ashalucienne's reviews
171 reviews

Dogs of Summer by Andrea Abreu

3.75

"The dogs barked.
The sun cleaved the rocks."
- last two lines on page 180

This is a story of two girls coming of age in a working-class neighborhood in the Canary Islands. We follow the narrator's complex feelings of desire, jealously, and interconnectedness with her best friend Isora. This is written from our 10/11 year old narrator's perspective, so words are misspelled and quotations forgotten. The novel follows a non-linear form, as does one's mind. A study of two characters, or rather of our narrator and her study of Isora, there is not "plot." I quite enjoyed reading this book, though I didn't connect with it as much as I was hoping to. Although I understood their purpose, I wasn't the biggest fan of the misspelled words and was kind of taken aback by the frequent sexual references. Developing one's sexuality is a part of coming of age, though the way this book tackled that topic felt like a lot to read. I want to challenge myself to read books that make me uncomfortable in this way though, so overall it was a positive reading experience. I always love reading translated fiction and I am pretty sure this was long listed for the International Booker Prize! 

The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality by Amanda Montell

5.0

Is it crazy to give both of Montell's recent non-fiction releases 5 stars? Maybe, but I am doing it! This book was so entertaining with so many references to her experiences and phenomenon anyone can relate to. Not only was this nonfiction piece entertaining, I feel I received so much valuable knowledge about the way my brain works from it. I keep referencing this book when I notice my friends exhibiting types of magical thinking. Nostalgia bias has particularly stuck with me. Overall, Montell's books are so well researched and structured in such an intentional way, that it feels criminal to give her work any less than a 5 star rating. 

The White Book by Han Kang

5.0

Kang continues to baffle me. Her writing is unparalleled, she is truly one of the best authors I've read! My hat to her translators too. But this piece was such an interesting read considering I am working on a creative writing team this semester and have been struggling to feel confident in my creative writing voice. This book was so clear and confident, it stood its ground in its space and white pages, in its prose and changing narrative form. Kang has a mind that works in so many beautiful ways, she never fails to impress me with her stories and the way she builds characters through limited narrative structure. This was heart wrenching at times, particularly when the girl talks about her lost sister and the impact it had on her mother. 

"Breast Milk" pg 41 
The twenty-two-year-old woman lies alone in the house. Saturday morning, with the first frost still clinging to the grass, her twenty-five-year-old husband goes up the mountain with a spade to bury the baby who was born yesterday. The woman's puffy eyes will not open properly. The various hinges of her body ache, swollen knuckles smart. And then, for the first time, she feels warmth flood into her chest. She sits up, clumsily squeezes her breast. First a watery, yellowish trickle, then smooth white milk.

Dead Weight: Essays on Hunger and Harm by Emmeline Clein

4.0

I'm always impressed by the contemporary authors who make nonfiction so compelling! My only critique is that the book felt a little far-reaching at times, though I really love reading "far-reaching" academic hot takes, so this was right up my alley. The way Clean writes about the girls as a "we" is quite interesting, and definitely bolsters her credibility as a figure to speak on the personal aspects of eating disorders and recovery. I have to say that I learned a lot about disordered eating and the eating disorder treatment complex that I never knew, nor would have learned had I not read this book. 

Foster by Claire Keegan

5.0

Claire Keegan gets a LOT of hype in the literary world, and I see why. Her writing is simple and heartwarming, the kind of storytelling that makes you gush with melancholy on the last page. Nothing particularly special, but I think there are very few contemporary writers who are writing simple stories with simple prose, therefore making Keegan a stand out. There is something so beautiful about a story without intense intrigue, confusion, or sadness, just something a little more neutral. I will definitely be looking to read more Keegan in the future! 

Updated to five stars, I'm still thinking about this piece. 

In the Margins: On the Pleasures of Reading and Writing by Elena Ferrante

3.75

So far, I am not as taken with Ferrante's writing as the rest of the literary community. This was another fun and quick read from Morrison, I especially liked "Dante's Rib" which was the last essay included in the collection (the one she did not write with the intention of delivering as a speech). Her writing is wonderful and the translation is beautiful, but it doesn't feel groundbreaking...maybe I'll feel differently when I finally read the Neapolitan trilogy. 

Parade: A Folktale by Hiromi Kawakami

3.0

A fun and super quick read; probably wouldn't recommend especially in comparison with People From My Neighborhood. 

Rouge by Mona Awad

3.0

I'm sorry but this was not a hit for me. I LOVE Mona Awad, but I felt this book fell flat. I think there were too many reoccurring themes for my liking: the fairytale obsession, skin obsession, mother weirdness, too much was going on to understand the underlying plot of the magical realism. Like all of her other books, the ending was almost less clear than the beginning, though some key character growth points can be seen. I will continue to recommend Bunny and All's Well, but I honestly wouldn't recommend this book to any potential Mona Awad lovers. I will also say, I read a lot of nonfiction and fiction in the family-member-passed genre, and I feel this was done poorly compared to other pieces I've read. If you are looking for good family-member-dying fiction within the magical realism genre, Death Valley by Melissa Broder is a WONDERFUL book about the grief one feels when they know their family member is going to pass; I think it does a better job at integrating small bits of magical realism while grounding the plot in character reflection. 

Here After: A Memoir by Amy Lin

5.0

absolutely heart wrenching memoir on widowed grief. this book was so sad it made me want to throw up, and I read a lot of sad books so that is truly a feat. I truly wish this woman the most love in the world, it is clear her grief is so deep and complex. As someone actively pursuing creative writing at the time of her husband's death, I think she writes this memoir from an interesting motive. She always wanted to be a writer, but her immense grief is what finally became powerful enough for publication. Definitely a must-read for anyone reading the grief memoir micro-genre, but just be warned that this is less reflective and more deeply depressing than other memoirs in the micro-genre. but overall beautiful prose from a deeply saddened artistic voice.

A Very Easy Death by Simone de Beauvoir

4.0

A meditation on familial death, more specifically the death of Simone's mother. Her writing is phenomenal, though her detachment from death feels eerie. I always enjoy reading thoughtful pieces of literature, and de Beauvoir is certainly a thoughtful writer. Her philosophy background provides a great context for this piece of work too!