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beatrizdizon_'s reviews
19 reviews
The Nose by Nikolai Gogol
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Flush by Virginia Woolf
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Ottessa Moshfegh has a hand in concretizing on pages the feeling of emptiness. That incomprehensible, unfathomable, undecipherable feeling. This book consumed me (like MC did with those pills). But honestly, though, the blurb says it all. Don’t expect butterflies and rainbows going into this book. Don’t expect rest and relaxation afterward. Don’t expect a cathartic moment. With every rotting woman is another rotting woman next to her (me). It can never be me though! The pathological people pleaser (Swift 2023) in me cannot handle losing that much control and man did she lose control.
There’s so much to say about MYORAR. The social commentary it touches but it’s not in your face, so it doesn’t sound pretentious. The way our narrator adhered to the very things she criticized. How telling her toxic relationships are, especially with men, about her experiences.
So, I took my time considering if I liked that we readers can predict what will happen to Reva, and I settled on the notion that I do. Maybe it became predictable the moment she had that change, but what matters more is how the narrator reacted in the last chapter which arguably is not predictable. Reva is a star though. Something about her demise juxtaposed with MC’s plan b is poetic in a way.
Moshfegh makes me want to go all “you just don’t get it” type of insufferable. Now my friends and I can be miserable and insufferable together. As if we’re not already doing that.
There’s so much to say about MYORAR. The social commentary it touches but it’s not in your face, so it doesn’t sound pretentious. The way our narrator adhered to the very things she criticized. How telling her toxic relationships are, especially with men, about her experiences.
So, I took my time considering if I liked that we readers can predict what will happen to Reva, and I settled on the notion that I do. Maybe it became predictable the moment she had that change, but what matters more is how the narrator reacted in the last chapter which arguably is not predictable. Reva is a star though. Something about her demise juxtaposed with MC’s plan b is poetic in a way.
Moshfegh makes me want to go all “you just don’t get it” type of insufferable. Now my friends and I can be miserable and insufferable together. As if we’re not already doing that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, and Alcohol
Moderate: Vomit, Grief, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Infidelity, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content
Minor: Blood, Classism, Confinement, Death, Pregnancy, Racism, Body shaming, Cancer, Abortion, and Self harm
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
5.0
I’m not inclined to read series and prequels unless I’m already attached to it, so maybe this is my bias talking. Still, it took me faster than expected to finish this book. It’s marketed as a villain origin story but I don’t think the occurrences leading up to Snow’s most evil form are necessarily what caused him to be who he is in the Hunger Games books. His character is polarizing at times. Howbeit, the bad in people can just be innate.
Sejanus and Lucy Gray was unsurprisingly my favorites. Sejanus’ demise broke me. Frustrating how the only person he considered a friend constantly betrays him, in thoughts and in actions. As for Lucy Gray, at first I wanted to think that Snow never loved her and that he just wanted to possess over her like an animal. But as the story progressed, I would rather believe that he lived a loveless life. That he no longer loved anyone like he did with Lucy Gray, not for the reasons he wished for, but to contradict Lucy Gray’s erasure. In the back of his mind, she will always plague her.
What saddened me most was the relationship between the Snow cousins. So much love and care, only for Tigris to be thrown out when she is no longer of value.
Sejanus and Lucy Gray was unsurprisingly my favorites. Sejanus’ demise broke me. Frustrating how the only person he considered a friend constantly betrays him, in thoughts and in actions. As for Lucy Gray, at first I wanted to think that Snow never loved her and that he just wanted to possess over her like an animal. But as the story progressed, I would rather believe that he lived a loveless life. That he no longer loved anyone like he did with Lucy Gray, not for the reasons he wished for, but to contradict Lucy Gray’s erasure. In the back of his mind, she will always plague her.
What saddened me most was the relationship between the Snow cousins. So much love and care, only for Tigris to be thrown out when she is no longer of value.
The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels
3.0
Provides valuable insight and an essential read, but constantly throws me for a loop that I had to reread some parts (arguably can be because of my goldfish attention span but I stand my ground).
Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
4.0
Used this material for my undergrad thesis! Along with contemporary films that took had this play as their basis/inspiration (Megamind, Sierra Burgess is a Loser, The Half of It)
Some elements weirded me out, evident that this was a product of its time. Some parts broke my heart, but I am ultimately astounded by Cyrano’s undying (haha) love for Roxane. Interesting to dissect a literary work composed centuries ago, will definitely read this again leisurely!
Some elements weirded me out, evident that this was a product of its time. Some parts broke my heart, but I am ultimately astounded by Cyrano’s undying (haha) love for Roxane. Interesting to dissect a literary work composed centuries ago, will definitely read this again leisurely!
The Heartstopper Yearbook by Alice Oseman
5.0
Look, I think you have to already be a fan of the Heartstopper series or Alice Oseman before purchasing this. It doesn’t add much to the story, sure, but you have to admit that this is a really adorable and fun addition to the collection!
It gives us more insight to who the characters are individually, to the LGBTQIA+ as well, and there are mini comics! IT’S FUUUUUUUN
It gives us more insight to who the characters are individually, to the LGBTQIA+ as well, and there are mini comics! IT’S FUUUUUUUN
Bunny by Mona Awad
4.0
Holy smokes, what a read. I love seeing other people’s interpretations because there is definitely not just one way of looking at this.
The girl cult genre of it all is so interesting. I just have some mental notes on the writing style, how the words don’t flow seamlessly in my head at first so I’m not always pulled entirely into the story. It took some getting used to.
I see the similarities with Heathers and I read Samantha like how Veronica narrates, especially because I love both the movie and musical. But it is also so distinct as its own entity.
The build-up is worth it when you get to the last part because the things that will happen won’t make sense if parts one and two weren’t the way it was. I wished the part where Samantha was with the Bunnies was longer, but it dawned on me that we probably have been in that state all along.
I don’t view Max as gendered, even though it can be a whole discussion in itself and it was slightly brushed over on page 257. I see it more like, in a way, reflecting that part of fiction where writers put into writing the things they wish they could do as their own.
It is the type of book I would love to see as a film. Maybe it would even be better on-screen rather than on paper because we won’t succumb to Smackie’s annihilating brooding (pas much (she becomes less unbearable in part three!). But I can already imagine the visuals, this would be a banger if it gets picked up by the right filmmakers. Read this if you’re the type of person to say “I support women’s wrongs” ironically or unironically. Don’t read this if you expect this to be really scary. It’s rather disorienting, a wild ride on a skinny road next to a cliff than a walk through a haunted house in October.
I hope my friends read this, I love it. But if they don’t, I get it girl, it’s ridiculous!
The girl cult genre of it all is so interesting. I just have some mental notes on the writing style, how the words don’t flow seamlessly in my head at first so I’m not always pulled entirely into the story. It took some getting used to.
I see the similarities with Heathers and I read Samantha like how Veronica narrates, especially because I love both the movie and musical. But it is also so distinct as its own entity.
The build-up is worth it when you get to the last part because the things that will happen won’t make sense if parts one and two weren’t the way it was. I wished the part where Samantha was with the Bunnies was longer, but it dawned on me that we probably have been in that state all along.
I don’t view Max as gendered, even though it can be a whole discussion in itself and it was slightly brushed over on page 257. I see it more like, in a way, reflecting that part of fiction where writers put into writing the things they wish they could do as their own.
It is the type of book I would love to see as a film. Maybe it would even be better on-screen rather than on paper because we won’t succumb to Smackie’s annihilating brooding (pas much (she becomes less unbearable in part three!). But I can already imagine the visuals, this would be a banger if it gets picked up by the right filmmakers. Read this if you’re the type of person to say “I support women’s wrongs” ironically or unironically. Don’t read this if you expect this to be really scary. It’s rather disorienting, a wild ride on a skinny road next to a cliff than a walk through a haunted house in October.
I hope my friends read this, I love it. But if they don’t, I get it girl, it’s ridiculous!
Virgin by Reuel Molina Aguila
3.0
I bought this at MIBF 2023. The title of this book is a head-turner and I thought that is all it is, a Virgin Lab Fest pun, but it was explained in the first part. The three one-act plays are not my cup of tea, there are details that I found unnecessary and there are details that I wish were reconsidered to be revised to something that will better put the message across. I believe that the time you have on stage should be valued, so everything should tie into the story. The better parts of the book were Aguila’s walk-through. As an active member of the theatre community (or, I would like to think I am), it is engrossing and enlightening to hear from someone I am not closely associated with. Meaning, I love hearing other people’s thought process and experiences. Especially considering that most of the topics he chose to write about are hard to tackle, but necessary.
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