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astralumpia's reviews
80 reviews
Brute: Poems by Emily Skaja
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Had higher hopes for this (the tumblrinas had me for a sec and that’s on me). I can see the influences of Anne Carson and others, but the other 2/3rds fall flat. It’s giving ‘lest a woman does anything’ white feminine rage - but part of me does like the exploration of survival from trauma, hunger, eating, starvation, flesh - but girlie why not explore it deeper instead of referencing H*rry P*tter…. That said the themes of women as animals/beasts/the wild as a “free” feminine space — It all feels a bit “done” if that makes sense. The elegies are perhaps the highlight and what keep me from giving this a lower score.
The Membranes by Chi Ta-wei
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
3.0
Janelle monae’s dirty computer has entered the chat. Lonely and horny and sad, gender is a brain in a jar struggling to live in the surveillance state!!
The Terror by Dan Simmons
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
There ’s not going to be a northwest passage !!!!! 🤡 The book is at its strongest when it is about the harshness of nature and the depravity of the men (we love colonizers killing and eating one another for sport in the snow its like Jaws meets The Thing), and weakest in its treatment of women and Lady Silence. It gets a bit questionable in the depictions of the Eskimo as well. Simmons I’m begging u to get ur head out of ur dick!!! Some moments are genuinely funny (vivesected sailor Tetris) and the descriptions of the Arctic feel breathtaking, reads as pretty well researched. The Crozier Fitzjames Goodsir polycule. To quote a tumblrina, ‘the sodomy allegories got me this is my heartstopper.’ Watching the AMC adaptation to see the Positive Gay Rep lmaoooo :-)
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
medium-paced
2.0
Reads like Good Omens or Umbrella Academy but Midwest McDonalds edition. Couldn’t get past the Evil Father Codename Kids Next Door silly villain. My favorite part of this was when they all gathered around and said Librarians Assemble. weird references to Buddhism for some reason, lazy exposition/muddled structure, cringey mcu type dialogue. okay sense of setting. Eldritch library is a fun trope but it’s been done in better ways.
Although the last scene kinda slays
Although the last scene kinda slays
Under the Sign of the Labyrinth by Christina Tudor-Sideri
emotional
reflective
sad
3.0
not quite Anne Carson and not quite Ovid, repetitive (or lost?), sad and strange, need to revisit
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.0
The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories by Regina Kanyu Wang, Yu Chen
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.
Needed to return :(
Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
FISH WIVES WANT ME! I KISS HER!! Scratched the itch Annihilation left behind for me (Leah and the Biologist would be besties, freaks that they are). Gorgeousss, funny, heartbreaking performances given by both narrators for the audiobook.