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challenging
emotional
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse
Minor: Homophobia
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this book was excellent — i’m so upset that i borrowed it from the library rather than buying so i could have underlined and passed it on to the many people i will make read this soon. nuance, complexity, mediation, simmering rage. the story is interesting and emotional, yes, but it is the language with which is unfolds that is so evocative. I forget sometimes just how good Excellent Prose really is until I read writing like Rob Franklin’s. Franklin (and smith, the protagonist) authors, the period of characters that appear in this book, such empathy care, and nuance in their experiences and the way they express them. I was particularly drawn in by Smith’s love and care and rage for Carolyn.
“Of course, Smith's own reservations were principally aesthetic; he wondered, arriving at the open door, whether collective liberation came always at the expense of good taste.” pg. 82
“confronted him with the hideous fact of his own invisibility in these temples of narrow desire” pg. 86
“Of course, Smith's own reservations were principally aesthetic; he wondered, arriving at the open door, whether collective liberation came always at the expense of good taste.” pg. 82
“confronted him with the hideous fact of his own invisibility in these temples of narrow desire” pg. 86
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use
Moderate: Alcoholism, Racism, Suicide
Minor: Police brutality, Abortion, Classism
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use
Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I saw this author talk about this novel the week it was released without having read the book first. The two things I took away from his discussion was that his background is in poetry and that he started each chapter thinking about the mood that he wanted to capture in that chapter. I feel that both of these takeaways are very evident in this book. Each sentence is carefully written in way that feels lyrical. There is not a single misplaced word. The plot is one where both everything and nothing happens all at once.
I loved the look at the intersection of being Black, class, the criminal justice system, grief, and one’s past hovering over one’s present and future.
This book is one that is going to linger in the recesses of my mind for some time to come.
I loved the look at the intersection of being Black, class, the criminal justice system, grief, and one’s past hovering over one’s present and future.
This book is one that is going to linger in the recesses of my mind for some time to come.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Murder
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Racism, Police brutality, Grief, Abortion, Toxic friendship, Classism