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barbiepicasso's reviews
123 reviews
A Minor Chorus by Billy-Ray Belcourt
3.0
Reading this book, I couldn’t help but be constantly distracted by what felt like this anxiety to relate events and feelings to writers/theorists; it often felt like a moment couldn’t just be, it had to be tethered to a tradition that has already happened, already exists. It felt like the narrator was trying hard to intellectualize/ academize (not a word but you get me) his experiences, thoughts and emotions, than just letting them exist without this kind of critique or interference— although I guess that might be the point, when you become a PhD student you’re constantly thinking of things in terms of theory.
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
3.0
I honestly enjoyed reading this book— despite what some friends have thought! I think it was ironic, darkly funny with some banger one liners that made me laugh out loud. I read this as an unserious, self-conscious satirical novel that pitted generations against one another in a way that made made me chuckle, and also made me have freaky dreams at night. It was an outrageously unrealistic novel for a lot of reasons and that’s ok. It was weird, maybe it was predictable, but I wouldn’t not recommend it to a friend.
All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews
4.0
This novel did so well to represent the kind of paradoxical wealth/poverty/debt-ridden existence in American, especially through its relationship to food and eating. A categorically “realist” novel, I think towards the end, the narrative too simplistically dissolved some of the series issues the novel sought to include: addiction, housing insecurity, poverty— which felt in service of ending the novel on a more happy and optimistic note.
Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
2.0
This book felt very “young adult” for the most part, which is completely fine, it just didn’t have the depth or creativity as a eco / tech critique (?) also wasn’t a huge fan of the tension/ conflict of the female protagonists being driven by hetero/sexual “relationships” (again, no depth so idk) found it predictable and boring. Would skip!
Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker
5.0
The amount of time, patience and care that must’ve gone into transforming the Galvin’s lives (from SO many perspectives) into one single book is astounding to think about. An incredible read that sparks so many questions about mental illness and the mystery of the human brain. Would recommend this book to all!