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anishinaabekwereads's reviews
183 reviews
Dog Flowers: A Memoir by Danielle Geller
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Dog Flower by Danielle Geller is almost certainly not the Indigenous memoir most people will expect it to be. Geller, a Diné (Navajo) woman who grew up in Florida and Pennsylvania away from her homeland, documents with haunting starkness the frequent instability of her childhood, the death of her mother, and the costs addiction and violence take upon children. Needless to say there is a lot of pain within the pages of this memoir and there is little of the cultural tourism I suspect many people want or expect from Indigenous authors. Instead, we get a story of perspective, of piecing together lines and life. What we learn is the way addiction and violence are cyclical, repetitive beasts that become mundane in their breathless ability to make create a routine. Particularly, we learn what life is like for those who love and often feel induced to caregive for those who are struggling with substance abuse.It’s important to note here that this memoir is loving, is raw, and is both compelling and hard to look away from. Geller asks us to witness her history, the history of her mother, the history of her father and sisters.
Geller’s use of “the archive” is both intriguing and haunting. As you move through this memoir you see the construction of a familial archive, an archive of grief and of remembrance and presence. She pieces together her mother’s diaries, photographs, and her own memories to trace her mother’s absence from her childhood on. In that way, we watch as Geller tries to see things the way her mother might have, we watch as she tries to reconcile what may not be reconcilable. I found her use of [almost] footnotes to be a frequently effective mechanism. Buried at the bottom of many pages, in smaller font, Geller tells another story lodged within her own recountings and the effect is both academic and profoundly powerful even if their direct relation to the main body of text requires you to slow and consider.
There's a lot in this memoir that destroyed me, things I find hard to talk about, but remain with me the nonetheless. Know going in that this is not an easy book. Major CONTENT WARNINGS for addiction, alcoholism, domestic violence, sexual violence, sexual assauly, parent-child relationships, and death.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
Miss Subways by David Duchovny
4.0
I'm going to start this review by saying I was highly skeptical. I didn't quite believe I'd enjoy it primarily because I knew next to nothing about Duchovny's writing (training or previous history). I found this in the bookstore I work in and had no idea he'd even written other novels. It was purely an impulse purchase because I was curious.
It took me a bit after I finished the novel to come to a decision on whether or not I liked it. Duchovny's writing style is certainly not for everyone. Often abrupt, often feeling almost too close to a stream of consciousness, the novel's preternatural subject matter was likely even less appealing to some readers. For me, it wasn't an issue. I was captivated by the writing and the story pulled me forward continually, but I wasn't sure that I liked it even as I was reading it. This, I believe was more the result of being unsure if I liked Emer or Con. Trust me I don't need to like characters to like a book but something about these two really threw me. It was only after I let it sit with me for a while that I was able to parse out that, despite not particularly caring for either character, the story itself was filled with the kind of nuance that exploded the quotidian of life that made the entire thing matter. The oddness of the story was balanced strongly by the overwhelming routine of Emer's life.
I don't often re-read books but I'm seriously considering doing so with this one because I feel like there's so much still in this novel that I need to reexamine and that there are so many little pieces I easily overlooked the first go round.
It took me a bit after I finished the novel to come to a decision on whether or not I liked it. Duchovny's writing style is certainly not for everyone. Often abrupt, often feeling almost too close to a stream of consciousness, the novel's preternatural subject matter was likely even less appealing to some readers. For me, it wasn't an issue. I was captivated by the writing and the story pulled me forward continually, but I wasn't sure that I liked it even as I was reading it. This, I believe was more the result of being unsure if I liked Emer or Con. Trust me I don't need to like characters to like a book but something about these two really threw me. It was only after I let it sit with me for a while that I was able to parse out that, despite not particularly caring for either character, the story itself was filled with the kind of nuance that exploded the quotidian of life that made the entire thing matter. The oddness of the story was balanced strongly by the overwhelming routine of Emer's life.
I don't often re-read books but I'm seriously considering doing so with this one because I feel like there's so much still in this novel that I need to reexamine and that there are so many little pieces I easily overlooked the first go round.
