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specificwonderland's reviews
801 reviews
13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
DE. VOURED.
Couldnt put this one down. I highlighted a lot. Her writing is great, though I wouldn't have known from Bunny. I found that too ethereal and disconnected but maybe I should give it another go.
Love these characters and obsessions.
Couldnt put this one down. I highlighted a lot. Her writing is great, though I wouldn't have known from Bunny. I found that too ethereal and disconnected but maybe I should give it another go.
Love these characters and obsessions.
Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Rollicking! Enjoyed and would read more from this author or more from Reece's book club.
Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol
challenging
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
I went thru a phase where I was reading very depressing Russian books. Things like Cancer Ward, Day in the life of Ivan Ivanovich, the Gulag Archipelago and for some reason, I thought Gogol had written one of these books. As I look back at my reading history and his oeuvre, I see the night before Christmas, which I gave 3 stars. So I don't know why I thought I would like this more, but this was a little meandering and exhaustive. The dialogues are carefully dictated but ultimately rambling. I had a hard time understanding the point. I can see the theme of the hypocrisy of the government with its stupid red tape and bureaucracy, and the boring downstream effects of class when you're not disgustingly rich. I highlighted some funny turns of phrase but I think this would've looked a lot different if it was published rather than published as a WIP.
To Live by Michael Berry, Yu Hua
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Not sure how I got this added to my TBR but I have 2 hypotheses: 1. Books like The Good Earth which I read in HS and enjoyed 2. Books like Thirst for Love by Mishima that we read in book club 5-10y ago and I also loved.
If you liked either of those, you will like this. Realistic character studies. Set in the 40s in rural China before and during communist rule. A father's broken journey into and out of parenthood.
If you liked either of those, you will like this. Realistic character studies. Set in the 40s in rural China before and during communist rule. A father's broken journey into and out of parenthood.
Intensity by Dean Koontz
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
So suspenseful! I couldn't put it down and really enjoyed the pacing. What's going to happen next? How will this unfold? Will evil prevail?
The Between by Tananarive Due
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.0
Something strange is happening to Hilton James. He's losing time, experiencing events out of order, and losing his family. His Nana saved him from drowning as a kid, but something has been pursuing him for decades. He shouldn't be here. This story is woven with a hyper realistic racism storyline. I "liked" this. An upwardly mobile family of color, the vibrant Miami setting (ngl, Every time I saw "Biscayne" I would sing some of Mask Off - ocean air, cruuuising Biscaaaayne), the wife being more successful than the husband, a solid marriage without being overly perfect. The dog doesn't die! All the makings of a captivating story. Open ended ending. Did Hilton come out of that?
The Violet Hour: Great Writers at the End by Katie Roiphe
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I had this on my TBR for years(?) and finally read it. When I looked at the table is contents, there was only one author I was interested in, Updike. So that's the section I read and it was very poignant and dad and good and interesting and revealing.
Good Morning, Monster by Catherine Gildiner
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
It's not often I run out the library clock on a book, then re-check it out and keep forging ahead. But this was that book. It was really inspiring hearing about these hero patients.
Cows by Matthew Stokoe
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.0
In a sense, I dnf this book. I put it down at 50-55% and did not continue on. In another sense, I did finish it. I reached the end point for me. I've spent years reading fucked up things, watching fucked up things, listening to fucked up things. I wanted to prove to myself I could. I wasn't soft or affected. I was hard and wizened. Fuck all that.
I read some reviews of this book before I quit, wondering if it would turn out to be fruitful or have some kind of 'good' ending. What I read was not encouraging. To paraphrase, "this is a less good Animal Farm". Yeah, I don't need to debase myself like this. It's ok that I'm soft. It's ok that I get disgusted and traumatized reading about a guy fucking a girl while he guides a colonoscopy camera up (really really up) her anal canal far into her intestines while they both listlessly watch the camera footage. It's ok that I don't want to read about 6 guys punching holes in the same cow while it's alive, so they can fuck the cow holes and then murder the cow so it tenses around their dicks before they finally stop its suffering. It's ok I don't want to hear about a sadistic mother feeding her adult son rotten sheep intestines, then him making her eat his literal shit, on a plate, over and over again. And the poor helpless dog.
Wherever this book is going, it's ok that I don't want to go.
From what I did read, I felt it was one dimensional, the detached third person narration of an emotionally delayed (however rightfully so) young man. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. I paid for it , and don't even want to leave it in a FLL without a content warning on it. I feel like Tender is the Flesh tackles these ideas in less harsh ways while still being visceral.
