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2treads's reviews
489 reviews
Ninetails: Nine Tales by Sally Wen Mao
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
A solid collection of stories. I liked that Mao used the elements that are associated with kitsune or gumiho in different ways in these stories. As much as we got a folkloric take on the history of fox spirits, the way she weaved this into her stories of immigration, racism, and sexual assault added another layer of complexity and weight.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Racism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Body horror, Bullying, Racial slurs, Medical content, and Abortion
Until August by Gabriel García Márquez
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
I think this should have stayed in the vault. Not because its bad, but because if you've read Marquez then you know this is unfinished. The bones are there for a very compelling story, where we want to spend more time with the MC and get to the heart of why she has decided to emotionlessly commit adultery. I would have appreciated her affairs if she had done them with conviction. But this will I? won't I? waffling when she already knows what she's about was unattractive.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity
The Edge of Water by Olufunke Grace Bankole
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I did not expect this book to affect me the way it did. I went in expecting the story to follow our MC going through the regular trials of a young woman in Nigeria, but got so much more. I love novels that use the epistolary style as it shows the vulnerabilities of our characters easier than regular exposition prose. It is through these letters we learn of Amina's mother's own experiences where a man will never be held accountable for his actions; neither culturally nor his family.
Amina is restless, carrying an indefinable feeling that makes her feel unmoored and not belonging in her homeland. So she migrates, hoping for better and being able to do more across the ocean. What she finds is not the America that is sold and she begins to wonder if she will ever be able to discover herself and what is meant for her.
If you want to read a book that is going to take you to an ending that will sadden you as well as offer healing, then read this one.
Amina is restless, carrying an indefinable feeling that makes her feel unmoored and not belonging in her homeland. So she migrates, hoping for better and being able to do more across the ocean. What she finds is not the America that is sold and she begins to wonder if she will ever be able to discover herself and what is meant for her.
If you want to read a book that is going to take you to an ending that will sadden you as well as offer healing, then read this one.
Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People by Imani Perry
informative
inspiring
reflective
3.5
The ways in which Perry is using history, stories, collected memories and experiences to show how this colour Blue is linked so intrisincally to the Black existence and culture was compelling and eye-opening. From the specific historical and cultural importance and use of Indigo dye to the myths surrounding Black individuals with 'blue gums' and 'blue tongues'.
She also traces blue's significance in root work, pottery, clothing colour, and how it was reclaimed in Haiti's revolution, the Civil War, music, emotional expression, as well as in activist movements from America to Africa, and the Caribbean. But not only is she tracing Blue from trade through to slavery and to artistic declarations, she also looks at the small things like use in painting, literature, and the beautiful things in nature like plants and insects.
I didn't mind the non-linear progression but do think that if the chapters had been organized and compiled into sections by subject that the flow would have made it an easier read.
She also traces blue's significance in root work, pottery, clothing colour, and how it was reclaimed in Haiti's revolution, the Civil War, music, emotional expression, as well as in activist movements from America to Africa, and the Caribbean. But not only is she tracing Blue from trade through to slavery and to artistic declarations, she also looks at the small things like use in painting, literature, and the beautiful things in nature like plants and insects.
I didn't mind the non-linear progression but do think that if the chapters had been organized and compiled into sections by subject that the flow would have made it an easier read.
Babylonia by Costanza Casati
challenging
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I do love a good historical fiction and Babylonia definitely falls within that category. Casati has decided to build her tale around a motherless abused girl who from the start can be seen as not being afriad to use her brain and push against gender barriers.
She shows ambition and jealousy, greed and political machinations at court. The triad of love-hate-jealousy formed by our main characters is particularly interesting as we follow how everything moves within and without to move them together and apart.
Semiramis is determined and calculating, using what she has gained through marriage to learn and rise where she is not wanted. The supporting cast also drives the story forward with glimpses of their own agendas and machinations at court. Here is a story that centres a woman who has only been given bare bones mentions in the annals of history. I think Casati has done a really good job of bringing her story to life.
This is a review of the audiobook.
She shows ambition and jealousy, greed and political machinations at court. The triad of love-hate-jealousy formed by our main characters is particularly interesting as we follow how everything moves within and without to move them together and apart.
Semiramis is determined and calculating, using what she has gained through marriage to learn and rise where she is not wanted. The supporting cast also drives the story forward with glimpses of their own agendas and machinations at court. Here is a story that centres a woman who has only been given bare bones mentions in the annals of history. I think Casati has done a really good job of bringing her story to life.
This is a review of the audiobook.
A Season of Light by Julie Iromuanya
challenging
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
The prose is evocative as it clearly communicates the despair, ptsd, anger, selfishness, and confusion that covers this family because of the actions of a haunted father.
What trauma and history could possibly lead a father to imprison a daughter under the guise of protection? What loyalty keeps a mother from freeeing her daughter and fleeing with her children? How the responsibility passed on to a son can make him overlook his sister's personhood and perpetuate his father's incarceration.
The pacing of this book is quite quick and I feel that hurt the plot evolution and eventual conclusion of the book. I love books that give backstories of our main characters, here though Iromuanya focuses on the mother instead of the father, which I felt was a misstep in that it left his experience as a soldier and POW too obscure and thus left the reader too much in the dark with regards to his trauma-aided motivations.
#aseasonoflight speaks to the cyclical and damaging nature of secrets and hidden pain as well as the healing that can commence when we face our deepest fears and dark past.
What trauma and history could possibly lead a father to imprison a daughter under the guise of protection? What loyalty keeps a mother from freeeing her daughter and fleeing with her children? How the responsibility passed on to a son can make him overlook his sister's personhood and perpetuate his father's incarceration.
