emily_kathman's reviews
52 reviews

dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

These stories are more like vingettes than stories- like they don’t follow a typical plot structure- they set a vibe- which is kind of disturbing but ultimately constantly lurking in the world.

Themes of sexual dysfunction/ deviance/dominance are present in A/S/L, Marion, Los Angeles, and The Nanny. Which makes sense considering the title of the book. Cline leaves a lot unsaid in these stories, paints a picture with all the circumstances and details surrounding “the thing” without ever naming it. Although it’s more present in some stories than others. - these are all written from women's pov.

In contrast, What Can You Do With a General, Menlo Park, Northeast Regional, Mack the Knife, and Son of Friedman explore more loss or lack of masculinity/ feelings of inadequacy and are written from men’s pov.

Arcadia was an interesting outlier as a man was both witness to and a victim of sexual abuse by another man.

Themes of agency?

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors

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dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

My favorite sister to read was Bonnie
I was captivated by the story
Mellors knows how to write an argument between sisters or between mother/daughter in the most accurate way. We say the most hurtful things
Appreciated the complex, morally ambiguous, female characters

Would have been 5 stars but for the writing style. I’m just picky.

Cures for Hunger: A Memoir by Deni Ellis Béchard, Deni Y. B. Chard

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Gathering Blossoms Under Fire: The Journals of Alice Walker by Alice Walker

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hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

Aviary by Deirdre McNamer

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emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

I did enjoy reading this book. It gave vignettes into each character’s life and past.

However- the prose was a bit dense. It was beautifully written. The text challenged me to look up words I haven’t heard before- what a beautiful thing. And- my preference in books is not to be bogged down in my captivation by dense prose. It was almost giving Hemingway in the rambling-ness of it all (which for some might be a plus but for me just isn’t my preference).

Also- there were a lot of characters that we heard their pov maybe once or twice and then it just dropped- only to have their “loose ends” tied up in another characters pov. Maybe that was the point, that things aren’t always neat- but i would have loved another chapter from both Leo and Claytons pov.

Overall, a nice read especially for November. It captured that sad vibe of the days getting shorter, and was an example of beautiful prose. I think it would have been better if there would have been less povs and more time developing 3-4 characters more in depth.

Check it out if you like more dense, many character pov stories, or if you need a big zoom out in perspective.

She's a Killer by Kirsten McDougall

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dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

3.75

Spoilers:

Immediately upon finishing I feel a bit disappointed with the book but also I did enjoy reading it.

The concept of this speculative world seems too close to the current world which made me anxious when reading the first part of the book, the narrator’s cynicism crept into my mind- which is a powerful thing for a book to do!

As the main character helped Erika and became aware of Erikas plans- she found her agency. Why did she meed permission/validation from a literal child to do something about her world I don’t know.

I think the book paints out an extreme version of how world problems that seem totally out of our control like climate change, economic issues, etc. impact individuals, and place pathologies on individuals.

I think both Erika and the protagonist are trying to survive as best they can. While I see their flaws I do find them empathetic. I wonder if the author is trying to warn readers of the something, a parable of some sort?

I still need to sort my thoughts out on this one. Beautiful character development.

The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced