Sarah
She is saying something about home. She is saying something everyone knows.
This has been on my TBR for years so I'm disappointed that I wasn't a huge fan of it. Joe Hill is one of my favorite authors, but this was his first book and it just didn't hit like I had hoped it would. The fatphobia in this is absolutely rampant and really destroyed my interest in a few of the stories. The f-slur and the n-word were also both used at some points. As for the stories themselves, a lot of them didn't do much for me. I'll include my full ratings here:
Best New Horror - ⭐⭐⭐
20th Century Ghost - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pop Art - ⭐⭐⭐
You Will hear the Locus Sing - ⭐⭐
Abraham's Boys - ⭐⭐
Better Than Home - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Black Phone - ⭐⭐
In the Rundown - ⭐⭐⭐
The Cape - ⭐⭐
Last Breath - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Dead-wood - ⭐⭐⭐
The Widow's Breakfast - ⭐⭐⭐.5
Bobby Conroy Comes Back From the Dead - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Father's Mask - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Voluntary Committal - ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Scheherazade's Typewriter - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A few of them were hard-hitting in the best of ways, but overall I found the collection somewhat forgettable. I do think My Father's Mask and Voluntary Committal both could be expanded into novels or series and make for a good time. I'm also very intrigued to see how they adapted The Black Phone because it didn't feel to me like something that could be expanded into a full-length film. Overall, probably wouldn't recommend this collection highly, but it's probably worth reading if you want to see Hill's earlier works.
the author is a terf and anti-medicine
I loved the concept of this and found the general advice and exercises super helpful. Unfortunately, this was sooo repetitive that after a while I ended up just skimming. On the plus side, this is really helping me shift my thoughts around eating/food and my own body.
This was somewhere on my radar, but I prioritized reading it because Marija of chicken book fame demanded it. I'm glad she did, because I had such a fun time with this. I'm feeling very no thoughts head empty about this because I waited a MONTH to review it, but I cannot wait for the sequel! I loved the characters and their various relationships, which is absolutely where this book shines. I would definitely pick this up if you're looking for dark (magic) academia with dumbass characters who you all ship with each other. My polyamorous ass absolutely ate this up.
The forest didn't mind illiterates and mad girls. Didn't mind that screaming was sometimes a person's only language.
disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for review consideration. Quotes have been taken from the advanced copy and may differ from the final publication.
This was my first Rivers Solomon and I hate to say it but I was definitely disappointed. I went into this pretty cold and wasn't really expecting the extreme fantastical elements – which I'll admit is on me. It's definitely a book that some people will love, but it was a little too out there for me. I had difficulty following some things and just didn't get along with the writing in general. I did appreciate how queer this was, though, as well as the messages Solomon was conveying. I have a copy of The Deep which I'll definitely also be trying out.
wavered between 4 and 5 stars until the last line, which gutted me.
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It's really interesting seeing how divisive this book was, because I just loved it. In retrospect, it's probably more like 4.5 stars, it definitely wasn't perfect. I do see where some of the criticisms come from but they truly weren't things that bothered me. I was drawn so wholly into this that I just didn't want to put it down. I will agree that I did struggle a bit with the large cast but that did quickly become a nonissue. This would probably make a great film so I'm hoping we get an adaptation at least.
I absolutely can't write a full review on this, but I will say this was absolutely beautiful. It's prose that reads like poetry and is a Little Weird (get it?). I could only read this in bits at a time because the writing was so rich, and because at times I found myself so overwhelmed with emotion that I was sobbing too hard to continue. I'm so thankful Slate was willing to share this with us.
3.5 ⭐️ RTC
I went into this completely cold and found myself a bit bored by it at first. Mizuki is a Japanese housewife who has spent time in America and dreams of more than domesticity. She begins an affair with a stranger, as she feels neglected by her husband and bored with her life. This sounds like the start of plenty of literary novels, but I found her relationship with Kiyoshi lovely and refreshing. I also liked that instead of causing her to drift further from her family, her relationship with Kyoshi allows her to settle more fully into her role as wife and mother when she is home. I was even quite emotional at the ending, although I knew it couldn't have ended any other way. I'm glad to have read this and am looking forward to seeing if Itami puts out any more books. Thanks to Fatma for the rec!
