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torchlab's reviews
116 reviews
A Prayer for Travelers by Ruchika Tomar
3.0
The strength of this book is in its descriptive language: lots of perfect singular images that flashed directly into my mind’s eye from the page. Plot and characterization are a bit lacking. Could have been edited down maybe 25%.
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
About once a year I read a romance novel, because I like love stories and I admire well-written sex scenes. I don't feel like I can give an accurate star rating here because romance is so far outside what I typically read, but this was decent. I particularly enjoyed the scenes of Michael's family and would have happily spent more time with them.
Erasure by Percival Everett
4.0
It's crazy that this book came out within a year of Spike Lee's Bamboozled and no one seemed to even begin to understand what either was saying until literally twenty years later
Minor Detail by Adania Shibli
4.5
The style of this is so mesmerizing and so effective: a steady, controlled accumulation of small details leading up to a huge endless field of horror and grief that opens before you in an instant.
Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin
3.0
Good but not great. Should probably be read in one sitting (I didn't do this)
We the Animals by Justin Torres
3.0
A bit too short to feel fully-formed, IMO. Torres is clearly a skilled writer - I'll look forward to reading Blackouts
Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed
4.5
Beautiful. A true embodiment of what makes comics an art form. Every detail on every page is there for a reason.
The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay
4.0
A specter is haunting the Iberian Peninsula: the specter of bisexual throuples
The Mothers by Brit Bennett
3.0
Definitely an MFA Thesis Book which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it did mean that i could predict almost every plot event and emotional beat from miles away