A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi
3.0
I really wanted to like this book. I'd first heard about it from the angle that the "narrator" was Destiny and, because I loved The Book Thief so much I couldn't wait to get my hands on this young adult novel centered around Tareq, a young Syrian boy's escape from his homeland ravaged by violence. That, I think, was the worst way I could have approached this book. I went in with a certain level of expectation and I was pretty disappointed.
First, Destiny's interspersed monologue-like thoughts on the situation almost feel as if Abawi was trying too hard to be "deep" and insightful. I think that this would have been a much better book if this storytelling device had been removed from the final product because it was distracting and disappointing throughout. It did nothing for me.
Second, I was startled by the interjection of an American college student's point of view. It came too late and I didn't see the point at all. It frustrated me to be removed from Tareq's experience and I felt a certain level of discomfort about this selfless, empathetic American girl taking space in a novel that would have been more successful if Tareq had been the focal point.
I gave this 3 stars because I think that the subject matter is far too important to overlook and because I think the failings I found in this book were partly on me as a reader who expected something much different. I think this could be an enjoyable and worthwhile read for some, certainly, but I'm still just really ambivalent. Definitely do not approach this book assuming that it will be at all similar to The Book Thief.
First, Destiny's interspersed monologue-like thoughts on the situation almost feel as if Abawi was trying too hard to be "deep" and insightful. I think that this would have been a much better book if this storytelling device had been removed from the final product because it was distracting and disappointing throughout. It did nothing for me.
Second, I was startled by the interjection of an American college student's point of view. It came too late and I didn't see the point at all. It frustrated me to be removed from Tareq's experience and I felt a certain level of discomfort about this selfless, empathetic American girl taking space in a novel that would have been more successful if Tareq had been the focal point.
I gave this 3 stars because I think that the subject matter is far too important to overlook and because I think the failings I found in this book were partly on me as a reader who expected something much different. I think this could be an enjoyable and worthwhile read for some, certainly, but I'm still just really ambivalent. Definitely do not approach this book assuming that it will be at all similar to The Book Thief.
My Plain Jane by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows
3.0
3.5-3.75 Stars
I will say I did enjoy this paranormal retelling of Jane Eyre. I haven't read My Lady Jane but I felt going in that I had a fair idea that this retelling was going to be loose, filled with funny odds and ends, and, importantly, written for a YA audience. I confess, Jane Eyre is one of my favorite novels and has been since I first read it as a young teen. However, I went into this knowing I would have to be willing to let go of some of those deeply held feelings about Jane's story. It wasn't terribly hard until the story moved to Thornfield and Mr. Rochester (I simply couldn't stand how he was portrayed, but what can you do as a reader who went in with knowledge that beloved characters were not going to be the same?).
I enjoyed the ride this novel took me on. I enjoyed Helen (at least for a bit),Bertha Rochester (to an extent because all of the small bits of French dubbed "creole" within irked me) , and Jane (predominantly near the end when she seemed perhaps more similar to her true self). The real pull for me in this novel, surprisingly, was Charlotte. I was skeptical at the outset but I must say, her inclusion made it much much easier for me to leave Jane Eyre behind. The authors' inclusion of Charlotte allowed me to suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy the story as humorous paranormal mystery filled with enough pop culture and literary references (including quite a few nicely woven in references to the original) to make up for some of the things I disliked about it.
I would recommend for anyone looking for a light, fast-paced read who isn't super invested in the "retelling" aspect.
I will say I did enjoy this paranormal retelling of Jane Eyre. I haven't read My Lady Jane but I felt going in that I had a fair idea that this retelling was going to be loose, filled with funny odds and ends, and, importantly, written for a YA audience. I confess, Jane Eyre is one of my favorite novels and has been since I first read it as a young teen. However, I went into this knowing I would have to be willing to let go of some of those deeply held feelings about Jane's story. It wasn't terribly hard until the story moved to Thornfield and Mr. Rochester (I simply couldn't stand how he was portrayed, but what can you do as a reader who went in with knowledge that beloved characters were not going to be the same?).
I enjoyed the ride this novel took me on. I enjoyed Helen (at least for a bit),
I would recommend for anyone looking for a light, fast-paced read who isn't super invested in the "retelling" aspect.