I truly had no idea what to expect from this, but a pregnant 18-year-old obsessing over a middle aged woman wasn't it. The titular Pizza Girl is a delivery driver who is dealing with grief, the looming future of motherhood, and a deepening divide between herself and her family, which consists of only her boyfriend and her own mother. This book has humorous moments and its fair share of vulgarity, but it's a deep look into coming of age while in the throes of depression. I was frantic and heartbroken by the end of this, more closely invested in Pizza Girl than I thought I would become. I'm glad I was recommended this for the 12 in 12 Challenge, as I honestly think I wouldn't have picked it up otherwise.
I wish I had gotten along with this more, but it was a little flatter than I expected. It was reminiscent to me of 1984 in some ways, although I wouldn't draw a tight comparison between the two. I thought the titular Memory Police would play a more pivotal role in this, but it felt like they only existed to add stakes to the story. I just felt a lot of “why?” reading this. I could draw connections to colonialism and the erasure of cultures, or the oppression of afab bodies, but it didn't feel like a fully formed commentary was there. I was largely bored by this and although some aspects were compelling, I felt let down.
I'm still not sure whether I read this book or whether it was all a fever dream that I imagined. Build Your House Around My Body spans decades and follows an ever-changing cast of characters through a dark, fantastical story. The ‘main' character, Winnie, is a Vietnamese-American woman attempting to find herself in Vietnam while slipping deeper and deeper into a depressive spiral.
While I appreciated this story overall, I found myself swinging between bored, confused, and intrigued. Sadly, too much of my time was spent waiting to get to the end of the story rather than appreciating the journey itself. This novel is often difficult to follow, although I was impressed by the way Kupersmith was able to connect the characters to each other. There were many instances where I found myself highlighting lines that would have meant little-to-nothing in another book, but that gave me an ‘aha!' moment in seeing another connection.
I would recommend this with the caveat that if you don't like sweeping storylines that take their time to intersect and become clear, this is probably not the book for you. It does have a lot of interesting commentary on colonialism and bodily autonomy, but I struggled to untangle this from the story itself.
3.5 ⭐️
This short novel (or is it technically a novella? I never know) is a pleasantly written examination of societal expectations. It's set in Japan so while expectations are a little bit different than what I'm used to seeing in my area of the US, I think this is a book everyone can relate to in some way. Keiko has been working at the same convenience store for 18 years and at 36 has friends and family who are concerned about her apparent lack of ambition regarding both her career and romance. Our narrator, on the other hand, is happy with her life. She understands the flow of the convenience store, is able to predict its needs the way one might do with a lover or a child. She doesn't see the need to expand her horizon, and doesn't understand why others may be so concerned with it.
This really felt like the perfect length to me; we had plenty of time to understand Keiko's life, routine, and mindset before the obligatory conflict and subsequent disaster set in. I liked the humor in this and found it easy to get through. It did make me think a lot about how we judge people for not hitting certain ‘milestones' whether it's what they want or not. I loved how she was so happy with herself and her life and didn't understand why that wasn't good enough for others.
I thought this was great at doing what it was meant to do, but it was just missing something for me, which is why my rating is a little lower. I did enjoy it overall, though, and will be recommending it! Additionally, it is not explicitly stated but I found it heavily implied that Keiko is autistic and aroace. She faces a lot of critique and discrimination for this, so I would make sure you're in the right headspace to read this if that's something that could be difficult for you to read!
I liked how complex and easy to root for these characters were, even as they waded through gray areas of morality and made mistake after mistake. Olga is a wedding planner for the elite and her brother Prieto is a congressman. Both of them are of Puerto Rican descent, born and raised in Brooklyn. This novel explores their personal lives as well as the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on Puerto Rico itself.
Olga and Prieto are both middle aged and still dealing with being abandoned (and subsequently emotionally abused) by their mother, although in different ways. Prieto has hidden himself behind a mask that is beginning to crack and Olga has avoided any kind of emotional connections. Prieto begins to question the way he's been doing things, while Olga meets the odd-yet-endearing Matteo.
This is an interesting examination of familial trauma, race, and gentrification that works in a lot of ways but ultimately tried to hit too many topics. One of my biggest issues was that the ending felt far too neat for me, like González needed to tie everything up in a bow. I felt like we went from realistic literary fiction to a run-of-the-mill romance novel in the 11th hour; it just didn't fit the tone of everything that preceded it.
