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danaaliyalevinson's reviews
92 reviews
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.5
I’m Jewish and have Sephardi ancestors who fled Portugal thanks to the Inquisition. So immediately this book was right up my alley. I felt that the prose had a certain ineffable Jewishness to it. There was a poeticism and this feeling of the weight of history, and worlds being destroyed and created, that seeped through every line. The magic system. The way language and connection to heritage was used to control the world around Luzia was so beautiful.
I also found the characters incredibly compelling. And the chemistry between Luzia and Santángel was beautiful and also poetic. I felt the book in its entirety did a very good job of balancing really wonderful character development with more plot driven storytelling.
My only criticism is that it feltthat Luzia’s connection to her Jewishness was a dangling character thread that was never fully resolved. I kept expecting her to eventually come to identify with her Jewishness in the way that her Aunt Hualit did. Or at the very least, when she transported herself and Santángel toward the end, that she would transport them to Salonika, or even Ottoman Israel-Palestine, to live among Jews. There was some implication of this with the oranges, but it wasn’t explicit. If that character thread had been better wrapped up, this would’ve been a 5 star read for me. But it was still wonderful.
I also found the characters incredibly compelling. And the chemistry between Luzia and Santángel was beautiful and also poetic. I felt the book in its entirety did a very good job of balancing really wonderful character development with more plot driven storytelling.
My only criticism is that it felt
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
North Woods by Daniel Mason
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I liked this book. Though it came highly recommended and I wanted to love it. And I didn’t. This said, some of things that made me not love it are things that may be right up the alley of other readers: an omniscient third person narrative voice that can sometimes feel a little emotionally detached (not to be confused with the book being unemotional, it’s a very emotional book. Only that the narrator is giving us that emotion from a very outside perspective), and nearly every chapter featuring a totally new central character all linked together through living in or attachment to a single house over centuries.
Which for me, I tend to be attracted to very character driven books, and so being presented with a new central character each chapter just as I was getting to know the previous one was difficult for me to get into. But what I will say is, the book is super interesting. It’s very concept driven and the concept is incredibly compelling. One of the things I really did love in its concept was the usage of ephemera. Oftentimes, between chapters, there would be things like photographs, news clippings, obituaries, poems, journal excerpts, etc, which really made the world feel so real and palpable.
So for those who love somewhat experimental concept driven books, you will likely love this. And there are multiple characters who I did find incredibly compelling and was sad to depart from so quickly when the book moved on to a new inhabitant of the house. The book is also undeniably very well written and constructed. I think that while it wasn’t a five star read for me, it would be a five star read for many others. In fact I already recommended it to two different friends who I think would absolutely lose their minds over this book based on their reading tastes. So don’t let my criticism deter you if this is the kind of storytelling you like!
Which for me, I tend to be attracted to very character driven books, and so being presented with a new central character each chapter just as I was getting to know the previous one was difficult for me to get into. But what I will say is, the book is super interesting. It’s very concept driven and the concept is incredibly compelling. One of the things I really did love in its concept was the usage of ephemera. Oftentimes, between chapters, there would be things like photographs, news clippings, obituaries, poems, journal excerpts, etc, which really made the world feel so real and palpable.
So for those who love somewhat experimental concept driven books, you will likely love this. And there are multiple characters who I did find incredibly compelling and was sad to depart from so quickly when the book moved on to a new inhabitant of the house. The book is also undeniably very well written and constructed. I think that while it wasn’t a five star read for me, it would be a five star read for many others. In fact I already recommended it to two different friends who I think would absolutely lose their minds over this book based on their reading tastes. So don’t let my criticism deter you if this is the kind of storytelling you like!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
This was a quick little read, just barely over novella length.
There's also a movie adaptation with Cillian Murphy that just premiered at Berlinale, which looks great. This book is great for anyone looking for a quick yet still deeply emotional read
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Set over the course of a few days in Ireland, a man is forced to confront his own demons when he unwittingly stumbles upon one of Ireland's infamous Magdalene Laundries a few days before Christmas.
This was a quick little read, just barely over novella length.
The prose was lofty and beautiful. The characters were packed a big emotional punch. To my only criticism ory the book is that I wished it were *slightly* longer. By the time I felt like it really got going, it was almost done. In an odd way it reminded me of Emily St John Mandel’s “Sea of Tranquility” despite being very different in terms of genre. Something about how lyrical and yet short and sweet it was.
