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bluedilly's reviews
143 reviews
4.0
I am not emotional enough in the ways people expect, and too emotional in ways they do not like to see. [...] I don't ask the right questions or care about the right things. I don't thank people as much as they seem to want to be thanked. I like to be alone a lot more than other people, and I need things to be a certain way. [...] I have felt like the wrong kind of daughter, the wrong kind of sister, and the wrong kind of friend.
I have yet to see someone who hasn't been correct in their self-diagnosis. People are experts on themselves.
Graphic: Child abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, and Animal death
Moderate: Bullying, Ableism, Medical content, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Grief, and Mental illness
Minor: Medical trauma, Lesbophobia, Cancer, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Homophobia, and Toxic friendship
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
He took only as much as he needed of something, and that was enough.
I read the first half utterly confused. I read the second half uncontrollably crying.
The doors of bland suburban houses now looked possible, outlined, pulsing—for behind any one of them could be hidden a bright and private glory.
Graphic: Death, Child death, Grief, Medical content, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Abortion and Pregnancy
Minor: Ableism
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I said that I too sometimes did not understand what I saw in galleries, or read in books. Though I understood the pressure of feeling like you had to have a view or opinion, especially one that you could articulate clearly, which usually only came with a certain education. This, I said, allowed you to speak of history and context, and was in many ways like a foreign language. For a long time, I had believed in this language, and I had done my best to become fluent in it. But I said that sometimes, increasingly often in fact, I was beginning to feel like this response too was false, a performance, and not the one I had been looking for. Sometimes, I looked at a painting, and felt completely nothing. Or if I had a feeling, it was only intuitive, a reaction, nothing that could be expressed in words. It was all right, I said, to simply say if that was so. The main thing was to be open, to listen, to know when and when not to speak.
A soothing, sensory experience. Like reading through a stranger's (gorgeously written) travel journal. I'd almost classify this as "cosy fiction". I've never even been to Japan, but everything else about this book felt strikingly familiar—a variation on some of my own core life memories. It's a reminder that I should seek out more Australian fiction. I usually love this tangental, character-focused style of writing, but I'm not sure if it works as well for me in a novella-length story. I can appreciate the individual snapshots, but there's not enough there to create a bigger picture. Au is incredibly gifted at using words to awaken sensorial memories, and I look forward to reading more of her work.
I wanted to walk in the woods and among the trees. I wanted not to speak to anyone, only to see and hear, to feel lonely.
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Death, Stalking, and Death of parent
Minor: Racism, Pregnancy, Classism, Alcohol, and Abandonment
2.5
Minor: Animal cruelty and Confinement
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Infidelity, Fatphobia, Ableism, and Body shaming
Minor: Sexual content, Stalking, Alcohol, Racism, Violence, and Cursing
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Infidelity and Toxic relationship
Minor: Violence, Ableism, Sexual content, Stalking, Alcohol, Biphobia, and Racism
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Alcohol, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Violence, Blood, and Cursing
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, War, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Slavery, Animal death, Blood, Murder, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Self harm, and Sexual content
Moderate: Medical content, Abandonment, Child abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Alcohol, Classism, Pregnancy, Rape, Slavery, and Vomit
Minor: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Death of parent, and Homophobia
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Minor: Classism, Sexism, Violence, and Alcohol
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, Death, Cursing, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Bullying, Drug use, Fatphobia, and Grief
Moderate: Infidelity, Murder, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content
Minor: Sexual assault, Addiction, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts