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ava's reviews
42 reviews
Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
3.5
My first Sally Rooney book, and I think it would be worse if I'd read her others but I generally enjoyed this one. Definitely not breaking any genre boundaries or doing anything interesting so idk why she's like THE author of this genre but again it was good. I listened to this on audiobook while knitting and it was a good experience. I kept trying to guess what the next line of dialogue would be and being right down to the word so. very predictable. This makes it sound bad it's not bad. Probably the best version of the average of all contemporary literary fiction.
Tell Me an Ending by Jo Harkin
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Really great; felt like a slow untangling with all the characters and how reveals are unspooled over the latter half of the book.
My only issue was that quite a few moments of dialogue and narration seemed like the author just saying something philosophical to the reader, rather than a natural thought for the character. Also this is mostly written without quotation marks but then it sometimes just. has them for a page.
My only issue was that quite a few moments of dialogue and narration seemed like the author just saying something philosophical to the reader, rather than a natural thought for the character. Also this is mostly written without quotation marks but then it sometimes just. has them for a page.
The Seep by Chana Porter
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
3.0
okay well. i never fully hated this and never fully loved it, but my feelings about the themes fluctuated wildly over the book. The events of the story were consistently interesting, but I'm so so sick of books that equate womanhood with suffering. I resonated with the parts that explored the alienation from one's self as a result of parenthood, something that's always scared me and spend a lot of time thinking about. There are moments where this is done really well and thoughtfully, but there are just as many where the added link of motherhood = biology = suffering made me uncomfortable and I did not relate to it at all.
Otherwise this would have been exactly my kind of book. Unnamed narrator, body horror, pyramid scheme, etc. I just wish this spent more time talking about rage without making it some inalienable tenet of womanhood.
Otherwise this would have been exactly my kind of book. Unnamed narrator, body horror, pyramid scheme, etc. I just wish this spent more time talking about rage without making it some inalienable tenet of womanhood.
NW by Zadie Smith
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0