anjaliiiiiii's reviews
37 reviews

All the Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami

4.0

Bliss Montage by Ling Ma

3.5

I enjoyed the stories in the second half of the book more than the ones in the first half, but they were all interesting! Favorite stories: Returning, Peking Duck, Tomorrow

Home Remedies by Xuan Juliana Wang

3.5

favorite stories:
- vaulting the sea
- algorithmic problem-solving for father-daughter relationships
- echo of the moment
- the strawberry years

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

3.0

I would have liked it more if there were fewer long, boring (to me) descriptions of Levin’s opinions on agriculture, politics, and religion. I get why people might like that but it’s sooooooo not for me. The ending felt both rushed and dragging (the Vronsky/Anna storyline was abrupt but the Kitty/Levin one kept going on and on). However, it was also just a beautiful and interesting book with tragic loves and complex relationships written extremely well. 
Some themes I noticed coming up again and again:
- characters switching into French to conceal their true meanings/when speaking less vulnerably or honestly
- upper-class people seeing lower or middle class people & being envious (Kitty & Varenka, Levin & the peasants working his farm, Anna & the people she passes on her last trip to the train station)
- religion as a guide, divider, and central question

White Oleander by Janet Fitch

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Edge Case by YZ Chin

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Read this all in one day, it was really good. I didn’t really read the synopsis before picking up this book, and I think going in without expectations helped me enjoy the book more. 

I loved how the book was written from the perspective of Edwina speaking to a therapist. That frame supported all of the internal turmoil, the back-and-forth style of narrating memories vs present day events, and the off-handed allusions to Edwina’s past that had previously been unexplained

for example the casual  mention of her self-harm scars which then does not get brought up again

. It reminded me of my own experiences in therapy in some ways. Though I am very different from Edwina, I felt very connected to her and saw myself in her quite a bit too. 

As someone interested in psychology, I also kept thinking about how minority stress was playing a role in Edwina’s challenges throughout the book. So good. 

Some themes/motifs I’m still thinking of:
- transitions to and from vegetarianism, the kinds of meat eaten 
- unreliable narration/looking at what’s left out/how E speaks to the therapist
- past life stories!
- relationship with body & mental health; looking at it with a kaleidoscope- how do her family, her partner, the structures she navigates shape what she’s experiencing internally & vice versa

Honor by Thrity Umrigar

3.5

The Book of Salt by Monique Truong

2.5

Someone in Time: Tales of Time-Crossed Romance by Jonathan Strahan

3.75

Delicate Edible Birds and Other Stories by Lauren Groff

3.5