Some questions I have at this juncture. The biggest question I have is, was the writer in on this? Did the writer do an amazing job at a character study of a depraved man or is the only way a writer could harness this much depravity is if he himself were that depraved man, saying whatever thoughts he thinks. If it's the former, there's some value in this level of repulsion. If it's the latter, I hope to never cross his path in a dark alley.
I do think the animal cruelty question opens an ethical line of questioning. Ok we can all agree THIS is too much, this is beyond the boundaries of what a cow should have to go through. How do we feel (singularly, as a society, or from the author's Australia versus my America) about factory farms? Most of us eat meat, isn't that cruel? Most of us distance ourselves as much as we can from our living breathing food. This book makes the reader look.
Humans are disgusting, even if we're not unfeeling toxic monsters. We do horrible things to animals. And guess what, we do them to each other. Men rape women. People bring guns to schools, malls, concerts, movies. America is a hella racist place to be for a person of color. England colonized a lot of the world. We treat each other horribly. Is this book beyond that? (Resounding yes for me.)
And my final question is, if it's not for me, who is this book for? I think it's for someone who wants to be pushed to their limits. I love a sad book that destroys me. If there's an audience who craves that feeling of being destroyed and levelled by a disgusting work, this is the book for that audience.
I read some reviews of this book before I quit, wondering if it would turn out to be fruitful or have some kind of 'good' ending. What I read was not encouraging. To paraphrase, "this is a less good Animal Farm". Yeah, I don't need to debase myself like this. It's ok that I'm soft. It's ok that I get disgusted and traumatized reading about a guy fucking a girl while he guides a colonoscopy camera up (really really up) her anal canal far into her intestines while they both listlessly watch the camera footage. It's ok that I don't want to read about 6 guys punching holes in the same cow while it's alive, so they can fuck the cow holes and then murder the cow so it tenses around their dicks before they finally stop its suffering. It's ok I don't want to hear about a sadistic mother feeding her adult son rotten sheep intestines, then him making her eat his literal shit, on a plate, over and over again. And the poor helpless dog.
Wherever this book is going, it's ok that I don't want to go.
From what I did read, I felt it was one dimensional, the detached third person narration of an emotionally delayed (however rightfully so) young man. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. I paid for it , and don't even want to leave it in a FLL without a content warning on it. I feel like Tender is the Flesh tackles these ideas in less harsh ways while still being visceral.
Some questions I have at this juncture. The biggest question I have is, was the writer in on this? Did the writer do an amazing job at a character study of a depraved man or is the only way a writer could harness this much depravity is if he himself were that depraved man, saying whatever thoughts he thinks. If it's the former, there's some value in this level of repulsion. If it's the latter, I hope to never cross his path in a dark alley.
I do think the animal cruelty question opens an ethical line of questioning. Ok we can all agree THIS is too much, this is beyond the boundaries of what a cow should have to go through. How do we feel (singularly, as a society, or from the author's Australia versus my America) about factory farms? Most of us eat meat, isn't that cruel? Most of us distance ourselves as much as we can from our living breathing food. This book makes the reader look.
Humans are disgusting, even if we're not unfeeling toxic monsters. We do horrible things to animals. And guess what, we do them to each other. Men rape women. People bring guns to schools, malls, concerts, movies. America is a hella racist place to be for a person of color. England colonized a lot of the world. We treat each other horribly. Is this book beyond that? (Resounding yes for me.)
And my final question is, if it's not for me, who is this book for? I think it's for someone who wants to be pushed to their limits. I love a sad book that destroys me. If there's an audience who craves that feeling of being destroyed and levelled by a disgusting work, this is the book for that audience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Excrement, Vomit, Violence, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Torture, Death, Medical trauma, Blood, Body horror, Medical content, Sexual assault, and Emotional abuse
Eight Men by Richard Wright, Paul Gilroy
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Are the flaws of the characters a main focus of the book? Um, existing while being black.
I like the way Richard Wright writes. I saw this on a table for Black History Month at the library and picked it up for some short stories. Short doesn't mean vapid though. The stories were fraught with tension. The Flemish innkeeper who is enraged and indignant at the large black man drinking and cavorting with prostitutes in the inn. The boy who wanted a gun so badly it ruined his family. There were some very meaty stories being tackled here. I would read more of his work!
I like the way Richard Wright writes. I saw this on a table for Black History Month at the library and picked it up for some short stories. Short doesn't mean vapid though. The stories were fraught with tension. The Flemish innkeeper who is enraged and indignant at the large black man drinking and cavorting with prostitutes in the inn. The boy who wanted a gun so badly it ruined his family. There were some very meaty stories being tackled here. I would read more of his work!