mar's reviews
373 reviews

challenging reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

I don't think I've read a sci-fi book that felt this thoroughly human in a while.

I originally picked it up because I had the vague notion it had some interesting stuff going on with gender, and I was certainly not disappointed - Jan/Janna, the protagonist, is what I'd call genderqueer, by the end describing themselves interchangeably as both & neither a man or a woman; their journey to that realization is portrayed with a thoughtfulness and authenticity I did not expect from a 1998 science fiction book.

There's so many more fascinating themes explored beyond just gender, though, with some of the ones I found most resonant being cultural frictions, language, and things lost in translation; longing for a nonexistent home, what it feels like to be a stranger/foreigner everywhere you go, and how those impact your sense of self.

It brought to my mind Ursula K. Le Guin's Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction - the novel as a medicine bundle, holding many things amonst which conflict is just one of the many ways they can relate to one another, a place for the untold life story rather than the Hero's story. This is one of those, this is a life story. There is no traditional plot, there's just Jan's life, sometimes grim and brutal, often slow and aimless. Won't be for everyone, I'm sure, but it touched something within me in a way I can't quite put into words.

Content Warnings

Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos by Lisa Kaltenegger

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.

seems like it'd be a great book for a layperson completely new to the subject, but doesn't go into enough detail for my liking

The Bangalore Detectives Club by Harini Nagendra

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious 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? No

3.0

definitely has a charm to it, but falls flat in terms of plot & characters, imo

Content Warnings

The Employees: A Workplace Novel of the 22nd Century by Olga Ravn

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fast-paced

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

4.0

mesmerisingly off-putting, i enjoyed it a lot

Content Warnings

The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans

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emotional medium-paced

5.0

hi for the love of god hello...........

Content Warnings

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

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emotional sad medium-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

4.75

GOD.

Content Warnings

Cursed Objects: Strange but True Stories of the World's Most Infamous Items by J.W. Ocker

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2.0

huh. idk if i was expecting this to be more than just a rather repetitive list of cursed object stories, or if i was expecting the stories to be more captivating than they were, but in the end i just found this book to be rather boring

Space Oddities: The Mysterious Anomalies Challenging Our Understanding of the Universe by Harry Cliff

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adventurous challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

CRAZY. CRAZY!!!!!!!!!
can't believe this book managed to get me excited about particle physics, my most hated area of physics

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

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emotional funny medium-paced