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freshlybakedbread's reviews
257 reviews
Petals on the Wind by V.C. Andrews
3.5
The other reviews for this book are annoying and complain about Cathy's bad decisions, ignore them
This is an essential sequel in the sense that it truly fleshes out and demonstrates the themes that were introduced in Flowers in the Attic, namely the cyclical nature of familial trauma, which the gothic genre is especially attuned to.
I do have to admit the first and particularly the second section are a bit of a slog to get through. Cathy's teenage and young 20s voice is obviously annoying and misguided. These first two acts are more heavy on the soap drama elements and I was pining for the dark gothic aspects I loved from the first book.
Thankfully the third act kicks it up a notch and the narrative returns to the gothic fairytale structure that was absolutely batshit and worth the slog through the silly second act. We witness Cathy's transformation fuelled by her quest for revenge and unwillingness to free herself from the past. The doll/doppelganger motif (evident in their fashioned 'Dollanganger' surnames) grows to light.
Virginia Andrews has a very episodic method of writing which keeps you reading onto the next chapter in the similar vein to a television show, and Cathy becoming absolutely unhinged is delicious and horrifying to read through. Rotten entertainment I love it
This is an essential sequel in the sense that it truly fleshes out and demonstrates the themes that were introduced in Flowers in the Attic, namely the cyclical nature of familial trauma, which the gothic genre is especially attuned to.
I do have to admit the first and particularly the second section are a bit of a slog to get through. Cathy's teenage and young 20s voice is obviously annoying and misguided. These first two acts are more heavy on the soap drama elements and I was pining for the dark gothic aspects I loved from the first book.
Thankfully the third act kicks it up a notch and the narrative returns to the gothic fairytale structure that was absolutely batshit and worth the slog through the silly second act. We witness Cathy's transformation fuelled by her quest for revenge and unwillingness to free herself from the past. The doll/doppelganger motif (evident in their fashioned 'Dollanganger' surnames) grows to light.
Virginia Andrews has a very episodic method of writing which keeps you reading onto the next chapter in the similar vein to a television show, and Cathy becoming absolutely unhinged is delicious and horrifying to read through. Rotten entertainment I love it
Slime: A Natural History by Susanne Wedlich
Did not finish book. Stopped at 51%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 51%.
Had to return to the library; it was an interesting subject but a lot of scientific terms that I struggled to comprehend, would've really appreciated diagrams to assist the descriptions and the information more broke up so that it could be processed a little easier
Rave by Rainald Goetz
1.75
Awful. The voice of this novel is nothing more than a wanker, the type of pretentious wanker who thinks they're so above and cooler than everyone around them, the type of wanker I would definitely avoid at a party. I came in expecting an encapsulation or at least a reflection on the 90s rave and drug scene. The heightened emotions, meeting both the most horrible and the most beautiful people, dancing until your feet bleed, high highs and low lows. The psychological and political reasons why someone would be fuelled towards this euphoric self annihilation. Feeling the sun on your face walking home in the morning passing commuters on their way to work. I found nothing remotely relatable to my own party experiences. The only description this guy can seem to pull out of his ass on anything is either 'cool' or 'dope'. The random analyses of writing culture or whatever were painfully boring and irrelevant, misogyny was rife, and the disjointed narrative and prose was just annoying. No semblance of lucidity and coherence until the last 50 pages. Fuck this guy.
The Seventh Horse And Other Stories by Anthony Kerrigan, Katherine Talbot, Leonora Carrington, Marina Warner
dark
mysterious
2.75
Carrington's short fairytales and stories in this collection complement her artworks with her usual blend of Surrealist elements such as lush natural landscapes invoked with rich senses, pagan symbolism, dream logic, and peeking behind the artificial curtain of human society to see the dark, carnal chaos behind. Carrington pays ode to her fascination with Mexican culture as well.
Unfortunately, like many texts trying to evoke the illogical and elusive pattern of dreams, this also falls into the more confusing and ill-reading camp. Even if I tried to let go of my need for structured narrative and following the flow of the writing , it was still more like a string of images messily tied together.
I'm going to assume most people interested in this book are already familiar with Carrington's paintings, and the vivid singular images found in these stories do go hand in hand with her art. However I would say image-based are Carrington's strengths rather than word-based.
Unfortunately, like many texts trying to evoke the illogical and elusive pattern of dreams, this also falls into the more confusing and ill-reading camp. Even if I tried to let go of my need for structured narrative and following the flow of the writing , it was still more like a string of images messily tied together.
I'm going to assume most people interested in this book are already familiar with Carrington's paintings, and the vivid singular images found in these stories do go hand in hand with her art. However I would say image-based are Carrington's strengths rather than word-based.
Nadja by André Breton
Don't go into this expecting the surrealist fantasies of Dali's paintings or even a significant plot; this follows the Surrealist ideals from the idea of surrealism as a way of changing your perspective on the world and daily existence. Breton grapples with the age-old creative struggle of portraying a fully realised portrait of a person, so instead goes for snapshots of their interactions and walks around Paris where Nadja's personality and passions occasionally burst through to him. The noted quotes and collected drawings of her's are glimpses of her own creative inspirations; this book just made me wish she could've had a chance to be an artist such as Breton and the company they kept.
The Sopranos by Alan Warner
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
I very much do not like the sentiment that authors can't write about identities and perspectives that they do not personally share or have experience of- a writer who only writes about what they know and never tries to step out of that is not a brave or good writer in my eyes, so I do not want to disparage the book based on the fact it's about teenage girls and it's written by a man. I could guess Warner's intentions while reading this that he wanted to portray some fun, cheeky, mischievous teenage girls who are rowdy and make dirty jokes and are not the victim of the leery men around them. However, I would say that this is one of the cases where the movie is more enjoyable than the book as on paper I found it difficult to differentiate between most of the characters (especially with the lack of descriptions and punctuation), whereas on film the actresses were able to inject some life and individuality into them. A lot of critiques of this seem to be accusing the author of fetishizing teen girls, which there are arguments for and against. Yes, they do spend the majority of the book talking about sex and who they want to have sex with and how much they want to do it. I'm guessing the intention was to subvert the typical stereotypes of teenage boys being the ones who are sex-obsessed and girls are the clean virginal ones (eg American Pie). No, Warner does not delve into the nuances and blurry complications of young girls and their sexual desires and encounters. Dodgy stories about men impregnating underage girls are sprinkled in but mostly just as a part of their banal lives, maybe to demonstrate the grim things that happen to girls that are normalised? But it's not explored and I don't think it was the aim of the book.
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.75