There's also a movie adaptation with Cillian Murphy that just premiered at Berlinale, which looks great. This book is great for anyone looking for a quick yet still deeply emotional read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism
Masters of Death by Olivie Blake
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A vampire, a ghost, a couple of demons, guardian angels, a demigod and a handful of other mythic creatures team up with the godson of Death to gamble at Death's table.
This was one of those books that I deeply wanted to love because the premise is so up my alley... but 1 only liked it. A lot was really fun, the characters were fun, the prose was snappy and the characters were well drawn. But the story was extremely complex, and there were so so SO many characters.
And so sometimes I felt the story lost itself.
But it really hit the hardest when it got down to the themes the book is truly about: loss, love, and the meaning of life explored by characters grappling with their own immortality and historical lack of feeling. It was still absolutely a fun read, and I think it you like other Olivie Blake books you'll prob love it. And again, I still really enjoyed it, just didn't *love*.
But it really hit the hardest when it got down to the themes the book is truly about: loss, love, and the meaning of life explored by characters grappling with their own immortality and historical lack of feeling. It was still absolutely a fun read, and I think it you like other Olivie Blake books you'll prob love it. And again, I still really enjoyed it, just didn't *love*.
The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan
I really enjoyed this book. I tend to love historical fiction that centers fictional characters against the backdrop of world events, and while fictional, 1 always feel like it gives us a glimpse into how this massive world events may have affected real people. This book did not disappoint on this front; in turns towering and intimate, this is a beautiful portrait of shattered promises, family bonds, and the tides of history that hurl themselves at the barriers of safety people try to erect around themselves and their loved ones.
It is a multi-perspective book, and sometimes 1 tound the switches happening too quickly, just as I would settle into whatever storyline 1 was following in a particular chapter. And I felt some storylines converged at the end better than others. But it was still a really great read.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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
4.0
Set against the backdrop of the Japanese occupation of
Malaysia, a Malaysian woman makes a fateful decision which changes the course of history and the lives of everyone she knows.
I really enjoyed this book. I tend to love historical fiction that centers fictional characters against the backdrop of world events, and while fictional, 1 always feel like it gives us a glimpse into how this massive world events may have affected real people. This book did not disappoint on this front; in turns towering and intimate, this is a beautiful portrait of shattered promises, family bonds, and the tides of history that hurl themselves at the barriers of safety people try to erect around themselves and their loved ones.
It is a multi-perspective book, and sometimes 1 tound the switches happening too quickly, just as I would settle into whatever storyline 1 was following in a particular chapter. And I felt some storylines converged at the end better than others. But it was still a really great read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Watch Over Me by Nina LaCour
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Boy Parts by Eliza Clark
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
I will be thinking about this book for a long long time.
An audacious story about the rise of fascism and descent into civil war in Ireland told not through the eyes of those in power, but through the quotidien life of the Stack family.
An audacious story about the rise of fascism and descent into civil war in Ireland told not through the eyes of those in power, but through the quotidien life of the Stack family.
The book did an incredible job of portraying the escalation into war through the lens of everyday choices, capturing so well the constant question of when is the point of no return? When is leaving no longer an option?
The way the author first set up normal life and then took the reader on the ride of a slow drip of conflict escalating into a food, with such emotionality, and with such attachment to character, was incredible. And as the war spiraled out of control, I couldn't help but think of Kfar Aza, and Gaza City, and Damascus, and Mariupol, and everywhere war touches, intruding upon and often destroying the lives of those who just want to live in peace, safety, and dignity.
And this was clearly an intentional choice, keeping the contours of the conflict hazy, and in effect it could be about anywhere, which allows the book to serve as both prophecy and warning. And while at first I found the fact that it didn’t use any paragraph breaks or quotation marks to be difficult, by the time I got to the second half of the book, its effectiveness as a literary device became clear, making the reader feel as if they are in the same panicked stream of consciousness as the characters, bringing us into their emotional state.
It is no wonder this book won the Booker. A truly triumphant work of fiction.
And this was clearly an intentional choice, keeping the contours of the conflict hazy, and in effect it could be about anywhere, which allows the book to serve as both prophecy and warning. And while at first I found the fact that it didn’t use any paragraph breaks or quotation marks to be difficult, by the time I got to the second half of the book, its effectiveness as a literary device became clear, making the reader feel as if they are in the same panicked stream of consciousness as the characters, bringing us into their emotional state.
It is no wonder this book won the Booker. A truly triumphant work of fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Eating disorder and Sexual harassment
All-Night Pharmacy by Ruth Madievsky
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
4.0