bethniamh's reviews
229 reviews

This Immaculate Body by Emma van Straaten

4.0

Out of Love by Hazel Hayes

The structure of this book, working backwards through a relationship from its breakup to its beginnings, was really interesting; I liked that chapters linked back to a detail mentioned in the previous section. This book reminded me a little of Homesick, which I read the previous month; the characters weren't as likeable, however. This was well-written though, and I got through it very quickly. The true centre of the story was the relationship between the main character and her mother, which was arguably better portrayed than that between the main character and Theo. The definition of bittersweet.

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

This was a Christmas present from my boyfriend's parents; while the genre is not something I generally gravitate towards, it's always good to read outside my comfort zone. The story is divided between three characters, with two linked timelines and an overarching story tying them all together, about a mysterious bookshop in Dublin. I went between the print book and the audiobook for this one, and I enjoyed that the audiobook had three voice actors, one for each of the three main characters. The writing felt a little generic at times, and I saw the twist near the end a mile off. The length could have been reduced as the story took a while to get going, but this was a nice easy read/listen to have going at the same time as other books. I'll also commend it for taking on a theme as complex as domestic violence, although not entirely without clichés.

Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte

I don't think I've ever read anything quite like this. This book is made up of a handful of short stories which link together; the first time this happened, in the second story Pics, I had to go back to the first story so that I could appreciate the way the author used the two stories to explore different angles of the same event. One of the quotes from a review featured in the first couple of pages describes this book as "gleefully merciless", and that's an accurate description; there's a sense of humour under everything in this book which helps to stop it feeling oppressively bleak. The story Our Dope Future made me laugh quite a few times, which was needed after Ahegao; parts of this story made me feel a bit queasy, and the payoff in the last few lines made me cringe so hard I had to close the book and come back later. This was a memorable read and it's made me want to explore what else the author has published.

Red Sword by Bora Chung

4.0

Many thanks to Honford Star for sending me a physical ARC in exchange for a review!

I read this in two sittings over a single afternoon; we are dropped straight into the story, with a mostly nameless woman held prisoner on a spaceship forced to fight a war by the Imperials for a mysterious white planet. Her and her fellow prisoners want nothing more than to return home; however, their sense of who they are is being uprooted by the Imperials' use of newly developed technology. This story, translated from the Korean by Anton Hur, draws on real events dating back to the 1600s, where Korean soldiers were forced to fight against the Russians on behalf of the Qing dynasty. I enjoyed the way the story moved between chapters in the 'present', detailing the war and the woman's attempts to survive, and brief interludes filling in the backstory and the technological advancements that led to this point. I'll be interested to see others' views on this book upon its publication.

Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner

The first third of this book, detailing the Willowes family history and leading up to the titular Lolly Willowes moving to the countryside, was a bit of a slog to get through; while the context was helpful, 50 pages seemed a bit much. However, once we arrive in Great Mop, the story took off for me; I read through the remaining two thirds in a day. The prose was beautifully written and the themes were ahead of their time in a lot of ways. It made me wish I, too, could escape to some remote village and fill my days with reading, witchcraft, and wandering around the countryside.

Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan

Megan Nolan has been on my radar for a while and I’ve kept meaning to try one of her books; I spotted this at Waterstones when I had a voucher to spend and figured I may as well. From the reviews I’d skimmed, I was expecting something like Eliza Clark’s Penance, which I loved; this was a much quieter book, focused more on the humans behind what could have been a sensationalised story about a child's murder. I didn’t get fully into it until about halfway through, but once we started going into depth into each Green family member’s story, I found myself much more engaged. I was initially underwhelmed by the ending, but the more I think about it, the more the understated nature of it fits the story and the angle the author was going for.

Portable Magic: A History of Books and their Readers by Emma Smith

I’ve had this on my shelves for a year and decided now was finally the time. As a librarian, it was fascinating to read about how books as a medium have developed over the years, and I was particularly taken by the chapter on library books. The type was also a decent size; many other Penguin-published non-fiction books I’ve read in the last couple of years have had off-puttingly small type which I personally find much less readable. I also appreciated that there’s an index at the back; I’m a big fan of a good index.

And Now We Have Everything: On Motherhood Before I Was Ready by Meaghan O'Connell

I’ve had this sat on my e-reader since I was living in Korea and relied heavily on e-books; I rarely buy them anymore. I’m at that awkward stage of life where new colleagues ask if I have kids, and although I always laugh it off like it’s a ridiculous question, I am turning 30 this year and increasingly conscious of it. This is a very honestly-written account of what it’s like to unexpectedly find yourself expecting; it’s not a long book, but certain chapters, such as the birth, have stuck rather vividly in my mind. I’d be interested to read anything else the author puts out; her writing style was clear and readable, and as much of the book deals with her desire to be able to write despite her life circumstances, it would be nice to see a new release with her name on the cover.

Notes on 'Camp' by Susan Sontag

I picked up this short, small book after reading the last essay in It Came from the Closet, which used this book’s titular essay as its basis. While short, this is a dense read, with passages requiring focus to parse and fully appreciate the ideas presented therein; I’d like to go through it again with a pencil and annotate lines I find particularly striking. The book also features a second essay dissecting the divide between the literary-artistic and the scientific, which was an interesting read following the first essay. This book was also a good example of why I find a page goal much more representative of my reading habits than a book goal; this counted as a whole book read, despite only being 64 smaller-than-average pages.