dialogue.

I enjoyed this, but I felt bad for Zenobia. She's framed as the villain, foiling Ethan and Mattie's love for one another and being a complaining burden. But she's Ethan's wife - he proposed to her simply because he was lonely, not because he loved her - she's trapped in a loveless marriage, poor, and ill with no one who seems to genuinely care for her. If you ask me it felt like a horror story on her part.

I admit that the descriptions of Ethan's feelings for Mattie were romantic, but they were marred by the fact that he was a married man, and his wife's only crime was that he didn't love her.

Despite being a brief read, I spent a little longer reading this than I would've mainly because it was so well-written and every paragraph held nuggets of wisdom. At this point, a lot of what Franklin wrote and said has become well-known, but I still found bits and pieces that were unfamiliar to me.

I'd recommend this to anyone interested in personal growth, or history in general. It's an easy, approachable read.

That being said, I would be mindful of the context in which it was written as there are many areas of the text that don't age well.

Dreamlike.

Very cute, would love to see this adapted to film. Surprisingly satisfying ending too!