Scan barcode
ahyacinthine's reviews
48 reviews
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay
3.25
I heard about Roxane Gay from her most acclaimed novel, Bad Feminist. Though I haven't read that book yet, I knew that I always wanted to read her memoir. It was kind of hard to finish! Not because the prose was bad by any means, but because the subject matter at hand (from her experiences with SA, to her neverending struggles with body image and identity) was heavy. The book was incredibly informative and accessible, and I was able to read it during finals season. In my opinion, some passages and one-liners in the book were repetitive, but that was easy to overlook because of the emotional impact this book left.
Ornament and Silence: Essays on Women's Lives From Edith Wharton to Germaine Greer by Kennedy Fraser
4.25
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
There’s beauty in the way the woman and feminine experience is depicted in the most average circumstances; specifically, the societal constructs inhibit the livelihood of so many women. Following the story of the monolith of the average Korean woman from her childhood to marriage (and it’s eventual dissolution) was powerful and heartbreaking, because you come to realize with Kim Jiyoung how pervasive misogyny is, and how it fluctuates and varies. It’s an adaptable and parasitic force that affects countless woman, but the addition of statistics made the experience about learning about a different culture so unique. Easy to read and immediately immersive, i loved this very much.
Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
I have a soft spot for the prose in the novel … for the first hundred pages i’ve read three times over, in any case. I can’t explain why this book doesn’t stick to me other than the buildup to the climatic elements is incredibly slow paced. i plan to read some murakami as a warm up to this novel for my fourth attempt.