cookiestone's reviews
5 reviews

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Yuck. How disappointing and ridiculous that the best smell in the world is a beautiful young virgin. How weak.
With an interesting storyline exploring how scent affects our world (and becomes warped and all-consuming in the case of the main character), this book is written through the perspective of a sick mind, and reading it was exhausting. I can’t recall a page I enjoyed. 
A story of pure predation masked by sensationalism.

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill
Did not finish book. Stopped at 70%.

My overall reading experience was one of simultaneous boredom and frustration. 

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

3.25

The author’s memoir of illness and loss of her mother when she was a young woman feels Authentic. Note: It doesn’t seem apparent that she then, or has ever, realized that her feelings of wanting to belong- of being seen as American or as Korean- are a universal longing, a part of adolescence. 

Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Great read before Halloween-
Suspenseful, creepy, disturbing, enthralling, shocking…
But my next book will definitely be something more lighthearted!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Incest, Physical abuse, and Alcohol

Minor: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Murder

The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala Harris

hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0