The pacing of this book is quite quick and I feel that hurt the plot evolution and eventual conclusion of the book. I love books that give backstories of our main characters, here though Iromuanya focuses on the mother instead of the father, which I felt was a misstep in that it left his experience as a soldier and POW too obscure and thus left the reader too much in the dark with regards to his trauma-aided motivations.
#aseasonoflight speaks to the cyclical and damaging nature of secrets and hidden pain as well as the healing that can commence when we face our deepest fears and dark past.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Grief, and War
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Rape, Sexual content, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Redemption in Indigo: A Novel by Karen Lord
mysterious
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? No
4.0
This was just as satisfying as when I read it the first time. If you want a story of here and there; then, now, and next, this is it.
🐏
Lord's mastery over moving the lines of her story from one place to the next, from a time before to a time to come is just amazing. The characters are intriguing and entertaining with just enough trickster presence to leave you wanting more.
🦚
Lord's prose is alive with the voice of our Caribbean storytellers and that was all I needed to suck me into this story.
🐞
With the style, flare, and circuitous embellishments that I can personally attribute to the elders who are the story-keepers, story-tellers, and knowledge stores on my island, Lord cleverly opens up a tale that on the surface seems simple enough: an unhappy wife leaving her husband for a while, just to get a breather, only to become the centre of events in the unseen world that shape what is seen.
🦉
But then Lord throws in the fallibility of greed, the ingenuity of a clever mind, folktale creatures, and entities pulled from the fabric of the unseen world all coalescing around our main character, as a deposed lord of Chance sets off to reclaim what is his and in so doing, triggers events that threaten the delicate balance between seen and unseen, between order and chaos.
🐝
Nothing beats finding and reading a story that takes you back to the days of Ring Ding (story time tv program in Jamaica) and listening to stories being told in the oral traditions that have been passed on and kept alive by the older generation. Stories that hold lessons, villains, mischievous encounters, and redemption found where none was sought.
🕷
There is a character in this story for everyone: the trickster, the wounded, the lost, the loyal ones, the vain ones, the protectors, and the teacher/leader.
🕸
-for with choices come change, and with change comes opportunity-
🦋
🐏
Lord's mastery over moving the lines of her story from one place to the next, from a time before to a time to come is just amazing. The characters are intriguing and entertaining with just enough trickster presence to leave you wanting more.
🦚
Lord's prose is alive with the voice of our Caribbean storytellers and that was all I needed to suck me into this story.
🐞
With the style, flare, and circuitous embellishments that I can personally attribute to the elders who are the story-keepers, story-tellers, and knowledge stores on my island, Lord cleverly opens up a tale that on the surface seems simple enough: an unhappy wife leaving her husband for a while, just to get a breather, only to become the centre of events in the unseen world that shape what is seen.
🦉
But then Lord throws in the fallibility of greed, the ingenuity of a clever mind, folktale creatures, and entities pulled from the fabric of the unseen world all coalescing around our main character, as a deposed lord of Chance sets off to reclaim what is his and in so doing, triggers events that threaten the delicate balance between seen and unseen, between order and chaos.
🐝
Nothing beats finding and reading a story that takes you back to the days of Ring Ding (story time tv program in Jamaica) and listening to stories being told in the oral traditions that have been passed on and kept alive by the older generation. Stories that hold lessons, villains, mischievous encounters, and redemption found where none was sought.
🕷
There is a character in this story for everyone: the trickster, the wounded, the lost, the loyal ones, the vain ones, the protectors, and the teacher/leader.
🕸
-for with choices come change, and with change comes opportunity-
🦋
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Grief
Roots and Legends: Folktales from African Culture by Editors of Wellfleet Press
informative
medium-paced
3.0
an interesting collection of stories and the explanation that outlines their origin, meaning and the way in which they are passed on. if you are from the Black diaspora they will feel familiar to you and bring back memories of how our stories were shared.
Desirada by Maryse Condé
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Condé will always be a writer that I return to. her characters are always complex, at times unreliable yet relatable, with vulnerabilities and trauma. she also always takes them from one place to the next in search of their history or that of their family. here Marie-Noelle searches for the truth of her paternal parentage, going through many bouts of frustration and depression as a result and we are carried with her as she tries to find out who she is.
this is a story of a woman searching for answers through lies and memory, never getting enough of the story to really piece together the story of how she came to be. she is also dealing with a parent who is emotionally distant and entirely unavailable as a mother. Interwoven is her relationships that keep her anchored, help her to grow as well as those that were harmful and empty.
condé will always give us philosophical ideas on race, identity, the Caribbean, specifically Guadeloupe, and Africa in her works. the many ways in whichbtheir history and cultures intertwine and are separate as well as how they interact with the colonial powers. Literature and thought also make appearances and play a role in our character's life.
this is a story of a woman searching for answers through lies and memory, never getting enough of the story to really piece together the story of how she came to be. she is also dealing with a parent who is emotionally distant and entirely unavailable as a mother. Interwoven is her relationships that keep her anchored, help her to grow as well as those that were harmful and empty.
condé will always give us philosophical ideas on race, identity, the Caribbean, specifically Guadeloupe, and Africa in her works. the many ways in whichbtheir history and cultures intertwine and are separate as well as how they interact with the colonial powers. Literature and thought also make appearances and play a role in our character's life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
At the Fount of Creation by Tobi Ogundiran
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I had a good time with this follow-up. Questions were answered and the overall story was improved with the fleshing out of character motivations and godly selfishness. Ogundiran does a good job of showing the inherent self-centredness of gods and their lack of understanding the totality of those who venerated them. The consequences of which they face in this story.