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cscutt's reviews
375 reviews
Wild Houses by Colin Barrett
4.75
Finding this through the Booker Longlist made me very happy. It's a delight to read, and the use of language is truly brilliant. Every page had at least one surprising turn of phrase on it that made me smile. I had to stop myself from keeping reading bits aloud, as I was on the verge of becoming an audiobook.
If there was some deep meaning, I must have missed it. But it made me wish I could write sentences like Colin Barrett does, and that was enough for me.
If there was some deep meaning, I must have missed it. But it made me wish I could write sentences like Colin Barrett does, and that was enough for me.
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
challenging
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
It's a real work of art, full of dense, gorgeous sentences and big ideas. Unfortunately that's at the cost of any sort of plot or character development, both of which I do prefer to be present.
It's a brilliant burst of wonderfully crafted writing, and that was enough to sustain me for 130 pages. But as it came to the end, I was glad it wasn't longer.
It's a brilliant burst of wonderfully crafted writing, and that was enough to sustain me for 130 pages. But as it came to the end, I was glad it wasn't longer.
Metronome by Tom Watson
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
In Memoriam by Alice Winn
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
All Fours by Miranda July
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
It's densely and elegantly written, but I lost track of the plot several times. I feel like the knowledge required to make chunks of this make sense was just not stuff that I knew, so I often ended up zoned out and waiting for a bit that I understood again.
The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischwili
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Masterful storytelling. It's 900+ pages long and not only did I never find it dull, but I still wanted more of it at the end. It's a book where absolutely everyone has a story, and they're all important, which is a pleasantly romantic way of seeing things. I also enjoyed getting some USSR history from a Georgian perspective, and it made me look up loads of stuff that I only kind of knew about before, so that's always a good thing.