Overall, I did enjoy this though, it just ended up knocked down a few pegs for me. Everything from here on is spoiler territory, as there are some aspects of the ending that rubbed me the wrong way. Content warning for discussion of rape ahead. The first is that the ‘third act breakup' is preceded by Olga being raped and having a complete mental breakdown. It honestly felt like the assault was just a tool to get to this conflict, and could have been replaced by anything else. When she finally tells Matteo, he's like ‘wow that sucks and it's not your fault, but you can't ignore me when you're upset.' Like?? Maybe cut her a little more slack dude, she was literally just raped. Secondly, one of the unrealistic aspects of the ending is that Matteo just happens to be rich so he can say, ‘oh don't worry about getting a job, we can just be together and money doesn't matter!' How is he rich? He's a landlord. It's okay, though! He's a good landlord! He's fighting gentrification! By being a landlord! Especially coming right after the ‘sorry you were raped but don't ignore me' conversation, this just left a bad taste in my mouth. Matteo is supposed to be a good guy, we're supposed to be happy. I wasn't.
Like I said above, this is still a good book. I still recommend it. I just couldn't love it and have trouble looking past its faults.
2.5 ⭐️
I'm so sad to say that this just didn't work for me. I loved Day's debut novel, If, Then, and had high hopes for In The Quick. This just... fell completely flat for me. I didn't feel particularly connected to June or her life. While the story was just interesting enough for me to keep reading, I got to the end and thought, “What was the point?”
I wish I had more to say about this, but I've tried to write this review three times and just don't have anything to add. I found this nicely written but utterly forgettable. I'm hoping that I enjoy Day's next book as much as her first.
I will die for this book.
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4.5 stars
The Pisces was my top book of 2018, so I had high expectations for Broder's sophomore novel. While I didn't love this quite as much, I still devoured it. While The Pisces felt like a deep exploration of depression to me, Milk Fed is an exploration of disordered eating. Rachel, the narrator, is a Jewish woman who was raised by an overly critical mother and who uses food restriction as a religion, spending all her time thinking about eating.
I found the portrayal of binge eating in this incredibly spot-on, and thought Rachel's changing relationship with her body — and Miriam's — was interesting. I think there are going to be some varying views on the fat representation here and I'm not positive where I fall. Miriam never felt like a fully-formed character to me, but I think that was part of the point: Rachel coveted her in an unhealthy way, obsessing over Miriam's body the way she obsessed over her own.
Much like The Pisces, I'm not sure who I would recommend this to. It certainly won't please everyone, but if you're able to let go and trust Broder I think you're in for a good ride.
I'm not sure this was a bad book, it just wasn't my kind of thing. I read it for the 12 in 12 Challenge and probably wouldn't have picked it up otherwise. If you like military characters with questionable morals and mysteries with big twists, this is the book for you! I just couldn't stand the MC and thought the final twist was a bit too much.
Life was fragile and fleeting and one had to be cautious, sure, but I would risk death if it meant I could sleep all day and become a whole new person.
This had been recommended to me by my friend Libby for the 12 in 12 Challenge, but it had been on my TBR since 2018 and I was looking forward to reading it. Friends of mine had very much enjoyed it and I thought the concept was interesting: the narrator decides that she wants to sleep for an entire year. So she does. Or she tries, at least. Using a cocktail of downers, she sleeps as much as possible.
I enjoyed the writing in this at a technical level, but I was just never as invested as I wanted to be. It felt like a bit of a slog, and I found myself not wanting to pick it back up except to finish it so I could move on to something else. Perhaps part of this is Moshfegh's extremely real portrayal of depression. Real depression can be real hard to read, as it digs into your brain and pulls you down with it.
The narrator is incredibly unlikeable, something that is never a dealbreaker for me in a book since I love reading about messy women. Basically I'm that meme that's like “I support women's rights. But I also support women's wrongs.” And this woman has a lot of wrongs. Unfortunately I just didn't find them interesting in the way I normally do. I was bored by her poor relationships and her cold facade.
The end, though, that end was a punch in the gut. It pulled things together for me in a way I wasn't quite expecting. Although I don't fully understand what Moshfegh was doing here, I do appreciate the novel she gave us and I am intrigued enough to give her other works a try.
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