mvvelde's reviews
113 reviews

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

Beginning Perfume, I didn't know what to expect. Perhaps I thought the plot would develop and arc like most murder mysteries do. But it didn't, and for that I was glad. Beginning to end I enjoyed this novel and its quirks, but thought at times it was a bit too drawn-out? (maybe also because I didn't have the time to read it in one sitting--would recommend that though if you do pick it up.)

Also spoiler-y comment:

The part where Grenouille is in his cave oddly reminded me a bit of Plato's Allegory of the Cave.--which I found a bit surprising as the two are so different.

Did anyone else make a similar connection?

Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

Dear Reader,

Are you interested in a book that pokes at problematic white supremacist and capitalist society, sometimes using satire to do so? If you answered yes, you're in for a treat.

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Synopsis: Black Buck centers Darren's climb through the white hetero-normative heirarchy of the sales world as it's token Black American. He shares insights on the challenge of working his way to the top--from Starbucks to Sumwun to ?--as he transforms into a Black salesman on a mission.

The way Black Buck is written was brilliant, bouncing from Darren talking to reader/listener, stream of conscious with emotions, and the retelling of his journey. It read like a film! I found myself nodding in agreement at the righteous anger of Darren, cringing at the self-importance and bigoted-ness of Clyde and others. Black Buck's message is a very clear and important roasting and social commentary on the problem of the sales world (and general workforce) in the United States. It reads very close to satire with how blunt, ironic and outright ridiculous some things are, and this definitely adds to the reading experience.

In addition to reading the ARC, I also listened to the audiobook via the Libby app & my local library. I found the audiobook to be especially well-narrated--great emotional infliction and generally nice to listen to. If reading certain things triggers you, you might want to double check before reading this one. Without spoiling, loss is one for me. I found it well-written, but it no doubt affected my reading experience (-0.5 rating).

3.5/5 stars for Black Buck! Thank you to NetGalley, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Mariner Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

(Keep reading for more on the trigger, but be warned: SPOILER AHEAD)

Somewhere around the mid-way point of the novel, Darren loses his mom. This loss was triggering for me, and ultimately affected my reading experience--reflected partially in my overall rating (overall I'd give it 4/5 stars, but this knocked the book down to 3.5 for me). I think that it also made me detach a bit as a listener/reader, which made me become a bit less interested but still wanted to know where Darren's journey went.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak

adventurous emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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

5.0

This is the second book I've read by Elif Safak, and let me just tell you it is just as remarkable as the first. The Island of Missing Trees takes us back through time to follow the intensity of young love, the outbreak of war, the life of a fig tree, and the grief that comes with loss. It was enjoyable to have the lives of bees, of birds, of butterflies, and of different kinds of trees highlighted in the writing, and I enjoyed having a sense of life from the perspective of a trees. The story-telling is carefully crafted and beautiful. I felt the end (both surprising and touching) to be one of the most warming parts of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

5.0

Citizen explores race, rage and erasure of Black Americans through Rankine's beautiful prose. She centers microaggressions and what it's like to live constantly in contrast to the violence and discrimination of systemic racism. I found it best to read this as slowly and attentively as I could, so as to really soak up and experience the words. A very necessary read.

Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

It is certainly a scandalous novel, and I can see why it was when first published in the 1950s in France. It was hard to read as Cécile made choices that didn't lead to happiness in her life, but instead honed her ability to control and manipulate situations for personal petty retaliation--all the while understanding right and wrong, and how naive she herself was. I enjoyed the ending and thought the book was well written.

Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami

informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

Breasts and Eggs centers around the experience of being a woman and feminism, as it intersects with the working-class. The reader follows Natsuko from her childhood to her journey to wanting to be a parent. The novel begins by following a young Natsuko through bits of her childhood to her life as an adult--each part shared through ruminations of different (and sometimes taboo) subjects, including bodily autonomy, parenthood as a single mother, sperm donation, sex and sexuality. Kawakami's writing is visceral. For me it read almost in a stream-of-concious style, and it was refreshing in that it gave true insight into Natsuko's perspective. I think that this is a very important piece of literature and am glad to see such work being not only written, but translated.

That all being said, I was disappointed in my reading experience. Perhaps this was due to hype surrounding it in friend circles or bookstagram, or me just not knowing what to expect and being in a very different mood to read a book like this? I found it especially tough around the 35%-50% mark to get through, mainly because not much happens. But, I would urge anyone to try to push through because the very ending of this novel is just incredible.

The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

It's been a few months since I've read this one, and when I think of it I still feel a residual chill. Vesaas created a stunning atmosphere in this short novel. The pages of Ice Palace are filled with carefully crafted prose which tell a haunting, magical and tragic tale. I found myself wanting to continue reading, and enjoyed the way grief was explored.

Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir by Ruth Reichl

adventurous inspiring reflective relaxing fast-paced

4.5

I picked this one up on a whim, recommended to me after reading another food memoir. And let me just tell you: it was a joy to read!

As a foodie, Save Me the Plums was a joy to read. Ruth's love of food (but also her job at Gourmet) came alive in her writing. I could almost imagine the tastes and sights and smells of what she described. Was also pleasantly surprised with the recipes that are shared!--looking forward to making some of them. I would highly recommend Save Me The Plums if you're a fellow foodie, cooker, baker or lover of Gourmet. You'll be in for a treat. 

Birthday Girl by Haruki Murakami

mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.0

Not much to say on this short and mysterious story. As always, I enjoyed how much Murakami left up for interpretation--what does the end mean? Loved that.

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

funny reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

3.0

Convenience Store Woman is as quirky as they come, and comically bizarre in its own way. I was fascinated by Kieko's self-description of merely being a cog, a tool, of the convenience store. The social commentary on societal expectations and normalcy intrigued me too.

However, I do have to say I don’t think I understood all the hype around this book. Maybe it’s just me, but there were bits of this short novella that also bored me?