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candelibri's reviews
1844 reviews
Cold in the Shadows by Toni Anderson
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
Hard to get through all the military / government propaganda but what was I expecting when I picked this up.
The Color Line by Igiaba Scego
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Dark Triumph by Robin Lafevers
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.25
The Forbidden Notebook by Alba de Céspedes
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.75
Family Lexicon by Natalia Ginzburg
emotional
funny
informative
fast-paced
4.5
This is perfectly lovely. A memoir that reads like fiction, it becomes even more special as you get to meet the members of her family against the backdrop of fascist Italy.
Mr. Levi is a bombastic, arrogant, lovable (slightly racist) bully. Easily calling people jackasses in his frustration, you could make a drinking game out of how many times he wakes his wife to tell her something “in the middle of the night.” It does not excuse Mr. but rather showcases his flaws (telling his children to keep to their manners instead of acting up is done by telling them not to “be Negroes”) so that you are fully aware of the character that dominates the majority of the book. Without him, there would be an obvious hole.
Mrs. Levi dismisses much of Mr.’s tantrums with indifferent affection that endears the both of them to you even more yet we do not learn much about her, except a few catchphrases - affectionately calling her maid “Louis the Eleventh” and the sulfuric fart story.
We meet the rest of Natalia’s family, her brothers and sister and their spouses. We run into Pavese and Natalia’s husband. While the entirety is told with strong doses of humor (honestly, I laughed so often) by the last chapters we are brought back to stark reality of Mussolini’s Italy that was not as full of light and joy as this book is.
If there was another title, I’d say this could be called “Love and Fault” - she loves those in her circle but she doesn’t shy away from exposing their faults. As she did with her father, she spends time examining Pavese with the same unrelenting writing yet this time, the sorrow is present from the reader’s perspective.
This may be one of my favorites from her.
Mr. Levi is a bombastic, arrogant, lovable (slightly racist) bully. Easily calling people jackasses in his frustration, you could make a drinking game out of how many times he wakes his wife to tell her something “in the middle of the night.” It does not excuse Mr. but rather showcases his flaws (telling his children to keep to their manners instead of acting up is done by telling them not to “be Negroes”) so that you are fully aware of the character that dominates the majority of the book. Without him, there would be an obvious hole.
Mrs. Levi dismisses much of Mr.’s tantrums with indifferent affection that endears the both of them to you even more yet we do not learn much about her, except a few catchphrases - affectionately calling her maid “Louis the Eleventh” and the sulfuric fart story.
We meet the rest of Natalia’s family, her brothers and sister and their spouses. We run into Pavese and Natalia’s husband. While the entirety is told with strong doses of humor (honestly, I laughed so often) by the last chapters we are brought back to stark reality of Mussolini’s Italy that was not as full of light and joy as this book is.
If there was another title, I’d say this could be called “Love and Fault” - she loves those in her circle but she doesn’t shy away from exposing their faults. As she did with her father, she spends time examining Pavese with the same unrelenting writing yet this time, the sorrow is present from the reader’s perspective.
This may be one of my favorites from her.
Becoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining Our Future by Patty Krawec
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
4.5
Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Y. Davis
informative
slow-paced
4.5
What else is there to say - there is a reason Angela Y. Davis is a titan. A must read.
Taken by the Horde King by Zoey Draven
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem
slow-paced
3.0
I don’t want to completely discount this because there is much good to be found, especially when it comes to self work and body settling. (Part 1 and 2 specifically)
AND YET.
How does someone who so repeatedly states the objective over and over COMPLETELY MISS THE PLOT. The copaganda is STIFLING. It is littered throughout the pages and has chapters dedicated to it. Yet in the same paragraph the author will be advising activists how to (god help me) protect themselves from violence while protesting, learning CPR and also tell white people to get to work dismantling white supremacy by reading such freedom giants as -checks notes- Robin DiAngelo Tim Wise and Peggy McIntosh.
Are you joking me. THOSE are the first three names??
Like I said - there is a lot of good to be found in the Body Work sections in the first two parts. Especially if you take the time to work through them.
But dear LORD save yourself the agida and skip part 3.
AND YET.
How does someone who so repeatedly states the objective over and over COMPLETELY MISS THE PLOT. The copaganda is STIFLING. It is littered throughout the pages and has chapters dedicated to it. Yet in the same paragraph the author will be advising activists how to (god help me) protect themselves from violence while protesting, learning CPR and also tell white people to get to work dismantling white supremacy by reading such freedom giants as -checks notes- Robin DiAngelo Tim Wise and Peggy McIntosh.
Are you joking me. THOSE are the first three names??
Like I said - there is a lot of good to be found in the Body Work sections in the first two parts. Especially if you take the time to work through them.
But dear LORD save yourself the agida and skip part 3.