itsgeesus's reviews
10 reviews

Stung with Love: Poems and Fragments by Sappho

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lighthearted fast-paced

4.75

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

I really enjoy Baldwin, I think his writing is fantastic and hooks you in no matter the story. Even though this was relatively a quick read, it was addictive, with the exploration of queerness feeling so real and gritty. The internalised homophobia David felt throughout is something that was especially poignant, given that it would have been something many American men would've felt pre-Stonewall. Some readers may even experience it today. Sure, it was often uncomfortable to read, but it felt genuine, and David's struggle to accept his love for Giovanni is something to be commended. The pressure of 'fitting in' with a heteronormative society was a theme I really enjoyed throughout because no matter what decade this would have been read in, it is still somehow relevant.

I would say, however, that the way Hella was written in was fairly misogynistic, whether by accident or not. At times, it felt as if her absence was used by David to justify his affair with Giovanni, rather than David wanting to explore because he genuinely felt attracted to Giovanni. Even with Hella around, the way David spoke about her and other women felt weird, like even for 1956 society. The vibe I got was "men are superior, women are just mistresses". That was the only thing to have pulled me away from such a story.

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Girlcrush by Florence Given

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 38%.

This was a DNF for me. Not once, but twice. The first time around I got further in, but in both instances, this genuinely made me so frustrated. This is very much a fanaticising of Given's life and experiences, and this is quite clear if you've been following her on social media for quite some time. Obviously, that wasn't the issue, sort of. The issue for me was the superiority complex that is force-fed down your throat in every. single. page. The idea is that men are a vicious entity here to steal women of their individuality and worth and that our only existence is to please men. Eartha's boyfriend is the epitome of this, and it got to the point where I was so uncomfortable with the attitude being communicated to me. Now I've absolutely adored Given's non-fiction novel Women Don't Owe You Pretty, and will easily devour feminist discourse novels and essays, but Girlcrush was neither. It was a mess of a rant that tried to paint women as the superior, and it didn't work. I really tried to enjoy the queer explorations of this, but even then, the way these themes were communicated wasn't done right. Ironically, a book written by a queer woman still somehow fetishised WLW relationships and female sexuality, and this was not even 50 pages in. It just got to the point where I was genuinely getting angry at how this was written, which was a shame because the premise of the novel is great, and I was really looking forward to reading it when the novel came out.

All I can say is yikes.

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The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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challenging emotional funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I avoided this book for the longest time because I feared it was overhyped for the sake of overhyping. But I shouldn't have, because it's very well deserved. In a lot of ways, it was magnificent. It was effortless to read and tough to put down. It's also been an incredibly long time since a book has bought me to tears, yet Seven Husbands had no problem; not once, but twice. This should be one on everyone's book list.

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The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enríquez

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dark funny mysterious sad tense

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

3.75

This was a really interesting read and one that can be read quite quickly. I was hooked on this mysterious entity that haunted Buenos Aires and thought that the author had portrayed it in such a magnificent way. It was morbid, but not in a way that is usually blood, guts, and gore, but more psychiatrically morbid. The way each story is written plays with the mind, which made it all the more enjoyable.

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Haunted Houses by Lynne Tillman

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reflective 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

2.5

More often than not, this was a struggle. If it wasn’t sentences making sense, or the plot leading absolutely nowhere, it was the characters just merged into one. It was a struggle to differentiate between them. All three narrative points were written the exact same, there was no individuality in the characters, so I was bored.

The premise of the book was promising, but I was left disappointed and uncomfortable. Attitudes towards the LGBTQIA* community and victim blaming were honestly disgusting, and I genuinely had to put the book down and step away from sheer frustration. That being said, there were some brief moments I did enjoy. At times, it was witty and decently written, and it was moments like those that convinced me to stick it through until the end.

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Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious 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

This was such a fun read; I was captivated by page one. The plot, characters, and imagery were fantastic. I genuinely struggled to put this down, and now I can certainly see why this book has so much hype around it. It's truly well deserved.

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The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng

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challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

I had my moments with this book. The storytelling of Yugiri and the Cameron Highlands was written impeccably, and I must admit, did seem otherworldly. A lot of the imagery was poetic, and I thoroughly enjoyed it when these places were described in detail. I also loved the differentiation between the characters, the accents really came to life on the page and I could hear each one clearly and distinctly. More often than not, however, I struggled to even finish a page. It was a combination of everything, the narrator having this holier-than-thou attitude was so offputting that it genuinely frustrated me - and it wasn't even over the Japanese guards who had taken her to the slave labour camp, it was over everyone. I think there were two characters where this wasn't the case, her sister and Aritomo. It was also some of the actual plot. At times, I genuinely asked myself why what I was reading was relevant - it added nothing to the story, and just seemed like it was filler. I enjoyed bits of it, but would I recommend it? Not necessarily.

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Tales from the Café by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

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

4.0

This is a beautifully written book and it never failed to impress: the imagery, themes, and characters were incredible. In fact, the novel was written in a way that it didn't matter it was a sequel: I picked this up without realising it was part of a short series, but it honestly doesn't matter which order they're read. Each chapter can almost stand alone as its own short story, which I loved, and yet, they all seem to find a way to link with each other. Highly recommend!

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THE BELL JAR by Sylvia Plath

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dark reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

3.75

Plath offers a decent insight into the mind of someone who puts too much pressure and expectations on themselves. Esther’s blunt personality was a highlight, and was actually the first thing that drew me into the novel. The plot was executed well, I could easily sit and read this for hours. I also really appreciated the small moments of societal criticism, it wasn’t too in the face that sometimes takes away from the actual storytelling, but it was enough for Plath to get her point across.

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itsgeesus's reviews 10 reviews

itsgeesus's reviews
10 reviews